THE SKYDIVERS
Nick Halseth | Lead Jumper
From: Buffalo, MN
First Jump: 1991
Number of Jumps: Over 6,000
Nick is the Lucas Oil Skydivers Lead and Media Producer at Lucas Oil Airshows. Nick was interested in aviation at a young age and he made his first jumps at 18 years old. Since then he has jumped from over 30 different aircraft types. Including a Boeing 727. As an aerial videographer, Nick has earned medals in the U.S. and Australian National Championships. His interest in parachutes and anything that flies once led to work on parachute systems for Light Sport Aircraft, ultralights, and Cirrus aircraft. In fact, of the 22 emergency deployments of Cirrus aircraft parachutes, Nick has packed three of them.
Ryan Albrecht
From: Belle Plaine, MN
First Jump: 2008
Number of Jumps: Over 1,000
Ryan’s recollection of the first time he saw skydiving was on the television show, Extremists. It was something he wanted to try. But being eight years old at the time, he was going to have to wait a few years. In 2008 Ryan made his first jump and admits he only planned on doing it once. But he continued on. By his third year in the sport he was already taking part in regional competitions. Ryan currently holds USPA Coach, Static Line, and Tandem instructional ratings. This is his second year with the Lucas Oil Skydivers.
Andy Junghans
From: Minneapolis, MN
Skydiving for 22 years
Number of Jumps: Over 6,000
Andy became fascinated with skydiving as a 10 year old kid, after watching the "Freedom Flyers" parachute team jump into the Minnesota State Fair in the early 1980's. He went through his first jump course 2 days after his 18th birthday in 1991 and has been immersed in the skydiving culture ever since, completing over 6,000 jumps in 22 years. He has won 3 U.S. National Gold medals in formation skydiving and has instructed hundreds of jumpers in 19 years as a U.S. Parachute Association Instructor. Andy also works as an engineer in the medical device industry, and formerly worked at Cirrus Aircraft Corporation on the SR20 development and F.A.A. certification project.
Jim Skakoon
From: St. Paul, MN
Skydiving for 40 years
Number of Jumps: Over 5,000
Jim made his first jump on a round parachute and military surplus gear in 1973, when winged parachutes were still just a novelty. He has competed in numerous competitions, including 15 US National Championships, winning a gold medal at the 1992 US Para-Ski Nationals. To date he has performed in over 65 demonstration parachute jumps. When not skydiving, Jim is a mechanical engineer, inventor, and author.
Karl Eakins
From: St. Paul, MN
First Jump: 1996
Number of Jumps: Over 7,300
Karl began jumping in Hutchinson, MN. For ten years Karl and his wife, Merriah, competed together as Team Flew-id. Their freestyle skydiving team medaled numerous times in the Skydiving National Championships, including two gold medals in 2005 and 2009. Karl also pursued Canopy Piloting at the national level where he won gold in 2007. Karl Also holds an FAA Senior Rigger and is a rated skydiving instructor and coach. Outside of the skydiving world, Karl is a Senior Technician for Architectural Testing Inc.