Blog

Parachute Buyer’s Guide

November 16, 2023
Jen

Buying a skydiving canopy is a mystifying experience if you don’t know your semi-ellipticals from your fully ellipticals. Or the difference between crossbracing and Crossfire. […]

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Aerodynamics for Dummies: More Glide Ratio

September 19, 2023
Jen

Now that you know the theory of Glide Ratio from our last lesson, how does that translate for you in the sky? In this episode […]

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SLeia Review: Why I Can’t Live Without My Queen

September 12, 2023
David Lang

In the realm of the sky, where it’s pure wild flight, Soon returns a legend, dark as the night, With heavy metal spirit, she takes […]

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Aerodynamics for Dummies: Glide Ratio

August 4, 2023
Julien PEELMAN

We’ve been lifted and dragged into the Dark Side (like what we did there?) in our Aerodynamics for Dummies series. Now it’s time to join […]

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Leia Modified: A Short History

July 27, 2023
Jen

Tension knots and firm openings. Two things skydivers are not lovers of. And canopy manufacturers even less so. It all started with one or two […]

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Leia Review: A Wild Princess

July 13, 2023
Jen

Our beautiful Leia has had a rollercoaster of a ride since her inception back in 2014. She’s gone through a few transformations over the years. […]

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JYRO Boogie 2023

June 24, 2023
Jen

What.A.Week. JYRO Boogie 2023. It goes without saying, what happens at Farm, stays at Farm. Needless to say, it was a lot of skydiving, fun […]

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NZ Aerosports. Icarus Canopies. Now JYRO

May 8, 2023
Shannon

WE’VE REBRANDED! We’re just JYRO now. JYRO is the next generation of NZ Aerosports. It honours our founder, Paul ‘Jyro’ Martyn, of course, because it […]

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Women in Skydiving: Project 19

February 20, 2023
Jen

What started as a way to celebrate and honour the women in the US who fought for the right to vote 100 years ago, soon […]

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Aerodynamics for Dummies: The Drag

January 12, 2023
Julien PEELMAN

Aerodynamics for Dummies is back! Our second lesson from Professor Peelman is taking on the Dark Side of the Force (feel free to read that […]

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JYRO Gift Guide

December 8, 2022
Shannon

It’s that time of the year… If you’re struggling with what to put under the tree this year for your flying mates or the special […]

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How to Train as a Skydive Team

December 6, 2022
Dan Guest

So you’ve been hanging out at the DZ for a while and gotten to know a few skydivers. You get chatting about what you love […]

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10 Things About Canopy Flocking

August 23, 2022
Zack Rosser

As a canopy manufacturer, we’re all about getting the most out of your canopy. Amazingly enough, we aren’t just about swooping. There is plenty of […]

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Aerodynamics for Dummies: What is lift?

May 31, 2022
Julien PEELMAN

We’ve got our lab coats, safety goggles and pens at the ready – it’s time for some science sh%t. Julien Peelman (our Brain Child) has […]

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Flying Habits to Start for Highly Effective Canopy Pilots

May 17, 2022
Jen

Are you just out of AFF? Got your A license and are buzzing to get stuck in? Or have you been devoting all your time […]

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Research and Development: Tales from the JYRO Test Jumpers

February 9, 2022
Jen

Wanna know all about research and development and tales from our JYRO (Previously NZ Aerosports) Test Jumpers, aka the Testies? Then carry on reading. ‘Cos […]

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Buying Skydive Gear For Your Next Adventure

December 28, 2021
Dan Guest

Dan Guest, from the UK VFS team Omni 99, is our JYRO (Previously NZ Aerosports) Athlete answering this month’s questions for us. It’s all about […]

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Best of Skydiving Videos: JYRO

December 20, 2021
Jen

Best of skydiving videos brought to you byJYRO (Previously NZ Aerosports). Our best of videos since 2017… All in one place so you can feast […]

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Getting Competition Fit: 5 JYRO Athletes Top Tips

November 30, 2021
Jen

Thinking of getting into competition and wanting to know what it takes to get there? We asked 5 of our athletes to give their top […]

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Best Skydiving Stunts: 3 Examples from JYRO Athletes

November 14, 2021
Jen

Holy Skydiving Stunt, Batman! We got in touch with 3 of our athletes to give us their best skydiving stunt stories. 3 skydives by 3 athletes […]

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Inclusivity in skydiving: Robin Harris gives her insight

August 20, 2021
Jen

Robin Harris, canopy pilot, lover of XRW and all-round Badass gives her insight into inclusivity in skydiving. Directly taken from the article written by Melanie […]

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If I was a Beginner Skydiver Again…

May 4, 2021
Jen

As a baby skydiver, beginner of the sport and newb to all things falling from planes, making mistakes and learning from them is part and […]

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18 Levels of Swooping: Which one are you?

