{"652719":{"#nid":"652719","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Two Tech Alumni Inducted Into Skydiving Hall of Fame","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech has many longstanding, well-established clubs. However, one club people might not expect is the Sport Parachute Club\u0026nbsp;(SPC). Many students have seen great success competing through the\u0026nbsp;club. This is especially true for two alumni\u0026nbsp;who\u0026nbsp;were recently inducted into the\u0026nbsp;Skydiving\u0026nbsp;Hall of\u0026nbsp;Fame.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EChris Gay and Ian Bobo\u0026nbsp;took\u0026nbsp;very\u0026nbsp;different\u0026nbsp;paths\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;SPC.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Whether it was with an umbrella or cape, I was always trying to fly as a kid,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Gay\u0026nbsp;said. \u0026ldquo;I fell in love the instant I saw the club.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Bobo built remote control models of planes with his father, an aerospace engineer from Tech.\u0026nbsp;After hearing of a drop zone\u0026nbsp;in Georgia, he waited\u0026nbsp;until\u0026nbsp;he was old enough to make his first jump,\u0026nbsp;where he instantly got hooked\u0026nbsp;\u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;so\u0026nbsp;SPC seemed like a\u0026nbsp;natural next step.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile some might be terrified when they think about skydiving, Gay and Bobo saw it as a stress reliever.\u0026nbsp;Whether it was the adrenaline rush or the feeling of freedom, leaving for the drop zone over the weekend was always relaxing to them.\u0026nbsp;Additionally, SPC provided them with\u0026nbsp;teammates\u0026nbsp;and mentors\u0026nbsp;who\u0026nbsp;fostered\u0026nbsp;a sense\u0026nbsp;of community.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETheir achievements have occurred both\u0026nbsp;in and beyond the club. Gay has either participated in or helped\u0026nbsp;set more than\u0026nbsp;15 skydiving\u0026nbsp;world records. Bobo is one of the only people to win world championships\u0026nbsp;in two different skydiving disciplines,\u0026nbsp;formation skydiving and canopy piloting. These are\u0026nbsp;a few\u0026nbsp;of the many reasons that they are now in the hall of fame.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother avenue into the hall of fame is advancing the safety and education of the sport,\u0026nbsp;which is something both did. \u0026ldquo;There is no end to developmental efforts,\u0026rdquo; Bobo said. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026nbsp;intrigues\u0026nbsp;engineers since constant education develops newer, safer\u0026nbsp;methods.\u0026rdquo; Both are\u0026nbsp;using their engineering degrees to change the way skydiving is taught and how safe it can be.\u0026nbsp;This makes the sport more accessible to a larger audience.\u0026nbsp;Vertical wind tunnels are\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;safer way\u0026nbsp;to get beginners involved, but virtual\u0026nbsp;reality is\u0026nbsp;also allowing people to safely practice the sport.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough they are both heavily involved in teaching and safety, neither\u0026nbsp;one has\u0026nbsp;given up their love for skydiving. Gay,\u0026nbsp;along with three other skydivers, is\u0026nbsp;planning on jumping\u0026nbsp;into the football game against Boston College\u0026nbsp;this weekend (weather permitting).\u0026nbsp;It will be\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;must-see\u0026nbsp;event for anyone\u0026nbsp;looking to celebrate the\u0026nbsp;achievements of\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;alumni.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGay has either participated in or helped set more than 15 skydiving world records. Bobo is one of the only people to win world championships in two different skydiving disciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Gay has either participated in or helped set more than 15 skydiving world records. Bobo is one of the only people to win world championships in two different skydiving disciplines."}],"uid":"35971","created_gmt":"2021-11-11 18:37:28","changed_gmt":"2021-11-11 18:46:24","author":"cwhite324","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-11-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2021-11-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"652716":{"id":"652716","type":"image","title":"IanBobo_CW","body":null,"created":"1636655626","gmt_created":"2021-11-11 18:33:46","changed":"1636655626","gmt_changed":"2021-11-11 18:33:46","alt":"","file":{"fid":"247628","name":"IanBobo_CW.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/IanBobo_CW.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/IanBobo_CW.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":14775,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/IanBobo_CW.jpg?itok=gzqTtyW5"}},"652717":{"id":"652717","type":"image","title":"ChrisGay_CW","body":null,"created":"1636655656","gmt_created":"2021-11-11 18:34:16","changed":"1636655656","gmt_changed":"2021-11-11 18:34:16","alt":"","file":{"fid":"247629","name":"ChrisGay_CW.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ChrisGay_CW.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ChrisGay_CW.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":19497,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ChrisGay_CW.jpg?itok=WhD9eSk8"}}},"media_ids":["652716","652717"],"groups":[{"id":"1182","name":"General"},{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:stucomm@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EConnor White\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["stucomm@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}