
Category Archives: Brianne Thompson
Foundations of Flight | Canopy Turns, Spirals and Spins
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Foundations of Flight | Ram-air parachute anatomy – Cross-bracing
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Niklas Daniel wins 2022 USPA Speed Skydiving Nationals
The 2022 United States Parachute Association National Championships were held at Skydive Chicago September 2nd – 21st. AXIS Flight School coaches Brianne and Nik participated in speed skydiving, which had a total of 14 competitors (see scores below).
Over the course of two days, the competitors completed 8 jumps to attempt their fastest terminal velocity. This is measured by a Speed Measuring Device (SMD) worn on their helmets. This device records GPS positioning and the judges use the data to view the speeds reached on each jump. The fastest 3 consecutive seconds recorded during a jump determines the final score. The competitor with the highest accumulative score at the end of the meet wins. For more information about speed skydiving, check out the USPA Skydiving Competition Manual (SCM Chapter 15).

Nik took first place with a total of 4,043.62kmh (2512.59mph), averaging 505.5kmh (314.10mph). He is only the second person, after Marco Hepp during the German Nationals 10Sep22, to consistently break the 500kmh barrier in all 8 rounds. 2021 World Champion Kyle Lobpries reached a total of 4,021.04 (avg 502.6kmh) for second place, and TJ Landgren got third with a total of 3,865.45kmh (avg 483.2kmh).

In addition, Brianne and Nik set two Illinois state records with their highest scoring rounds in the female and open categories respectively:
Brianne – 395.20kmh / 245.57mph
Nik – 509.45kmh / 316.56mph
Both Nik and Brianne secured their slots on the USA Speed Team for the 2023 World Cup in Prostejov, Czech Republic.



With the World Championships with less than a month away, Nik is looking forward to competing at his home dropzone – Skydive Arizona.
AXIS Flight School would like to thank all of its Sponsors for their continued support!

CYPRES How to Videos
AXIS Flight School deepdives the use and technical specs of CYPRES AADs in this 11 part video series. For more tutorials and fun videos, check out the AXIS YouTube Channel and subscribe.
Operation Enduring Warrior through Joost’s eyes
Foundations of Flight | Flare Technique
OEW Skydive student Jonathon Blank receives USPA A-License
We would like to congratulate Jonathon on receiving his USPA A-License. Over the course of several visits, Jonathon has trained with AXIS Flight School at Skydive Arizona. He has been on a custom training program to meet all the USPA standards and we are very proud of him and his success.

1st Swoop Du Jour Canopy Piloting Competition at Skydive Arizona
On February 18th, Skydive Arizona held its first local Swoop Du Jour canopy piloting competition.

M’m! M’ m! Good!
An informal Canopy Piloting competition where the main objective is for beginner pilots to learn the competition rules AND for the professionals to get practice. There were judges, prizes and soup.

Coaching and video debriefing was provided by PD Factory Team Member Justin Price. Competitors jump the course as many times as they want and the top three scores were used to determine standings.
There was a Pro-Class and a Beginner Class. The first competition focused only on Zone Accuracy Landings. Anyone who is signed off to land at the pond can participate in the upcoming Swoop Du Jour events. Future 2022 Dates: April 15 / June 4 / August 20 / November 19 / December 17
If you have any questions about the competition, reach out to Events@skydiveaz.com

OEW Skydive Update: Jonathon Blank

Back in September 2021, Operation Enduring Warrior (OEW Skydive) sent Jonathon to AXIS Flight School at Skydive Arizona to get them ready for their custom Accelerated Freefall (AFF) program. Over the course of three days, Jonathon trained with Brianne Thompson, Niklas Daniel, and Joost Luijsterburg, getting him through his First Jump Course (FJC), flying 15 minutes in the Skyventure Arizona wind tunnel, and completing two succesful skydives.
What follows is a pictoral of Jonathon’s progress.













Unfortunately we got weathered out by strong winds and were unable to continue jumping.

We look forward to flying with Jonathon again in early March, completeing his A-Licesene and beyond.