AXIS Flight School offers structured, progressive training designed to help sport skydivers of all levels achieve their personal and competitive goals.
Whether you’re looking to improve your canopy skills, master new freefall techniques in the tunnel and sky, or prepare for competition, our world-class coaches will guide you every step of the way.
On behalf of the U.S. Speed Skydiving community, we want to extend our deepest and most sincere thanks to the anonymous donor who has generously sponsored our team’s registration fees for the World Championships.
This was an incredible surprise, and it is difficult to fully express what this gesture means to those of us who compete.
Skydiving is a sport that we love deeply, but competing at the highest level comes with a significant personal cost. We fund much of our own training, travel, equipment, competition fees, and everything else that goes into showing up on the world stage. There is no prize money waiting at the end, even if you win. We do this because we love the sport, because we love the challenge, and because we want to see just how far we can push ourselves.
That is what makes a gift like this so meaningful.
By taking registration costs off our shoulders, you have given us something even more valuable than financial assistance: the ability to put more of our energy and focus into training, competing, and representing the United States at our very best. Your generosity helps us elevate not only our own performance, but the sport itself.
We have been competing for a long time, and one thing we have come to appreciate more and more is that opportunities like this should never be taken for granted. We especially hope the younger competitors in our community recognize what an extraordinary gift this is. There are many people who enjoy watching our sport, but very few who step forward and make a tangible difference in the lives of the athletes who dedicate so much to it.
This donation is a reminder that what we do is seen, appreciated, and supported by people who believe in us.
To our anonymous supporter: thank you. Thank you for believing in the team. Thank you for investing in the athletes. Thank you for helping remove one more obstacle between us and the training we need to perform at our highest level.
We will carry that generosity with us to the World Championships, and we will do our best to honor it by showing up prepared, competing with everything we have, and continuing to push the boundaries of speed skydiving.
From all of us in the U.S. Speed Skydiving community, we are incredibly grateful.Thank you for believing in us and for giving us the opportunity to focus on what we love.
When the conversation turns to how fast a human can fall, two names reliably come up first: Felix Baumgartner and Alan Eustace. Their high-altitude jumps became the public yardstick for what a human body can manage when it’s falling through atmosphere.
Baumgartner’s 2012 Red Bull Stratos jump is the one everybody knows. He exited at 38,969.4 meters (127,852 feet), hit a maximum vertical speed of 1,357.6 km/h (Mach 1.25), and became the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall without a vehicle. The FAI ratified it as the world record for maximum vertical speed without a drogue.
Two years later, Alan Eustace went higher. He exited at 41,422 meters and reached 1,320 km/h, only about 38 km/h off Baumgartner’s number. Different category, though: Eustace’s maximum vertical speed was achieved with a drogue, which the FAI records separately. And the drogue wasn’t convenience hardware. It was an essential part of the StratEx system, providing stability through the extreme-speed portion of the descent.
Both performances were extraordinary. They also created a problem nobody intended: once the public sees 1,320 or 1,357 km/h, those become the numbers everything else gets measured against.
Cut to Skydive Arizona, August 15th, 2026.
Nik Daniel, by far the world’s most badass candy apple, maxed at 576.437 km/h, in the process snagging two records: a record for Maximum Vertical Speed Without a Drogue, and a AZ state record for Greatest Freefall Speed, besides.
Set next to ±1,300 km/h, 576.437 km/h might not look that…fast.
Hoo boy, but it is.
There is so much more to this story. Let’s investigate.
The number is (!) the least interesting part
Nik’s recent performance, currently awaiting ratification, was a fundamentally different exercise from Stratos or StratEx.
Nik exited at approximately 16,499 feet AGL and ended the speed dive at approximately 5,500 feet AGL. That’s roughly 10,999 feet of vertical working distance, and the speed dive lasted approximately 30 seconds.
And, well, no drogue.
As a skydiver, you already know why that matters. At extreme speed, staying stable is the whole aerodynamic problem, and a drogue provides a stabilizing influence that helps keep a jumper out of a dangerous high-speed spin. The FAI specifically notes the drogue’s importance in Eustace’s performance. Nik had nothing doing that job for him, so his stability, body position and aerodynamic control all had to come out of his own flying.