February 2, 2021
Shannon

Swooping, it comes in many forms, abilities, delusions… we’ve listed the 18 levels of swooping below. We go from high to low in our levels of swooping. Starting with those skydivers that glide across the water with seemingly no effort. Think Cornelia, Cedric, Nick, Jeffro. And then head through the levels from your toggle stabbers right down to beginner skydivers. Have a read and see if you can identify yourself.

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JYRO Beginner Series: Videos

January 20, 2021
Jen

For all our baby skydivers out there, this one’s for you. The JYRO (previously NZ Aerosports) Beginner Series will be going through some of the […]

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JYRO Test Jumpers: An Introduction

December 10, 2020
Jen

Some might say they have the most exciting job at JYRO (Previously NZ Aerosports). You may even go so far as to say they have […]

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5 Examples of gear hook up mistakes

November 19, 2020
Jen

Skydive gear hook up mistakes happen. And when you consider this gear is gonna save your life, you’d think it would be a rare occurrence, […]

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Crossfire 3 Review: The Art of Having Fun

October 15, 2020
Maria

“The transition and progression from the Safire 3 to Crossfire 3 was simple yet drummed excitement with its performance possibilities.  As a self-confessed conservative canopy […]

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Managing energy levels in skydiving: 5 key ways

October 11, 2020
Jen

Alethia Austin gave a great webinar on managing energy levels in skydiving. If you missed it, you can check it out on our YouTube channel. […]

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Petra Review: Amazing piece of modern parachute engineering

October 7, 2020
Maria

“The Petra is an amazing piece of modern engineering. It took all JYRO (Previously NZ Aerosports) knew about canopy piloting and pushed it so far […]

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JYRO Quarantine Diaries: The Videos

September 23, 2020
Jen

The JYRO (Previously Icarus) Quarantine Diaries brought to you by our illustrious JYRO Test Jumper. There were days, many days, where they weren’t sure what […]

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Weatherhold Woogie 2020: Part 2 Videos

September 22, 2020
Jen

Back in March & April (was that this year? We can’t remember…) we decided to hold the first ever Woogie (an online web boogie) to […]

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Formation Skydiving: Top Tips for Beginner Skydivers

September 17, 2020
Jen

Yasmin Schuette, from the German all-female 4way FS team Skynamite, gives her top tips in formation skydiving. Read below to find out what canopy she […]

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JYRO Test Jump Diaries: The Videos

September 9, 2020
Jen

Normally reading someone’s diary is a no no. Not here though. Our JYRO (Previously Icarus) Testies have provided some of their top secret diary entries […]

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10 skydiving Instagram accounts to follow

September 1, 2020
Jen

10 skydiving Instagram accounts to follow during 2020   Wanna follow some cool skydiving Instagram accounts? We’ve got you sorted! We went through our following […]

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Get Current in Skydiving: 4 More Lessons

August 26, 2020
Jen

Our Icarus (now JYRO) Testies have been putting together their top tips on how to get current in skydiving. We’ve had the first 6 lessons […]

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Style and Light in photography: Sharing Perspectives

August 19, 2020
Jen

If you haven’t read Sharing Perspectives in Photography: Composition, please check it out. It is well worth the read and gives some super cool perspectives […]

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5 Ways Meditation Can Be Valuable in Skydiving

August 5, 2020
Jen

Andrew Keir, a.k.a AK from AWOL, held a webinar on meditation, yoga and how to use those practices to benefit skydiving during our Weatherhold Woogie. […]

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Sharing perspectives in Photography: Composition

July 28, 2020
Jen

Just like Fine Art, photography lends itself to personal interpretation. One person’s masterpiece can be another person’s rubbish. Similarly, skydiving photography is no exception to […]

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6 Lessons on How to Get Current for Skydiving

July 9, 2020
Maria

As the world, skies and dropzones keep opening up to the new normal, the Chris’s have put together a wee #BackToSky lesson plan for any […]

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Dropzone life and COVID-19

June 12, 2020
Maria

Dropzone life during a global pandemic is… What is it actually? And what is it like to be a dropzone owner? To find out we caught […]

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Circle of Awareness – navigating a global crisis

May 8, 2020
Mikey Lovemore

It should come as no surprise that as skydivers, we deal with A LOT of anxiety. We’re taught to check our “circle of awareness” from […]

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Strong enough to flare or not? Myths busted!

