It was a real pleasure to see all the friends of the Challenge again, and to make some great skydives together
We arrived one day before the event to be ready on May 27 at 6:45 am. (by the way, I noticed that there is now a train from Phoenix airport to car rental, very practical! They are always improving things in that destination. 😃
To begin was a welcome for the participants by Airspeed, who explained the plan for the following four days. The jumpers were divided into groups to start the jumps, the first and second days being 20-ways.
Image by Mark ‘Trunk’ Kirschenbaum
Something new and interesting was that we all went up at the same time; 60 people divided into three planes, with a single jump run, and each group of 20 leaving from three planes. So, even in the small jumps we always had interesting views and varied exits, since every jump we changed aircraft.
Each Airspeed coach has a very different personality that brings you something interesting. Niklas, Mikhail, Joey and Chris generated quality jumps and challenges. It showed that they prepared everything with great enthusiasm and dedication. The quality time they devoted to this event is very much appreciated by the participants, it’s for pure pleasure!
The third and fourth days were 62-ways, where the formations came out really well in just one or two attempts. The team in general was very well selected and there was talent for whatever challenges were presented.
The principal formation was the Sword of Ottley, in honor of the current world champions [Arizona Airspeed]. After several years of the Sword being in the hands of Belgium, it was returned to the United States, thanks to a great job from Airspeed in the last world competitions, bravo guys!
Before going up for this jump, and it being Memorial Day, we had a brief and emotional tribute by Amy Chmelecki flying the USA flag and Tony Peralta performing with his trumpet in honor of those who died in the line of duty. After this, we boarded for the big jump!
Image by Mark ‘Trunk’ Kirschenbaum
Things I liked the most:
The coaches did not allow themselves to be complacent or soft with their friends, always pushing the participants to give more, thus respecting everyone’s effort.
- Always using the 3 planes, even with small groups I thought it was excellent for visuals and variety.
- The selection of participants was good.
- Excellent overall organization.
- Efficient operation of the DZ (times, planes, oxygen, spaces, manifest, packers, pilots).
- Challenging formations.
- Quick dirtdives without taking too much time (this comes hand in hand with a good selection).
Thanks Airspeed, see you at the next one!
AZ Challenge 2023 Memories
Photos by Mark ‘Trunk’ Kirschenbaum and Taylor Buffington. More photos on the Arizona Airspeed Facebook page.