Which makes 576 km/h a different kind of achievement from a drogue-assisted speed record.
Thirty seconds, but do it in five-second slices
Vertical velocity at five-second intervals, approximately:
⏱️ 5 seconds: 199 km/h
⏱️ 10 seconds: 355 km/h
⏱️ 15 seconds: 475 km/h
⏱️ 20 seconds: 547 km/h
⏱️ 25 seconds: 575 km/h
⏱️ 30 seconds: 568 km/h
💥 Maximum recorded speed: approximately 576 km/h.
Arguably, the shape of that curve is more interesting than the peak. Five seconds in, Nik is at about 35% of his eventual maximum. Ten seconds, nearly 62%. Fifteen, about 82.5%. Twenty, roughly 95%. By twenty-five seconds he’s at 575 km/h, which is 99.8% of the 576 km/h peak, and effectively the limit of the dive.
And then he lost it. 🍌 Argh.
At around the 25-second point, an instability. Speed dropped, down to approximately 568 km/h at the 30-second mark. He recovered control and regained speed, but by then he’d reached an aerodynamic plateau anyway.
The 576 km/h figure wasn’t a momentary uncontrolled acceleration that happened to spike. Nik was already at approximately 575 km/h before the instability, then recovered and kept operating in essentially the same extreme-speed regime.
The atmosphere? Not helping.
Altitude is the other enormous difference. Baumgartner had approximately 119,431 feet of vertical freefall distance. Nik used approximately 10,999 feet, about 9.2% of it, which means Baumgartner had nearly eleven times as much vertical distance to develop speed in. Big difference, right.
Air density is the bigger consequence. Baumgartner started in the extremely thin atmosphere of the stratosphere, and as he accelerated and descended, increasing density progressively increased drag. That’s how you build tremendous speed before the much greater resistance lower down shows up.
Nik started at 16,499 feet. Dense atmosphere almost immediately, and it got worse as he got faster. His velocity curve shows exactly that: gains shrinking as he closed on 550 to 575 km/h.
He wasn’t simply falling faster and faster. He was fighting the atmosphere.
The skill hides in the plateau
From outside, speed skydiving looks like an acceleration problem. Get into position, point down and go as fast as possible.
The data say something more complicated. Nik’s initial acceleration was substantial, but as speed built, aerodynamic forces became increasingly dominant. The final 100 km/h cost considerably more work than the first 100. At 547 km/h he was already in a regime where tiny changes in body position carry significant consequences. At 575 there was almost nothing left to gain.
And then the instability.
Recovering from an instability there isn’t a matter of finding a comfortable body position again. It means re-establishing the precise aerodynamic configuration required to keep accelerating while traveling through dense atmosphere at more than 150 meters per second. Nik managed it.
So “576 km/h” doesn’t describe the performance. This does: 576 km/h achieved and controlled without a drogue, in approximately 30 seconds, inside only 10,999 feet of vertical working distance, followed by a recovery from instability while operating near the aerodynamic limit of the dive.
Felix and Alan still matter (obvs)
Gotta say, despite the obviousness: none of this diminishes Baumgartner or Eustace. Quite the opposite. Their performances are the context that lets us understand how difficult extreme human freefall really is.
The FAI continues to recognize Baumgartner’s 1,357.6 km/h as the world record for maximum vertical speed without a drogue. Eustace’s 1,320 km/h is equally remarkable, given that he exceeded Baumgartner’s altitude record and reached almost the same speed on a drogue. The FAI recognizes it as the current maximum vertical speed with drogue record.
But those missions were enormous technological undertakings. Balloons, pressurized capsules, specialized life-support systems, custom suits, extensive engineering teams, mission control, medical expertise, sophisticated equipment. That isn’t a criticism. The objectives were extraordinary, so the resources had to be. It does make comparison with a modern speed skydiving performance difficult.
