USPA Honors Army Parachute Team
   Hundreds of Golden Knights, past and present members of the elite U.S. Army Parachute Team, and their families and friends gathered in December 2009 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina to celebrate the golden anniversary of the team's existence.
   Initially called the Strategic Army Corps (STRAC) Sport Parachute Team, the original group of 13 was formed to halt the Eastern Bloc countries' dominance of international skydiving competitions and record-setting of the day. The team changed its name to the U.S. Army Parachute Team in 1961 and in 1962 adopted the nickname Golden Knights. The official purpose of the team is to compete in national and international parachute competitions, help develop new military parachuting techniques and equipment, and put on demonstrations in support of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command.
   The United States Parachute Association (USPA) congratulated the Golden Knights on this auspicious occasion and for all they've done for the skydiving community in general and USPA in particular.  The association says it looks forward to at least another 50 years working with these top-notch ambassadors of the sport.

IAC Establishes Memorial Scholarship                         for Late President
   The achievements and legacy of the late Vicki Cruse, International Aerobatic Club (IAC) president and Experimental Aircraft Association director, will live on through a memorial scholarship established by women pilots from the Ninety-Nines and aviators throughout the world.
   The Vicki Cruse Memorial Scholarship, which will be administered through the Ninety-Nines' Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Fund, will provide financial aid to women pilots for emergency maneuver and aerobatic training. Cruse died on August 22, 2009 while representing the United States at the World Aerobatic Championships in England.
   The Ventura County 99s have established a "Remembering Vicki" web site at http://ennect.com/e808 as a tribute to Cruse and a way for the aviation community to contribute to the scholarship fund. Each dollar donated to the Vicki Cruse Memorial Scholarship over the next five years will be matched, up to a maximum of $30,000, to create a solid foundation to help women pursue emergency maneuver and aerobatic flight training. The Ventura County 99s pledged $5,000 in matching funds, while Lightspeed Aviation has pledged to match up to a maximum of $25,000.
   Cruse, 41, won the U.S. National Unlimited Aerobatic Championship in 2007, and was a four-time member of the U.S. national team. She served as IAC president since 2005 and was also a board member of EAA and Unlimited Aerobatics USA Inc. Along with other awards, she achieved the All Ten Achievement Award, 1998 U.S. Sportsman National Aerobatic Championship, and was the 1999 and 2000 Champion of the Americas.

USHPA Honoree David Barish Dies at 88
   David Theodore Barish, an aeronautical engineer and inventor who has been called the "forgotten father of paragliding" died on December 15, 2009 in New York City. He was 88.
   In 2004, Barish was recognized by the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association with the Presidential Citation "in recognition of outstanding contributions which have significantly enhanced and promoted the sports of hang gliding and paragliding in the United States."
   In the 1960s, Barish began working on a new design that addressed the need for a high-performance gliding parachute. This would eventually become the Barish Sailwing, a lobed parachute with a rounded self-inflating leading edge. Originally developed in 1965 as a controllable method to return space capsules safely to the earth, David manufactured a lightweight, smaller version for testing. In the 1970s, this new idea of flying from the ground using a wing-shaped parachute began to be referred to as "slope soaring." Eventually the slope-soaring sport, redubbed paragliding, would flourish.