If you read the article, you'll see it was a joke " But it was fortunately good in the end. It turned out that the whole thing was a joke from the editorial page." Given that parachutes have weight limits and function very differently under different wing loadings, every tandem is weighed prior to jumping. Our parachutes have a tandem max of 500lbs and we charge an extra $20/10lbs over 210. The little guys love the fatties because they orient to earth like lawn darts and make them a ton of money. Long lanky people who fail to arch are far scarier in Freefall.