PhilRoberson.com-Phil's Skydiving Page

Skydiving Photos

Phil's Skydiving Page

Skydiving Videos

Photo by Norm Kent

So I skydive. It is one of my my passions (that's me above left, videoing a 40-way formation jump in Florida). If you are a skydiver, you probably understand. If you are not, you probably fall into one of two camps. If you cannot imagine how anyone could jump out of a perfectly good airplane, you probably would not enjoy it. If you have always wanted to jump, you would love it. Might as well jump!

I first jumped in 1980. I did two static line jumps (round mains, belly-mounted reserves) with my brother Steve in Orange, MA, and then did no more jumping for 17 years. I finally got back into it after I got married. I went with my best man and best buddy, Mike Richards, and we each did our first freefall in Pepperell, MA in 1997 (I have never done a tandem dive). It is really easy to get hooked. Most of my jumping is done at Skydive Pepperell, but I also go to Jumptown in Orange, MA. I do mostly camera flying. I currently have a USPA D License and an AFF (Accelerated FreeFall) Instructor rating. I have 2800+ jumps (as of August, 2007).

COMPETITION:
In 2004 I competed as a videographer in 4-way with Team Shin-jitsu. For 2003, I competed in Freestyle with Anne Klein, and competed in 4-way (video) with the team Galileo. In 2002, I competed in Freestyle (video) with Anne Klein, and we took second place at the U.S. Nationals in intermediate. Woo-hoo! In 2001, I flew video for Burning Daylight, a 4-way competition team.

EQUIPMENT:
I jump a Sabre2 150 in an Odyssey container with a PD143 reserve and a Cypress AAD, or a Sabre2 150 in a Javelin container with a PD160 reserve and Cypress. My jump suits are made by Tony Suits and Hanne Swenson. My current video helmet is a Skysystems' Vapor with a Sony HDV camcorder (HVR-A1U) and either a Canon digital SLR or a Canon 35mm camera, plus I have a Sony PC-1 on a NvertigoX helmet. I do all my non-linear editing on a Macintosh computer (of course) using Final Cut Pro. My video footage has appeared on CNN Headline News, New England Cable News (NECN), Fox 25 News (Boston), Fox 13 News (Tampa Bay) and RSN. Still photography has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald (front page), The Nashua Telegraph (front page), The Lowell Sun (front page), Parachutist, Skydiving Magazine and numerous local papers.

CUTAWAYS:
So far I have had two cutaways. It's good to know you can do what you have to in an emergency, but I wouldn't mind never having another.