Steve Sutton (skydiver)

Steve Sutton is a Canadian skydiver who began skydiving in 1965 at the age of nineteen. On July 3, 1969, Sutton set a then-Canadian record by making [http://www.cspa.ca/competition/manuals/pim4d-applll.pdf 200 jumps] in a 24-hour period. At the time, this was not only a Canadian but also a world record. [ Parachutist Magazine, Volume 49, Number 6, Issue 584, June 2008, page 15] He was a member of Canada's National Parachute Team from 1970 to 1972, competing in two World Championships, and winning the Silver Medal in Men's Individual Accuracy at the XI World Parachuting Championships in the USA in 1972. As part of his skydiving career, Sutton also researched improvements in parachute design in the 1970's. These endeavors led Sutton to design the FlowForm kite, a popular kite based roughly on the idea of the ram air parachute but also self-regulating and adapting to significant changes in wind conditions. He is married to Kathy Sutton, herself a Gold Medalist in Women's Individual Accuracy at the XV World Parachuting Championships in Bulgaria in 1980.

References

External links

* [http://www.cspa.ca/competition/manuals/pim4d-applll.pdf CSPA Canadian Records] - Article describing Steve's 200 jumps in a 24-hour period in 1969.
* [http://www.cspa.ca/competition/english/wins.htm Canadian Medal Winners at Past WPC's] - Article describing Steve's Silver Medal at the XI World Parachuting Championships and other achievements.
* [http://www.cessna150-152.com/sutton_xmas.htm Our Flight to Florida, Christmas 2002] - Article describing Steve and Kathy Sutton's trip to Florida from Toronto in Fluffy, their Cessna 150, in December 2002-January 2003.
* [http://www.fang-den-wind.de/ff_devel_eng.htm Development of the FlowForm kite] - Description of Steve Sutton's research into new parachute designs and how it led him to develop the FlowForm kite.