Nik’s challenge was concentrated instead. Roughly 30 seconds and roughly 11,000 feet, no drogue, and nothing but his own body position and control to extract every possible kilometer per hour from the atmosphere he had.
Are we actually measuring the wrong thing?…
If the only question is who has gone fastest, Baumgartner’s 1,357.6 km/h is the obvious benchmark and there’s nothing left to discuss.
It isn’t the only interesting question. We can also ask how fast a human can make their body fly through dense atmosphere. How much speed a jumper can extract from a few thousand meters of working altitude. How precisely a human can control their body past 500 km/h, and how quickly they can get that control back when it’s disrupted.
And the one we’d put first: how much of the performance comes from the human being, rather than from the environment and technology surrounding them?
Answer those and you get a very different hierarchy of achievement.
Nik’s pending 576 km/h doesn’t threaten Baumgartner’s absolute speed record. It doesn’t need to. Its significance is elsewhere, in what it demonstrates about human aerodynamic skill.
The public sees 576 km/h next to 1,357.6 km/h. Anyone au fait with speed skydiving sees something else: a human being holding a very precise body configuration at close to half the speed of sound, in dense atmosphere, without a drogue, with only a small vertical window to work in, then recovering from an instability near the limits of the dive.
So many people ask us what happens at a USPA B-license course (probably because we’ve run the best one since forever ::dusts shoulder off::)
We decided to do one better than just answer the question. We called on a filmmaker friend and put together a video sneak peek behind the scenes, answering the most common questions we get about the B-lic course and giving skydivers a sense of what to expect…and why ours is so damn good.
Prefer to read? Cool. Skydive Arizona shared a detailed breakdown (and the video) on their blog very recently. Check it out here.
And a big shout-out to the incomparable Laura Hampton, SDAZ’s awesome Marketing and Events Manager, for sharing this with the SDAZ community! 💝
The FAI World Championships are set to take place this fall right here at Skydive Arizona. It’s time to get ready: to train, to plan—or even to sponsor and spectate!
…And, if you’re a speeder, there’s even more for you.
The official competitor bulletin for the 6th FAI World Skydiving Championships of Speed Skydiving is now online. Check it out here, on the FAI website.
Equipment – Please note that the US Federal Aviation Administration does not have a reciprocity agreement to allow foreign skydivers to use their equipment as accepted by their own NAC. Unless the equipment has no components with a Technical Standard Order, the parachutes must be packed according to US Federal Aviation Regulations. This means packed by an FAA certified rigger, within 180 days, and with a seal on the reserve.
Donors of $25 or more will receive a letter of appreciation (which includes tax-deduction information, if applicable). Your contribution directly supports essential team registration and competition expenses, sustaining the US Parachute Team’s charitable mission today or investing in the future of U.S. competition skydiving through the US Parachute Team Trust.
A $250 or greater contribution to the U.S. Parachute Team or the U.S. Parachute Team Trust Fund recognizes you as a proud supporter, and you will receive the Limited‑Edition 2026 U.S. Parachute Team Sponsor Jersey (while supplies last).It features the same design worn in international competition and is distinguished by the word SPONSOR in recognition of your role in carrying this legacy forward—from generations past to those still to come.
Estimated to ship in July. Available while supplies last. Final product may vary.
We went through every FS dive pool image in the AXIS Draw Generator and made a round of important corrections. If you train using our draws, this one’s worth a look before your next set of rounds.
You’ll find the updated images in the Draw Generator, same place they’ve always lived: dive pool images.
We build these to match the official dive pools as closely as we can, but they’re our representations of the formations, not the rulebook itself. When something’s off, we want to hear about it. Which is exactly what happened here.
Big thanks to Andrew Vladelshchikov, who spotted the issues and brought them to us with the detail to back them up. Andrew’s a 4-way FS competitor and software engineer based in South Florida, flying indoor and outdoor with iFLY Fort Lauderdale and teams, including Volaticus and Chasin’ Tail. This is the kind of community input that keeps a shared resource like this worth using. Thank you, Andrew!
