Jim P. Slaton
James Paul Slaton (born December 31, 1970, in Amarillo, Texas) is a professional skydiving, skydiver and founder of the Pro Swooping Tour, the Canopy Piloting Circuit, and the Ground Launch Center. Military career Slaton signed up with the US Army as a Artillery observer, forward observer in 1991, and graduated from the Air Force's Close Air Support School, the US Army's Air Assault School, and then the US Army Airborne School and the 75th Ranger Regiment Ranger Indoctrination program at Ft. Benning, GA. He also completed the Navy's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape and Cold Weather Environmental Survival training at the Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine, and was honorably discharged from the US Army as a Sergeant in 1998. Parachuting career In 1999 Slaton signed on with NZ Aerosports flying their Icarus Canopies range and later that year he started a parachute factory team in the new sport of canopy piloting, or "swooping." In 2000 he produced the swooping competition, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The estimated population of Amarillo was 200,393 as of April 1, 2020. The Amarillo-Pampa- Borger combined statistical area had an estimated population of 308,297 as of 2020. The city of Amarillo, originally named Oneida, is situated in the Llano Estacado region.Rathjen, Fredrick W. ''The Texas Panhandle Frontier'' (1973). pg. 11. The University of Texas Press. . The availability of the railroad and freight service provided by the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad contributed to the city's growth as a cattle-marketing center in the late 19th century.. Retrieved on January 25, 2007. Amarillo was once the self-proclaimed " Helium Capital of the World" for having one of the country's most productive helium fields. The city is also ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Skydiving
Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For human skydiving, it may involve a phase of more or less free-falling (the skydiving segment) which is a period when the parachute has not yet been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal velocity. For cargo parachuting, the parachute descent may begin immediately, such as a parachute-airdrop in the lower atmosphere of Earth, or be significantly delayed, such as in a planetary atmosphere where an object is descending "under parachute" following atmospheric entry from space, and may begin only after the hypersonic entry phase and initial deceleration that occurs due to friction with the thin upper atmosphere. History Common uses Parachuting is performed as a recreational activity and a competitive sport, and is wi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United States Constitution (1789). See alsTitle 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001 The oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed 14 June 1775 to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.Library of CongressJournals of the Continental Congress, Volume 27/ref> The United States Army considers itself to be a continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Artillery Observer
An artillery observer, artillery spotter or forward observer (FO) is responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire onto a target. It may be a '' forward air controller'' (FAC) for close air support (CAS) and spotter for naval gunfire support (NGSF). Also known as fire support specialist (FiSTer), an artillery observer usually accompanies a tank or infantry maneuver unit. Spotters ensure that indirect fire hits targets which the troops at the fire support base cannot see. Because artillery is an indirect fire weapon system, the guns are rarely in line-of-sight of their target, often located miles away. The observer serves as the eyes of the guns, by sending target locations and if necessary corrections to the fall of shot, usually by radio. More recently, a mission controller for an Army Unmanned Air System (UAS) may also perform this function, and some armies use special artillery patrols behind the enemy's forward elements. Special forces such as the British SAS, U ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Air Assault School
The United States Army Air Assault School, officially the Sabalauski Air Assault School (TSAAS), is a Army Forces Command Table of Distribution and Allowances unit located at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Its primary task is training leaders and soldiers assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT), other United States Army units, and United States Armed Forces service members. The school is named for Command Sergeant Major Walter James Sabalauski. Air Assault School teaches several courses annually. The rigorous, fast-paced training is known as the 10 (or 11) toughest days in the United States Army. About 15 percent of the class does not make it through the first day, dubbed Zero day, which includes a demanding obstacle course. More fail to make it past sling load testing in phase two. Ultimately, roughly 55 percent fail to graduate. Background Air Assault School qualifies soldiers to conduct airmobile and air assault helicopter operations, including aircraft orientation, sling ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Airborne School
The United States Army Airborne School – widely known as Jump School – conducts the basic paratrooper (military parachutist) training for the United States Armed Forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry, United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. The Airborne School conducts the Basic Airborne Course, which is open to troops from all branches of the United States Department of Defense, Reserve Officer Training Corps, and allied military personnel. History In 1940, the War Department approved the formation of a test platoon of Airborne Infantry under the direction and control of the Army's Infantry Board. A test platoon of volunteers was organized from Fort Benning's 29th Infantry Regiment, and the 2nd Infantry Division was directed to conduct tests to develop reference data and operational procedures for air-transported troops. First Lieutenant William T. Ryder volunteered and was made the test platoon's platoon leader, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Survival, Evasion, Resistance And Escape
Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) is a training program, best known by its military acronym, that prepares U.S. military personnel, U.S. Department of Defense civilians, and private military contractors to survive and "return with honor" in survival scenarios. The curriculum includes survival skills, evading capture, application of the military code of conduct, and techniques for escape from captivity. Formally established by the U.S. Air Force at the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War, it was extended to the Navy and United States Marine Corps and consolidated within the Air Force during the Korean War with greater focus on "resistance training." During the Vietnam War (1959–1975), there was clear need for "Jungle" survival training and greater public focus on American POWs. As a result, the U.S. military expanded SERE programs and training sites. In the late 1980s, the U.S. Army became more involved with SERE as Special Forces and "Spec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Canopy Piloting
Canopy piloting (also known as swooping) encompasses several disciplines, all involving the flight of a skydiving parachute. "Swooping" is a form of canopy piloting associated with advanced skydiving. Given the close proximity to the ground during the various maneuvers, as an exhibition swooping is spectator friendly. Records World records that have been recorded and verified include{{cite web , url=http://www.fai.org/record-parachuting , title=Parachuting , publisher=Fai.org , accessdate=17 May 2013 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629231803/http://www.fai.org/record-parachuting , archivedate=29 June 2015 : :G-1-f1 : Distance - General - Canopy Piloting Records : 151.95m :Date of : 15 June 2012 :Parachutist(s): Nick Batsch (USA) :Canopy type: Daedalus JPX Petra :Course/place: Rockmart, GA (USA) :G-1-f2 : Speed over a 70m course - General - Canopy Piloting Records : 2.404 sec :Date of : 15 June 2012 :Parachutist(s): Greg Windmiller (USA) :Canopy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national "newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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International Parachuting Commission
The International Skydiving Commission (ISC) of the ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale'' (FAI) conducts the FAI's parachuting and skydiving activities, particularly the World Records and International Competitions. The commission was formerly known as the International Parachuting Commission, and changed its name on 6 December 2019, at the FAI General Conference in Lausanne Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac .... References External links * Old International Parachuting Commission website Parachuting organizations Organisations based in Lausanne {{Air-sports-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lake Isabella, California
Lake Isabella (formerly, Isabella) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Kern County, California, United States. It is named after the Lake Isabella reservoir and located at its southwestern edge, south of Wofford Heights in the Kern River Valley. The town of Lake Isabella is located east-northeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of . The population was 3,466 at the 2010 census, up from 3,315 at the 2000 census. Geography Lake Isabella is located in Hot Springs Valley, part of the Kern River Valley, at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , over 98% of it land. Lake Isabella is at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Kern River. These rivers are 'wild', in that they are not controlled by any dam upstream. Upstream on the North Fork white water enthusiasts play in the spring and early summer. The famous Golden Trout originate in these rivers in the high country to the north. History The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |