Shannon Pilcher

Started Skydiving: 1991
Licenses/Ratings: D-18803, PRO Exhibition Rating, FAA Senior Rigger
Total Skydives: 20,000+
Camera: 1,000
Freefly: 600
RW/FS: 9,000
Hop-n-Pops: 5,500
High Alt. Hop-n-Pops: 3,000+
Other: 600 (Wingsuit, Demos, CReW, AFF, Tandems, Skysurf)
BASE Jumps: 90
Cutaways: 1 Freefall, 4 Subterminal

SKYDIVING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2005 Skydiver of the Year, SKYDIVING Magazine Readership Poll
Professional Skydiving Coach/Speaker (1997-Present), including Australian, Austrian, Brazilian, British, Canadian, Irish, and Norwegian national teams
News Journalist, Skydiving Magazine (1996-2001)
Three-Time Collegiate National Champion Team (Ga. Tech, 1991-93)

WORLD RECORDS
2009 - 4-way most formations in 35 seconds
2005 - Distance (CP) 418ft
2002 - Distance (CP) 478ft
2000 - 16-Way (FS): 19 pts

EXPEDITIONS
2010 Switzerland – Swiss Alps
2007 Arizona - Grand Canyon
2006 France - Mt. Blanc
2006 Italy - Dolomites
2003, 2005, 2006 Norway - Fjords

HISTORY/TEACHING EXPERIENCE
I logged my first skydive in the autumn of 1991.  I now have more than 16,000 jumps, including numerous national and world titles in multiple disciplines.  I was dragged through student status so that I might fill the vacant position on our soon-to-be collegiate championship team. Sixteen years later, I and one of those college teammates won the coveted world title, and were publicly recognized as "Skydivers of the Year."  Our team went on to found Flight-1, where we teach and coach teams and individuals throughout the world.  

Should DZs restrict the size of turn on landing and to how much?  Are there any exceptions?

Yes, drop zones should designate landing areas according to the degree of turns being used by the landing jumpers.  And they should ensure that the airspace above does NOT overlap or conflict.  The horizontal speed of today's parachutes is greater than ever before, which means we cover more distance across the ground than ever before -- as we fly and as we land.  The difference is we have no engine.  So once we've committed to a maneuver, we cannot abort or change course, or add power and climb.  Yet we have proportionately smaller landing areas, and far fewer rules or procedures than aircraft, which do have the ability to change course.  Imagine if airports went only as far as designating a landing direction (as many DZs do), with just an open field and planes of all sizes and speeds allowed to enter the field from any altitude or angle at any given time.  And before doing so, they had to kill the engine.  It would never work.  In a very short time there would be runways and specified patterns for all aircraft to follow.  Oh wait - that is how it already is. Has that inhibited the advancement of aircraft technology, or the opportunities for pilots to push the boundaries of flight?  On the contrary, it has helped to nurture a safer flying environment, which has in turn fostered, not hindered, the evolution of aviation.