We were pretty delighted to open June’s issue of Parachutist Magazine and see AXIS all over it. ✨
In case you missed it, here’s what’s in there: a feature on our three (no-joke fantastic) new courses, Nik mugging at David Cherry’s camera over Luke AFB on a demo jump at Luke Days 2026…and. Nik’s writeup on his personal-favorite Parachutist cover.
The 2027 USPA National Skydiving Championships finally have a complete venue map! For speed skydivers, the news is worth circling on the calendar: WNYSkydiving in Albion, New York will host both Speed Skydiving and Wingsuit Nationals next year. The rest of the meet—formation skydiving, artistic events, accuracy, canopy formation, and canopy piloting—will go forward at Skydive Paraclete XP in Raeford, North Carolina.
It follows that, if you’ve been waiting on this announcement to make travel plans, book training time, or finalize your competition calendar, the wait is over. Boom.
A little behind-the-curtain context
If your spidey-sense is telling you that some of the details didn’t make the headline, you’re…well…right about that.
Speed and Wingsuiting were the only two disciplines without a 2027 host DZ when the original bid landed. Paraclete XP picked up everything else. Speed and Wingsuit were left looking for a home. For a stretch, it wasn’t clear they’d find one in time.
That’s worth understanding, because it points to something the speed community has been aware of for a while: Speed and Wingsuit tend to get bundled together in bid logistics—partly because of shared airspace and altitude considerations, partly because they sit outside the more conventional event blocks. But, as we know, the two disciplines are operationally very distinct. Speed has a small, focused competitor pool, a tightly defined performance window, and a comparatively light logistical footprint. Bundling the two as if they’re the same package can make hosting a much bigger lift than Speed actually requires on its own. And that’s…no bueno.
WNYSkydiving’s willingness to step up for both events broke the impasse. (Thanks, y’all.) Our hope going forward is that more DZs come to see Speed for what it is: a discipline that’s genuinely manageable to host, with a friendly, professional, and flexible community that’s deeply invested in making it work.
And yeah, this matters for the speed community
For anyone planning to compete in 2027: it’s most definitely not too early to start thinking about your training. Speed skydiving rewards consistent reps, careful body position work, and methodical GPS debriefing—none of which happen well in a rushed pre-comp scramble. We don’t have to tell you that the athletes who tend to do well at Nationals are the ones who’ve been logging deliberate, coached jumps for months beforehand.
An East Coast venue also reshapes the access picture. For jumpers in the eastern half of the country who’d otherwise be looking at a cross-country trip, WNYSkydiving makes Nationals a more realistic target. That’s good for the discipline’s growth, and good for the size of the field that shows up in 2027.
The AXIS take (if you’re interested)
AXIS Flight School was built around the conviction that serious skydiving disciplines deserve serious, structured training—and speed skydiving is one of the disciplines we care about most. We’re competitors (obvs), but we’ve also spent years developing coaching methodology specifically for this discipline.
That commitment shows up in a few ways:
One-on-one speed skydiving coaching at Skydive Arizona, with year-round flyable weather and the aircraft fleet to support high-volume training blocks.
ISSA speed events we host at SDAZ, which AXIS will continue to host through 2027. (Watch this space—we’ll announce dates as they’re confirmed.)
A growing library of speed skydiving education in our articles and resources, written by competitors who are actively in the discipline.
If you’re targeting Nationals 2027 — whether it’s your first comp or you’re chasing a podium — we’d love to help you get there ready. Reach out about speed coaching and we’ll talk through what an effective training program could look like for you as an individual.
One more thing worth flagging: SSScore is getting an update
For speeders who use GPS debriefing tools, a quick heads-up: Eugene Ciurana—world-class skydiver, software developer, and 2018 USPA National Speed Skydiving Championships bronze medalist—has a new version of speedskydiving.app (also known as SSScore) coming soon.
SSScore is purpose-built for speed skydiving debriefs, which makes it considerably more useful for our discipline than general-purpose flight data viewers. The new version is in final testing and worth keeping an eye on if you’re serious about getting more out of your GPS data between jumps.
