The Drop

News and Resources from AXIS Flight School


Category: USPA

  • In this installment, we help you to stay calm, navigate a couple of tricky cognitive traps, and—quite literally—use your head. Enjoy! To view past issues of the series, click on the links below: Part 1: Beyond Imprinting Part 2: Holding Area Part 3: Landing Pattern Part 4: Pattern Transformations Part 5: Pattern Adjustments

  • In this installment, we help you use the precision landing protocols shared in the previous installments even when the world is not cooperating with your plans. Enjoy! Editors Note (illustration clarification): In the second image above (Medium/Strong Winds), the final leg should be shorter and the base leg closer to the target than the No/Light…

  • The December 2025 Issue of Parachutist is hitting mailboxes. 💌 As promised, in it is the next installment of Foundations of Flight: Approaching with Confidence. Enjoy! And remember that we’re always here to answer your questions. If you missed (or want to refresh yourself on) the previous chapter, click here.

  • AXIS Flight School published its first Foundations of Flight article in Parachutist Magazine back in April of 2011. (Hard to believe, right?!) Since then, we’ve used FoF to cover a huge number of freefall and canopy piloting topics, spanning everything from the A-lic fundamentals to the stuff at the pointiest end of the sport. While…

  • Or: How to read FAI Records, for the Comp-Curious What you’re looking at If you’ve ever wondered how official speed skydiving records are tracked and certified, the FAI “at-a-glance” tables offer a fascinating snapshot. These tables summarise the current world and continental benchmarks recognised by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) — the governing body for…

  • Skydive Elsinore, California — The 2025 U.S. Parachute Association (USPA) Speed Skydiving Nationals are in the books, and AXIS Flight School’s Niklas Daniel has claimed his fourth consecutive national title. Despite tricky weather and a few equipment curveballs, the event delivered intense competition, record-setting performances, and the emergence of a powerhouse U.S. national team ready…

  • As published in Parachutist Magazine, September 2025

  • Ah, the USPA Pro: that rating that puts all the focus on canopy flying skills—more to the point, accuracy—to avoid our sport leading the news when somebody swoops in and smacks a newly-christened municipal goalpost. If you want to high-five the front row at the airshow, this is the stamp of approval you’re going to…

  • Who Says Solos Can’t Be Fun? The Challenge of Speed Skydiving ISSA.one

  • USPA will hold a July 15-31 special election to fill the vacancy on the board. For more information visit: axisflightschool.com/nd4nd