Rick Horn

[swooperman 0]

Rick Horn, long time instructor, pilot and damn good guy, passed away yesterday from cancer. Hadn't seen him in too many years, as is usual for most of the people we read about these days.

Rick, and his wife Patty, gave me my first DZ job in the 90's and taught me a lot from my first AFF jump through to my AFF Instructor Course. I have learned and experienced so much since, both on and off the DZ, thanks to skydiving. I owe Rick (and Patty) all that and more.

It is truly sad to lose a friend, a mentor, and one who gave so much to the sport.

Blue Skies brother.

[in2jumping 0]

Very sad news!!
Made my first jump and did my static line training with Rick and Patty their DZ Desert Skydiving back in the early 90’s. Some of the most enjoyable times in my life were jumping out at Desert Skydiving with them. They ran a family oriented DZ, made things fun and always put safety first.
My heart goes out to Patty and family.

[NovaTTT 2]

Very, very sad news. The sport in general and AFF in specific has lost a great contributor, jumper and friend.

Deepest condolences to friends and family.

Blue Skies, Rick

"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

[SkydiveJack 1]

Rick was an all around good guy.

He always made me smile whenever he walked in to the room.

My thoughts go out to Patty and family.

[jlmiracle 7]

Very sorry to hear this. He was an awesome guy! Thoughts and prayers to his wife and family.

J

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[jverley 1]

Very Sad. Rick owned the DZ I started out at in 1992. He was a great guy. Sorry to hear of his passing.

John
Arizona Hiking Trails

[TitaniumLegs 8]

Blue skies Rick.

Took his AFF course twice, successfully on the second attempt.

He could be a prick sometimes, but if you looked at what the topic or situation was, it was usually important enough and at least a little justified.

(>o|-<

If you don't believe me, ask me.

[TimBSky 0]

In the AFF jumpmaster course, I got to make my last certification jump with Rick. I still remember the grin on his face right before I tracked off, knowing that I'd just passed the course. He didn't make anything in the course easy but I always appreciated his dedication to making sure that I was as prepared as possible when I got my rating.

I felt sad when I learned that he had passed away.

Blue Skies.

[3331 137]

Rick was a good friend and mentor to many.

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.

[PhreePhly 0]

Sad to hear. Rick was my AFF instructor and AFF 1 Main side.

Blue Skies Rick!

[rmarshall234 14]

If not for Rick Horn and Don Mullenix, I would not have made it through the AFF Jumpmaster Course. Rick for working with us before hand (the original pre-course) and Don for keeping things light and me relaxed. Rick set really high standards and made you adhere to them. I have tremendous respect for him because of that. I applaud him also, for controlling his destiny in the sport and getting out when he did. Rest in peace, my man.

[swooperman 0]

Since I last saw Rick and Pati, I didn't realize what they were up to. Apparently, Rick was quite the Llama lama too. Jack of all trades.

[captain1976 0]

Anyone know if he had a son named Chris who was a skydiver?

You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

[skyrider 0]

WOW, I workd side by side with Rick for several years...One hell of a nice guy!

[skyditch1 0]

I FLAILED his AFF course in the 90"s I brought in a STRIPPER to go over the TLO"S and the prick still failed me!! Another great time and great memory,,
I hope ST. Peter gives you some slack!!
BLUE SKYS MR. Horn

WAKE UP TANDEMGUY !THERES A DUI CHECKPOINT UP AHEAD

[MakeItHappen 15]

Rick's Memorial service will be
Saturday, June 25 · 3:00pm - 8:00pm
at Perris Valley Skydiving.

Blue Skies Rick.

.

.
Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[skyrider 0]

Quote

Rick's Memorial service will be
Saturday, June 25 · 3:00pm - 8:00pm
at Perris Valley Skydiving.

Blue Skies Rick.

.

Thanks...I'll be there..

[swooperman 0]

Quote

Rick's Memorial service will be
Saturday, June 25 · 3:00pm - 8:00pm
at Perris Valley Skydiving.

Blue Skies Rick.

.

Nice memorial and wonderful send-off. The air was fairly still and the puff of ash lasted for a good few minutes afterwards. Thanks to Martin and James for organizing the memorial and ash dive. Thanks to Jan for the heads-up about the event.

Martin Reeder

Blue Skies.

[Steve Eeeee! 2]

This is a bit late, but sad to hear of Rick's passing. I've been out of the sport and out of touch with Rick for 36 years but something came up got me thinking of him & Googled this thread.  I made my first jump at "The Ranch" in Coolidge, AZ on September 30, 1978 at age 26 when Rick and his business partner Clay Muise ran the jump school and did my first two-way freefall hookup with Rick as instructor/jumpmaster on my 20th jump on February 11, 1979 and was shocked to get a kiss pass from Rick. Back in those days there were no AFF or tandem jumps yet and everyone had to go through static line progression jumping old Army surplus rounds and belly wart reserves. Conventional wisdom was you should have at least 100 jumps before even trying a square canopy. Those were the days of balloon and "silly suits". I went on for five more years and 400 jumps, many of which were from the same Twin Beech N9533Z that did the hang loads featured in Carl Boenish's 1970s "Sky Dive" film.  I finally left the sport in March, 1984. Have many of Rick's signatures in my logbooks which I've saved & treasured to this day. Also had the privilege of meeting the late Carl Boenish once at Coolidge during a boogie back around 1980-81.  Toots for 'tudes Rick, & rest in peace. Blue Skies.

Steve Eshleman

C14608, SCR 8825, SCS5681

Edited July 25, 2020 by Steve Eeeee!

[mgm7701 2]

Wow very sad.  He was my course director for AFF/I in Cal City back around 95'.  Hilarious teacher.  I remember him criticizing my skull tee-shirt as inappropriate for my ground school classes, and his incessant 5-5 but never pulling checkout dives,  to keep us candidates on our toes.  Best Wishes to his family.  You are sorely missed.