May 1, 2020
Cornelia Mihai

As females in a male-dominated sport, we’ve all heard it before. “You’re too weak to flare your parachute” or “you’re a girl, so you’re not […]

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10 Examples of Skydiving Mistakes

April 28, 2020
Jen

Pushing the boundaries can often lead to skydivers taking unnecessary risks. We asked 10 experienced canopy pilots to give examples of mistakes they made and […]

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Kian Bullock’s Guide to Taking Great Photos

April 15, 2020
Kian Bullock

Our very own Icarus (now JYRO) Athlete, Kian Bullock, has put together a little guide on how to take great photos. He has skydived all […]

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Weatherhold Woogie 2020 | Part 1 Videos

April 9, 2020
Jen

We’re all in the same position across the globe for the first time ever, but who says we shouldn’t be entertained during that time! The […]

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JYRO Boogie 2020: The Fun That Was Had

March 31, 2020
Shannon

Hot damn, that was a mighty-fine weekend!! The one boogie that you’d still turn up to when the forecast was this bad, and it ended […]

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Ladies and their Gear Vol.1

February 5, 2020
Shannon

We recently saw a lot of threads on social media about canopy choices, wingloadings, downsizing and specifically the challenges faced by ladies. We decided to […]

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Catching up with Luci “Blah-Fairy” Martyn

January 16, 2020
Shannon

From tweeny dropzone kid to Executive Director of the world’s coolest (ahem, not biased) Parachute Manufacturer, Luci “Blahfairy” Martyn is full of laid back charm […]

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What’s New in 2020 | JYRO Research & Development

January 13, 2020
Shannon

With Chris, Chris and Chris’s debuts onto the big screen with our Summer of Live Facebook videos and infamous Point Break poster appearances, you’d be […]

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Emergency Procedures: Staying out of the Danger Zone

January 8, 2020
Jen

We’ve all been there. That moment you land your parachute and think “I shouldn’t have done that”. Do you think about your emergency procedures before […]

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21 Ways To Keep Your Canopy Looking Good!

December 10, 2019
Jen

Your shiny new canopy has arrived on your doorstep. You open the package eagerly, pull out the canopy and give a little squeal of delight! […]

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World Cup Triumph – Cedric Veiga Rios wins Gold

December 4, 2019
Jen

It was a great turn out for the 10th FAI World Cup in Canopy Piloting with 101 competitors representing 24 countries. Billy Sharman and his […]

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Kraken Review: A Kraken Good Wingsuit Canopy

July 25, 2019
Shannon

The Kraken has finally been released! Almost the longest product release in Icarus Canopies (now JYRO) history (beaten only by Petra’s infamous 3 year debut), […]

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Safire 3 Review: Lady Safina, How I Love Thee

April 29, 2019
Shannon

Jill Grantham is a travelling gypsy from Australia with 1900 jumps and 12 years in the sport. She has hair like Rapunzel, a penchant for […]

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Aftermarket Linesets


Shannon

Aftermarket linesets can be an attractive option when you start adding up the price of skydiving. But is it worth it? We asked our Team […]

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25 Ways to Become a Better Canopy Pilot

February 4, 2019
Shannon

Lots of people decide to quit skydiving because of their canopy skills—they’re afraid of injury or perhaps just the embarrassment of a bad landing. And statistics show that the most hazardous part of a skydive begins once a jumper is under a fully functioning canopy. But don’t let a lack of knowledge or skill keep you from the sport that you love—there are many ways to improve your confidence and safety under canopy. Even the people who win medals and dazzle crowds will tell you that they, too, have room for improvement.

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Downsizing checklist for skydivers

February 3, 2019
Attila Csizmadia

“So I came up with a downsizing checklist of canopy control skills everyone should have before downsizing. Some are survival skills – being able to […]

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Canopy Flight versus Canopy Ride

February 5, 2018
Shannon

I was inspired to write this article on “canopy flight versus canopy ride” by the tales of Ike Arus in the Skysailor magazine (HGFA Publication). […]

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World Meet 2016: A short story by Jyro


Marika Taumoli

Jyro may have been known for his innovation and canopy design, but what is less known was his amazing storytelling skills. Have a read below […]

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