Don Cross - Chief Instructor, AFF Instructor, Tandem Master, Pilot and Drop Zone Operator
Since doing his first jump in 1985, Don Cross has achieved much in the sport of skydiving. Of note, he was awarded the AUSTRALIAN SPORTS MEDAL 2000 by the Prime Minister Mr John Howard, and the Governor General Sir William Dean.
Don has achieved over 10,000 skydives in his career and when he isn’t jumping out of planes you’ll find him flying them. You just can’t keep his feet on the ground.
In 1999 he was awarded the Diploma of Excellence in Formation Skydiving from the Federal Aeronautique Internationale – the International Skydiving Federation. His 8 Way team still holds the Australian Record for the maximum number of formations scored, a record made at the World Championships in 1999.
A veteran of competition Don has won 8 National Skydiving Championships in his time, the most recent being 2007. In 2008 Don became a World Champion by representing Australia in Formation Skydiving in a veterans event for parachutists over 40 years of age.
After 20 years of continuous service and over 1000 military jumps in the Australian ARMY Don still maintains his ties, as a Reservist, by providing parachute instruction when required. Don is also a highly qualified Coach and Instructor with an Associate Diploma in Vocational Training.
Louise Cross - AFF Instructor, Drop Zone Safety Officer and Drop Zone Operator
Louise has completed 1500 jumps since 1987. She has been an active instructor at several drop zones, and came to Victoria with Don Cross to run Skydive Nagambie.
Louise has been competing at State and National Level since the beginning of her skydiving career, and was a member of Australia's largest women's freefall formations in 1990 and 1992. She was also a member of the largest mixed freefall formation in the country in 1993. After just 3 years of skydiving, Louise became the Victorian Intermediate runner up State Champion!
Since 1991, she has focused on teaching and coaching others in the sport of skydiving. With her impeccable safety record, Louise is also the Drop Zone Safety Operator for all disciplines. With the friendliest manner on the microphone, you will find Louise at manifest most weekends, getting people organised to get in the plane and go jumping!
1991 - APF AFF Instructor
1994 - Level 2 Coaching Accreditation
1997 - Instructor B Rating
2000 - Drop Zone Safety Officer (all disciplines)
2000 - Australian Canopy Relative Work Crest
Lee Barton - Tandem Instructor, AFF Instructor, Drop Zone Safety Officer
Lee has been jumping since 1989 when he did his first static line jump at Corowa and has since clocked up over 1600 jumps. Lee gained his Instructor rating in 2000 and loves taking people for their first skydive experience whether it be AFF or Tandem.
He enjoys many aspects of skydiving including RW and video but doesn’t get time to attend to them as much these days due to parental and work commitments. Lee’s present goals are to keep on pulling drogues until his wonderful daughter is old enough to do a tandem and to get into some big way formations and CRW.
When he’s not skydiving you can find Lee chasing crooks on his jetski. Water Rats eat ya heart out!
Steph Bensley - AFF Instructor, Cameraperson, Formation Skydiving Champion, Rigger
Steph started skydiving at the age of 16 and now has over 3200 jumps. She participated in the 81 way Australian record in 1999, and completed her AFF Instructor rating in 2000.
Steph has spent a lot of time jumping at various locations in the States, building up skills and has competed in teams around Australia. In 08 Steph competed at the World champs in France with her team Snatch Force. Most recently she won the National Championships with her new team Rotor Out and broke the Australian record for turning the most points in a formation Skydive.
Carsten Boeving - AFF Instructor, Brel Tutor, 8-way Champ!
Carsten has been jumping for 5 years, enjoying 4-way and 8-way competitions around Australia. He loves to compete in skydiving teams - he continually professes, "the camaraderie experienced in a good team is not matched by anything!"
Carsten loves introducing AFF students into the world of skydiving, and hopes to convert all of them into 4-way champions.
Andrew Daniels - IB, AFF, Tandem
Ever since 'Danny' Daniel's first leap, jumping has been his drug of choice (apart from a few quite beers after a good days jumping). For Danny, the initial adrenaline rush of throwing yourself out of a plane has changed to either the rush of competition, the joy of the constant new experiences/places/sights and the satisfaction and pleasure of introducing new people to 'our world'.
