Extreme air for professional snowboarders Jamie Anderson and Ty Walker at Skydive Lake Wanaka NZ!

Professional snowboarders Jamie Anderson and Ty Walker recently caught some extreme air after jumping out of Skydive Lake Wanaka's infamous Orange PAC!  

Jamie Anderson is one of the best snowboarders in the world and has won more X-Games medals than I can count and Ty Walker is about to become the youngest member on the U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team in Sochi Russia.  Start watching and cheering for our team starting February 7, 2014 on NBC and their affiliates.

Should December be Aviation Month?

December is a significant month in aviation history.  On December 17th, 110 years ago, the "Wright Flyer" became the first heavier than air powered machine to achieve controlled sustained flight at Kitty Hawk North Carolina USA.  

On the 5th day in December 1879 an aviation pioneer Clyde Cessna was born in Iowa USA.  

Also, on December 22nd 1964 the "Blackbird" prototype SR-71A-LO first flew from Air Force Plant 42 Palmdale California USA at more than 1000 miles per hour up to higher than 45,000 feet and landed at Edwards Air Force Base.  

Yet again in December, and for all my Caravan C208 fans, don't forget that the first Caravan prototype (N208LP) flight happened on December 9th 1982! This is a short list of numerous milestones that occurred in the 12th month and my reason for nominating December, even though it normally does not have good flying weather, as Aviation Month.

Quest Kodiak about to start its life as a Jump Plane

On a ferry flight to Dekalb Illinois, I parked the airplane that I had just delivered next to this beautiful red Quest Kodiak.  It was about to be converted into a Jump Plane. 

There's not all that many of these aircraft in the air compared to its competition, however that fact is changing quickly with every year that goes by.  These aircraft are very comparable to the industry's beloved Cessna Caravan, one of the most popular and reliable Jump Planes in the world.


SkyDiverDriver.com

Red Bull Air Race Returns for 2014

The Red Bull Air Race is returning to the skies starting February 28 - March 1 2014 in Abu Dhabi UAE.  I haven't personally seen them since 2007 in San Diego, a stop that has been removed from the schedule for 2014.  I will catch up to them in Las Vegas in October.  You can purchase tickets on the Red Bull Air Race site now.  General admission tickets are only $39 and Reserved seat tickets are $59 and include a Hangar Pass.  I hope to see some of you there!