Blue skies, fast times, and we’ll see you at the DZ.
Have questions about training for Speed Nationals 2027, or want to know more about ISSA events at Skydive Arizona? Get in touch—we’re always happy to talk speed.
In case you missed it last September, this feels like an apropos time to reshare the Skydive The Mag cover Nik shot: Brianne (of course), flying past a dewy dandelion at SDAZ.
Competitors from three countries attended—the USA, Australia, and China. There are eight ISSA Events in total this year, and this meet brought together several world-level veterans alongside two newcomers who had never competed in speed before.
Photo by Kay Robinson.
How the ISSA World Cup Series scoring works: Wherever a competitor did not participate in an event, the result for that meet is scored as zero. The World Cup Series overall result is the sum of each competitor’s two best meet results, regardless of the total number of events completed. Points per meet equal the meet result of a single meet. At the completion of the series, the competitor with the most points is declared the ISSA Speed Skydiving World Cup Series Champion 2026.
Day 1
Competitors jumped from Twin Otters. Surface weather conditions were excellent, but a 40 mph crosswind aloft made for more challenging jumps. Despite this, seven competitors were able to exit on a single pass, and everyone made it back to the main landing area without issue. Four rounds were completed before the winds deteriorated (and dust devils formed).
Weather data from round 1 provided by AXIS Flight School station. Round 3: 7 competitors on a single pass, flight trajectories heaviliy influenced by strong winds aloft. Brightest point shows the max score point. Exit point at name tag. Each track dot is 4 m in diameter. Map view generated by https://speedskydiving.app
Day 2
The day started later due to low clouds. Once they broke, competitors reached full altitude — but faced even stronger winds aloft than the day before. As the team was preparing to load for competition Round 7, the meet was weathered out due to dust devils and turbulent surface winds. Despite not completing all eight rounds, the competition ran smoothly. There were no technical issues requiring rejumps, and no altitude violations by the pilots. Everyone was safe and had a great time.
Graph showing all competitors vertical velocities over time in round 6. Generated by https://speedskydiving.appCompetitors in the loading area preparing for round 7 with a dust devil close by. Photo by Kay Robinson. Weather Conditions during Round 5
Making History
Quan Gan is the first and only speed skydiver to represent China since the ISSA began tracking athlete competition performances in 2000. This is significant because there are currently no claimed FAI Asian Continental Speed Skydiving records (see current FAI records). Quan’s performances over the weekend therefore represent the Asian continent’s best highest average speed at 317.68 km/h (G-1), highest overall average speed at 297.87 km/h (G-1), and maximum vertical speed without a drogue at 320.90 km/h (G-2). (However, because this ISSA meet did not have the judges necessary to ratify these records, they are not official.)
Participants from left to right: Paul Wetzel, Alexander Osborn, Mervyn O’Connell, Niklas Daniel, Brianne Thompson, Quan Gan, Joel Williamson. Photo by Kay Robinson.
Quan and Paul, who are new to competing at speed, will see their performances added to the ISSA’s Eternal Ranking list, which tracks athlete’s competion performances around the globe.
Special thanks to Michael at Flysight for providing the competition units, and to our remote judging team: Toby Adams and Alix Raymond.
Thank you to every competitor — and especially to Mervyn, who traveled here from the other side of the planet. LEGEND. The sportsmanship and camaraderie were unmistakable all weekend.
Special thanks as well to the Skydive Arizona staff and pilots who made this event possible. Training for and competing in ISSA events is a great way to learn and gain exposure to speed skydiving. For information about future events and coaching, visit www.AXISFlightSchool.com.
Upcoming World Championships
Skydive Arizona will host the 6th FAI World Skydiving Championships of Speed Skydiving in October (see bid).
Interested in competing at an ISSA event in the United States? Good news: Patrick Kessler and Lauren Pfeifer will be hosting an ISSA event at Chicago Skydiving Center (CSC) on July 17–19. For more information and to register, click here. AXIS will host the ISSA World Cup Series Finals on December 12–13 at Skydive Arizona.