He can't name any one jump as the best (they are all good) but the rush/experience and awe of exiting between smoking volcanoes in Indonesia, jumping over the ocean off Thailand, seeing Kangaroo Valley full of fog; looking like a big bowl of milk cascading over the lip of the escarpment, night jumps into the Royal Easter Show, jumping into the National Stadium in Singapore (flying beside (below) skyscrapers and hearing 80000 people all screaming at once), demos into Adelaide GP, Phillip Island 500 GP, etc are but some of the memorable ones. However, really even the simple satisfaction/pleasure of sharing in the high of a first jumpers buzz is what keeps Danny, and all of us coming back.
So 23 years, 4000+ jumps (900 Military) and a lot of life later the young, dumb fellow nervously approaching the Cessna C180 aircraft for his first jump with a round parachute on his back and a reserve on his chest, is now a older, greyer bloke (with more modern gear) but inside....... nothing has really changed at all.
Danny recently participated in the 36 way Australian CRW record held at Nagambie.
Jonny D - Camera Boy, AFF Instructor, Tandem Master
Jonny boy has clocked up 3000 jumps in his 3 years of jumping around Drop Zones in South Africa, New Zealand and Oz. He digs freeflying and can’t say no to bigway Atmo dives.
When not racing the pilots down to the bar on sunset loads, he’ll either be at Melb Uni where he is currently studying management or necking some quality vino.
His philosophy – ‘Don’t worry, be happy… and try to wear a suit for the least days in a lifetime as possible!’. Yeah right lawyer!
His philosophy – ‘Don’t worry, be happy… and try to wear a suit for the least days in a lifetime as possible!’. Yeah right lawyer!
Kim Foster - AKA Skud - Tandem Master, AFF instructor
The party boy of the drop zone, Skud has 4000 jumps as a tandem Master and an AFF instructor. On his way there, he has been part of the world record nudie way attempt.
A serious skydiver, Skud is the drop zone load pig.
When not jumping, you will find him at the Karaoke machine blaring out Britney Spears tunes to the dismay of the local Nagambie community or chasing people around the DZ with glow sticks... yes Skuddy, "it's all about the sticks!"
Jill Grantham - Manifest, Freefly Champion, ID AFF
Jill has been involved in all the facets of the sport. From freeflying, CRW (Canopy Relative Work), skysurfing to manifesting and packing.
She has spent time in Arizona working on her skills in the wind tunnel.
She hopes to start a freefly team with one of the DZ's resident orphans some day, whilst still maintaining her skillfully refined manifesting abilities.
Darren Griggs - BMI (Birdman Instructor), Cameraman
Darren has accumulated over 2000 jumps in his skydiving career and enjoys 4-way skydiving, wingsuit flocking and loves his tunnel time. His favourite discipline is swooping, in which he has won national medals.
One of Griggsy’s skydiving highlights was completing a 3 point 36 way formation at Skydive Chicago.
Darren is cameraperson for the National Champion 4 way RW team, Rotor Out.
When not in the air you’ll find him running canopy courses or planning his next swoop.
Neil Hobbs - Tandem Instructor, AFF Instructor
Hobbsy began his jumping in Corowa in 1995 and has never looked back.
Clocking up over 1700 jumps right here in Oz, superior NZ and the U.S.A.
Neil’s favourite jumps include experiencing freefall as the world ticked over into the new millennium, cranking out 30 jumps on his 30th birthday, a sunset 4-way over Vegas and taking his boss Sgt Peter Law for a tandem jump, raising $5’000 for the Police Blue Ribbon Foundation in the process!
Officer Hobbs is a swoop-n-chug expert but has never forgiven Gerome for knocking him off in the ’04 Chug Off on the DZ ute. Watch your back Gerome!
Neil reckons the best things about jumping are introducing people to the sport through tandems and feeding off their adrenaline as well as his own, and hearing the bell ring at the end of a hard days jumping!
Warren "The Silver Fox" Keogh - Tandem Master, AFF Instructor, Drop Zone Safety Officer, Freeflyer!
Wokka, as we also like to call him has been jumping for over 10 years and has accumulated over 1500 jumps. He loves to freefly and takes particular pride in showing Tandem students their first ever jump.
His notable feats include "honche flying", which is a new form of freeflying on one's "honches", and of course the well known "shimmy carve". A two time National Open Freefly silver medalist and ace chopper pilot, is there nothing this man can't do??
Wokka's biggest enjoyment? Tucking into a well earned Caramello Koala after a hard days jumping.
