USMA Main Parachute, approximately $2,500 to purchase.  This donation is a rectangular “ram air” parachute in team colors, suitable for use by the team in competition and for demonstration jumps.  Its service life is six to twelve years, serving two to four cadet parachutists, or one or more coaches. The parachute will be subsequently jumped onto the Plain and into Michie Stadium. Donors will receive a photograph of the parachute as a gesture of appreciation, and will also receive the stabilizers of the parachute signed by the team when the parachute is retired after its useful service life.  Main parachutes donated by a relative or friend of a cadet parachutist may be designated for use by that parachutist.  To donate a main parachute, simply write a check for $2,500 to “Military Academy Corps of Cadets Fund for the Exclusive Use of the USMA Sport Parachute Team,”  and mail to Director of Cadet Activities, Eisenhower Hall, West Point NY 10996.  Be sure to include the year group you would like sewn on the canopy.  For more information, call (845)938-4019.

USMA Parachute System (complete), approximately $6,500 to purchase.  This donation is a complete parachute system to include main canopy, reserve canopy, harness, parachute containers, and an automatic activation device as a back up for activation of a reserve parachute.  Service life is twelve years for the reserve, AAD, and main canopy, and eight years for the harness and container.  The donor’s class or year group may be tastefully sewn in 3 inch block letters on each side of the parachute on the stabilizers, as well as embroidered on the harness and container in gold thread.  The parachute system will be subsequently jumped onto the Plain and into Michie Stadium.   Donors will receive a photograph of the system as a gesture of appreciation, and will also receive the stabilizers of the main parachute, signed by the team, when the parachute is retired after its useful service life.  Systems donated by a relative or friend of a cadet parachutist may be designated for use by that parachutist.  To donate a system, simply write a check for $6500 to “Military Academy Corps of Cadets Fund for the Exclusive Use of the USMA Sport Parachute Team,”  and mail to Director of Cadet Activities, Eisenhower Hall, West Point NY 10996.  Be sure to include the year group you would like sewn on the container and canopy.  For more information, call (845)938-4019.

Vertical Wind Tunnel, approx. $3.8M.  The Vertical Wind Tunnel (VWT) is a facility that replicates the conditions of terminal velocity freefall for training sport and military freefall parachutists, for aerodynamics tests and projects, and for athletic and recreational purposes.  It consists of a twelve foot diameter, 20 foot tall cylinder surrounded by classroom and observation decks, capped by a cluster of five ducted electric fans.  The fans are pitch-controlled and draw a wall-to-wall column of air through the cylinder.  At controlled airspeeds above 120 mph, the air column simulates terminal velocity in freefall and will “float” up to four people at once.  It can be used to train novice parachutist in basic freefall, or to give expert skydivers a team training experience equal to thousands of actual jumps.  Commercially, it is used recreationally by the general public, and as a training facility for virtually all competitive skydiving teams.  A VWT would enable the cadet parachute team to train more safely and to dominate in national competition.  It would also support cadet military freefall training, engineering and physics projects.  Every cadet in the Corps would experience the benefits of this gift, which would rapidly come to symbolize the pinnacle of high tech athletic training at the Academy.  This is a major gift with strategic implications.  Call Colonel Tom Kolditz at (845)938-3206 to discuss the technical specs of vertical wind tunnels, or COL Todd Browne at (845)938-3700 to discuss financial planning for this strategic gift. [ To see a presentation about the Vertical Tunnel Click on FreefallCtr.pdf below or go to http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dhd9scbs_0dnd4dcdm ]

Parachute Team Endowment, starting at $60,000.  This is the most versatile and long lasting gift the team could possibly receive.  Once an endowment is in place, it generates return to the team that can be used for gear, wind tunnel training, jumps at civilian drop zones—everything that the team needs, or specific objectives specified by the donor.  The endowment could be named after the primary donor.  Call COL Craig Flowers, the Director of Cadet Activities, at (845)938-2715 to discuss a team endowment.

Cash donations, any amount.  For those who wish to donate to the parachute team, a check may be made out to “Military Academy Corps of Cadets Fund for the Exclusive Use of the USMA Sport Parachute Team.”  Checks may be given to any team coach, mailed to Director of Cadet Activities, Eisenhower Hall, West Point NY 10996. or call (845)938-4019 for assistance.