One of the most important lessons in all of skydiving is about checking your assumptions. You don’t have to spend long in the sport before discovering, often the embarrassing way, that people can easily be the opposite of what they seem. Someone wearing the newest, fanciest gear and projecting the grandest aspirations might be new, while a storied legend of old might look like they sleep under a bridge. One of the best things about the whole show is there are no shortcuts, and while privilege might help you along, ultimately if you want to be good you have to do the work. We learn that well-used is not a bad thing, and that function over form is how things really get done.

Time in the sport conditions us to filter old things and new things with different eyes than before. Fancy stuff is nice to have, but in truth, a dropzone is simply a plane that goes up in the sky and a field to land in. Everything else is of flexible importance. Or is it? As a regular skydiver, you may be fine with the shower door hanging off a little bit so long as the water is warm, or the roof of the classroom that leaks when it rains because you don’t go in there anymore, or taking a nap on the very questionable couch in the corner of the hangar because it is comfy and you can hear the calls from there.

However, with a lot of choices for an exciting activity on which people might spend their time and money, the details matter. Margins are forever tight, and we need more people to start skydiving and keep skydiving.  That old, faded photo of the dropzone that everyone has been using for briefings still technically gets the job done, but is not exactly creating a stellar first impression. Your students are possibly/probably here because they saw something cool on the internet, and now you are waving a black and white photo from 1987 at them and explaining that this field here is a housing estate now. Everyone who comes to jump needs a briefing, so why not upgrade this crucial piece of infrastructure to something big, bold and wonderful? 

CYPRES make these and you can have one for free. All you need to do is…

– Take a proper photograph of the area. 

– Show us what you want your banner to display.

– Put it up where everyone can benefit.

The Photos Part:

Use a proper camera. Action cameras are not fit for purpose because they are too wide and the resolution is too low. Lens too small yo. Sending in a screen grab and asking for the biggest banner we make is not going to work. Also, please don’t send a screen capture from Google Maps, because that is dumb. A wide-ish photo is ok, but the wider the lens you use, the more it will distort the distances and positions represented on the banner, and y’know… it is a map. 

Do a jump for this purpose alone. You need to be over the top, or again the ground will be displayed all wonky – and while it is not impossible to get this done during some other skydive, you will most likely want to have images from a bit higher than normal break-off (it depends, but like 6k or 7k is the sweet spot). Also, safety first – so go solo and nail it without compromising your attention trying to do it at the same time as something else. 

Tip: Frame it in the desired direction while in the air, as this gives you more options later.        

The Hazards Part:

Let us know what you want. It is up to you how to show the relevant information about hazards and directions and such. You can be as elaborate or as simple as you like, but aim for what is best for everyone. If your current material is accurate, you can just send that along with any relevant notes. You could also whip out some image editing software and get nerdy about it. What we do ask to include is your dropzone logo in one corner and the CYPRES logo in the other, so please allow for this in the submitted image and requests.

Tip: It might take a few emails back and forth to get things as you want them. Don’t be scared, we are nice.    

The Optics Part:

Hang it up! We make these because they are an important part of the skydiving process, and because everybody sees them. We are always looking for ways to support dropzones and skydiving communities all around the world and we like making these because they are striking and (most importantly) useful. Helping skydiving develop is what CYPRES has always been, and will always be about.

Tip: The bigger it is, the more people you can brief at the same time. A giant map that nobody can miss also serves as a great meeting point for all kinds of stuff.   

Why not do these few things and get a sweet new banner for your dropzone? It is easy, and they are super good.