John Kinton - AFF & S/L Instructor, Instructor ’B’
John Kinton is living proof that age is no barrier in the sport of skydiving. John began his skydiving career in 1989 and has clocked up over 1300 jumps. A keen POP’s (Parachutists Over Phorty) member, John has participated in 7 World POP’s Meets and jumped in many countries including Jordan, Switzerland, the USA, Spain, England, Canada and NZ.
You can often find John in the classroom taking Newbies through their AFF Course’s or discussing the merits of red wine with Greasy Greg.
Although on the surface he appears to be a grumpy prick we assure you he is really a big softie.
Mike Tibbitts - Tandem Master, Wingsuiter, AFF Instructor
Mike Tibbitts has been leaping out of planes with varying degrees of style, accomplishment and forethought for seven years.
He started his jumping career static lining into the depths of an English winter, but as a recently qualified tandem instructor, he now calls sunny Nagambie home, which is much nicer.
Mike is also a very keen wingsuiter and took part in the October 09 Australian wingsuit record.
When not at the Dropzone, Mike can be found wearing his wingsuit around the bars of St Kilda doing his utmost to look both casual and edgy.
Jason Lane - AFF / Tandem Instructor, Packer A
Jason started skydiving in 1994 and has since done 1000 Jumps. He met his wife; Tracey at a dropzone and genuinely believes that skydiving makes better people.
When not jumping with Trace and friends, Jason loves introducing people to the sport through tandem or Accelerated Free-fall.
A local, Jason can often be found at the DZ whenever the weather is nice, hanging around Greg's burger van or bothering manifest to get on a load.
Mitch McMartin - AFF instructor, Camera Flyer, Instructor B
Mitch is another one of our resident Camera Flyers who has over 5000 jumps. His favourite discipline of skydiving is canopy formation “CRW” and taking that perfect photo!
He has represented Australia at a number of world meets and successfully competed in various National and State Championships. His best jump was being involved in the World Record 100 way CReW formation in the States in 2007. Mitch recently organised and participated in the Australian 36 way CRW record held at Nagambie.
Mitch is also a teacher of Aerial Photography… yes Master.
Lookout girls, he is known to be a bit of a ladies man.
Paul Easterbrook - Packer, Cameraflyer
Paul has worked with us at Skydive Nagambie for 9 months.
He is currently on the camera roster working every jumpable day he can.
Recently completing his 500th jump Paul is looking to become an AFF Instructor later in the year.
An avid chef, Paul can be found baking bread in the early hours of the morning and making pizzas well into the night.
Matt Carr - Cameraflyer, Tandem Master, AFF Instructor, Wingsuiter
'Chips', as he is known around the DZ, is a man of few words. A talented cameraflyer & one of our newest AFF instructors & tandem master, Chips is keen to share his love of the sport with students.
Chips has amassed hundreds of jumps both in Australia & internationally, and his favourite discipline is wingsuiting.
In his free time, he enjoys Dee St parties and having his facial hair tended to by the DZ hairdressers.
Patrik Nygren - Tandem Master, Videographer, National Team Cameraman (Sweden & Australia)
Our very own Swedish meatball, Patrik has clocked over 8,000 skydives in a distinguished skydiving career.
He has competed in 4 World Championships, most recently with the Australian 8-way team in Germany.
Patrik recently placed 2nd in the 2010 Nationals.
Dan Rossi - Cameraflyer
Dan is one of our newest additions to the camera roster. He did his first jump 10 years ago, and has now accumulated 300+ jumps and is a regular at Naggers.
Dan’s infectious grin and enthusiastic attitude have proved popular with the punters, and he loves capturing passengers’ reactions on their first jumps.
When not jumping, Dan enjoys hooning on his motorcycle (safely of course!) and demonstrating his wheelie prowess on the DZ bicycle fleet.
Emma Pearce - Packer, Camera Girl, Office Mule
Emma "Innit" Pearce has been jumping for over 2 years in the UK, New Zealand and Australia, clocking up over 300+ jumps. She loves hanging off the doors of Cessna 182s and has a habit of losing shoes in freefall. Her latest escapade involved wingsuiting over the lakes of Nagambie at our latest ABC Camp.
Em hopes to gain her AFF rating and jump for many years to come!
