
Category Archives: UPT
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.

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.
Skydive Radio Photo of the Week Show #253!
I would like to thank Dave at Skydive Radio for making my image below their pic of the week! Skydive Radio is the world’s leading internet radio show dedicated to the sport of skydiving. Weekly episodes include commentary, feature interviews with industry insiders, listener-contributed photos, and e-mails from an audience that spans the globe.
To watch the video of the intensional cutaways, click here.

SKYHOOK Video
Check out our latest YouTube video where we deep dive the differences between a regular RSL (reserve static line) and a Skyhook equipped RSL. Brianne interviews UPT rep/rigger Greg Rau in the AXIS Flight School studio, as well as enjoying a weekend of intensional cutaways.
Greg Rau: “In an emergency there is a lot of other things involved, and the lower you take it, you’re just buttering up your disaster cake.”











Skyhook Deployment Video
I would like to thank UPT‘s Riley Marshall, and Lesley Gale at SkydiveMag for showing off some of my photos and videos in a feature article about the Skyhook (MARD). To learn more about the Main-Assisted Reserve Deployment system, and how it differs from a Reserve Static Line (RSL), check out the full article MARDginal Analysis.
Brianne Thompson cuts away with the Skyhook, filmed by Niklas Daniel over Skydive Arizona, Video by AXIS Flight School.
A Video Experiment
AXIS Flight School is trying something new during the COVID-19 shuttdown. Since jumpers and tunnel flyers are grounded for a while, AXIS is giving workout realted videos a try on its YouTube channel. The new content is intended to support physical skills relevant to skydiving, rather than focusing on aesthetics. In the first video, Nik covers the topic of grip strength and shares some of the excersises he does to stay in jumping shape. If you enjoy this kind of content and would like to see more, please let us know in the comment section of the video. Happy Training!
Disclaimers: Niklas Daniel is not a doctor or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. AXIS Flight School will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death.
Nik’s Deland Fling
60000 and counting
AXIS Flight School instructor Brianne Thompson is featured on the latest Performance Designs advertisement flying the PDR.
Fly Smart. Train Hard.

Photo by Samantha Schwann
Being competitors at heart, Niklas and Brianne do their best to improve on a daily basis. This applies not only to competitions, but also their business and life’s work – AXIS Flight School. AXIS has gone through an incredible online transformation, which could be called a “Cyber Grand Re-opening”. These changes have been taking place behind the scenes for over two years.
The AXIS website has always been packed with lots of useful tools and information. In order to make the site more user friendly and to keep up with the times more than a facelift was needed. In fact, we started over. Major improvements include a color coded menu system which is easy to navigate, condensed information on every page, and not to be overlooked – The AXIS Skydiving Repository. Here we developed a digital sorting system that categorizes all or our articles and reference materials for faster recall. Now users can search for categories such as solo skills, canopy, camera, and much more to find what you are looking for.
In addition, AXIS Flight School now uses sig.ma, a platform on which you can keep track of accomplishments, IDs, licenses, merits, etc. in a digital form. This allows us to send merits to students who have demonstrated their proficiency to our AXIS Coaches™ and acknowledge their achievements. Available Merits are displayed at the top of each web page, and their colors correspond to the new menu system.
Our online tools are still available to all for free. All AXIS dive pool images, Draw Generator, and ChronoPrism have all been updated with the new 2019 formations.