Leigh McCormack - Tandem Master & AFF Instructor
Macca did a tandem in New Zealand in 2006 and was instantly hooked - the Nagambie AFF course followed a month later and since then Macca has amassed hundreds of jumps around australia and internationally.
A regular on the boogie circuit, Macca recently did 8 hours training in the tunnel in Eloy with more to follow next year! His freefly team "Limited Express" won gold at this years state champs and they are planning an all out assault on 2010's League, State and National Championships.
Favourite jumps include big way atmo's, Indy 500's and skyball. His keen eye and memory like an elephant will ensure that those dropzone infringements WILL result in a penalty paid over the bar!
Shannon Straubinger - AFF Instructor, Cameraperson, B-Rel Tutor, TV Personality
Shanno has been jumping for 6 years and has recently become a Nagger's local. Over this time he has clocked up almost 1500 jumps and has competed in and been successful at numerous State and National Championships in both 4 way and 8 way events.
He is passionate and enthusiastic about the development of students from their first jump onwards. This and his superior airskills has led to one fine AFF instructor.
Shanno loves checking out the world from 4,000ft under canopy whilst admiring a nice sunset. When he's not turning points at 14000', you can find him at the bar chatting about jumping over a couple of cold beers. Well done for recently acquiring your bobcat licence mate!
Craig Vaughan - AFF Instructor, Instructor B, Formation Skydiving Champion and Coach.
Craig started jumping in 1991 and has since accumulated over 4000 jumps. His achievements include representing Australia in 8 way Formation Skydiving at the 2004 World Championships in Croatia and has recently returned from representing Australia with 8 way team ‘Deton8’ in the 2006 World Meet in Germany, as well as coming 2nd at the Nationals Meet in 2005 in 4 way formation skydiving.
More recently Craig's team convincingly won the Victorian State Championships with his 4-way team, "C4". The team went on to place second at the 2008 National Championships.
A keen instructor Craig actively runs First Jump Courses for our newbies and acts as the Drop Zone Safety Officer on occasion.
Clayton Werner - Tandem Master, Freefly Extraordinaire
Clayton has been jumping for over 10 years in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia - clocking up over 1500 jumps. He loves freeflying and can't say no to a 2-way headdown jump at Sunset after a hard day's work.
He gained his Tandem rating with Wokka and the two have since been the resident jump pigs at Naggers!
Rob Spear - Senior Pilot
Rob joins us from the Waikato in New Zealand, where he did all his training at the Waikato Aero Club. He has come to us with 500 hours, an instrument rating and plenty of hours skydiving, still lovin it. Previously flying a 206 at a drop zone in Matamata(home of the hobbit), he is very happy to move onto the XL.
Rob has flown various planes with his favourite being the 180, and hopes to one day fly a Porter in PNG.
After a long days bombing you can find Rob having a few Strongbows by the bar trying to stay awake.
Sas Di Sciascio - Instructor-C AFF, Tandem master , Champion 4-way competitor and coach, Mad fun flat fly load organiser!
Sas started jumping about 17 years ago and has about 6000 jumps.
As a keen competitor he has won 7 Australian championships, 5 in 4-way and 2 in 8-way. Representing Australia at 3 world championships and several other world class skydiving events. In 2006 he participated in 400-way world record largest formation.
Started instructing in 2001 and has over 1600 tandem and 300 AFF jumps.
He is mad keen on building young jumpers skills up and is regularly seen on the DZ running star crests, coaching 4-way and load organising crazy fun flat fly jumps.
Dave Totera - AFF Instructor
Dave started jumping in 2002 and has over 700 jumps. He obtained his AFF endorsement last year and is currently working towards a Packer A license. He loves taking students up on their first jump and observing their rapid progression as they transition to the myriad of disciplines skydiving has to offer.
For Dave, the biggest thrill in this sport would have to be hearing the bell ring at the end of the day and watching the sunset over a cold frosty.
Allison Irvin - Professional Skydiving Cinematographer
With almost 200 jumps (and rising quickly!) Allison is our newest "professional skydiving cinematographer", as she likes to call herself. When not chasing out tandems, Allison likes to train hard with her four way formation skydiving team. Allison learned to skydive at Nagambie, and because of the amazing people, the turbine plane and of course the fully stocked bar, thinks she will never leave. She hopes to one day get her AFF instructor rating.
Allison spends her weekdays playing with mice in a research lab, and (occasionally) going to uni.
