Swoop Noodles, what's your thoughts? Good idea/bad idea?

[LawnDart21 0]

Hello all fellow swoopers, I have a question for you guys/girls I wanted to run by you. Being on a limited budget, and seeing as how expensive air blades are, I thought about setting up foam "noodles", those long foam flation devices used in backyard swimming pools. My question is has anyone done this yet and what type of results, safety issues, etc have you discoverd. My idea/plan, is to set up 6 "gates" with twelve noodles" (far away from the main landing area of course), and use them as "poor man's" gates. Looking for input from others! Thanks, and as always, stay safe!

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[PhreeZone 20]

We've got an X set up like this at the DZ currently. This allows for into the wind runs or close to it from just about any wind direction. The DZ used PVC piping as stakes running up out of the ground about 6-9 inches to put over the noodle. The noodles are split on the bottom foot have a hold cut for the piping and are taped up duct tape to keep them together.

I've taken a noodle to the chest and there was no damage to me or the noodle... it poped off the stake after getting bent all the way over. Biggest issues I've seen are since the course has been up all year mowing around it has made a few tall patches of grass, also since they are a bit away from the wind blade its only a best guess on the winds in that corner of the DZ. Biggest plusses... its easy to tell on video when you enter the course (4 foot gates) and how far you really do swoop, it makes a corner of the DZ for high speed landings away from the rest of the people, and they are fun to run the golf cart through on those slow moments at the DZ.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[weid14 0]

there was also a swoop lane set up at DeLand using those flags that you can put on the back of bikes, although they're fiberglass (about 1/4" diameter or so) and may leave a mark (they were on little stakes and moved pretty freely however)

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

I like the "noodle" idea, especially for marking the route after your initial entrance gates. The only downside I can see to them is that they don't create much of a profile when viewed from straight above, where I set up my swoop. Being pretty color-blind, I need a lot of contrast or something flapping about to get my bearings. I believe shoe-goo'ing some small flags or short fabric streamers to the tops of the noodles would help in that respect. This plan would certainly cut down on the cost of buying airblades (I own several 12 footers that I scored for $60 apiece) and replacing broken black widow poles at $20 a pop.

Hell, I think I may just go shopping this afternoon!

Chuck

[LawnDart21 0]

Thanks for all the input. I sold my idea to the DZO and was given her okay to go ahead with it. I just got back from my lunch break and Home Depot, and bought six 4ft dowlings, cut them into now twelve 2ft dowlings, to use as stakes in the field. I figure that way, only 1ft of dowling will be above ground (like an airblade stake), and the noodle has a hole running through it that fits snug around the dowling. I figure this way if someone does take a noodle to the chest as Phree mentioned.....lol, then it would just come off the dowling.

All said, I spent $40 for 12 noodles and $8 for the dowlings, so my six gate swoop course cost me a total of $48.

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[cobaltdan 0]

great idea.

one suggestion : do not use dowls thicker than 1/2" in diameter and stick them out of the ground as little as possible. for airblade poles 6" is perfect.

if you use thick poles they do not snap when hit and can injure, same if they stick up too far.

sincerely,

dan <><>

Daniel Preston <><>
atairaerodynamics.com (sport)
atairaerospace.com (military)

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

concerning ground dowels: I like mine sticking out of the ground around 8 inches because they will snap easier, as opposed to snapping the base of your Black Widow (talking about airblades here). Another way I lessen the risk of having people break ankles on the dowels is to drive them into the ground with the grain perpendicular to the direction of the swoop lane.

Chuck

[PhreeZone 20]

Speaking of the Black Widow poles... where can you get a few of these?

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[weid14 0]

they've got them in wal-mart here in FL....

[PhreeZone 20]

In what department? Why are they sold in Walmart?

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[cobaltdan 0]

black widow poles are imported from china by jackite for use with kites. they are located in virginia.

they cary telecoping poles from 12' to 30' and be sure when ordering to specify you want the 'soft' ones, as they also import stiffer "better" construction ones that do not bend well in wind blades.

sincerely,

dan <><>

Daniel Preston <><>
atairaerodynamics.com (sport)
atairaerospace.com (military)

[lummy 4]

That's EXACTLY what they did at my DZ. Every one of them is curling over (maybe 15 degrees at the most) in every which way and are about 4 feet? I can spot them pretty easily since they are bright colors and stand out against the green grass.

If you want, I can take a look how they are planted this weekend.

I promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. I promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. eat sushi, get smoochieTTK#1

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Quote

black widow poles are imported from china by jackite for use with kites. they are located in virginia.

The "black widow" type poles that you will find in Walmart or, even more likely, in K-mart will be found in the fishing section. They are sold as a "smarter" cane pole for Bream ("brim" if you are a redneck) fishing and Crappie fishing. My blades came with 13 foot Black Widows, but when they got too broken to function I replaced then with both 12 and 14 footers. Anyway, these collapsible fiberglass or graphite poles run between $18 and $22 here in the USA.

Chuck

[jdhill 0]

I set up a noodle course about a year ago at Spaceland... they work great... make sure to get the "moster noodles", the thin ones will not stand up very long when subjected to heat and any wind... the initial idea was to set a lane away from the beer line, right on the edge of the main landing area... the biggest problem we had was that several of the "non-swoopers" (could also be called landing challenged) would end up in the lane and not get out (set the breaks, unstow the slider, yada yada)...

bottom line though... it was a good swoop course for those on a budget.

Josh

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. - Edmund Burke

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

OK, I have ideas on where to get them (pool supply), but what is the consensus on the best place to buy "monster noodles". I talked about it yesterday with Tony Thacker, the DZO, and I am definitely going to expand my blade course with these things in an effort to save some cash.

As for the problem with "non qualified" people getting caught in the lane, we currently have a 1000 jump restriction to swoop the course. This, of course, in an effort to minimize injuries. We set up little training events on occasion to get people in the "course" mindset also, as swooping blades, a pond, or a course requires a different skill set than just throwing a turn and letting God sort out where you land, no matter how good it looks. But of course, most people know that by now, don't they?

Chuck
Noodles for my friends!

[jdhill 0]

I got mine at Walmart... hit the end of the summer clearance sale and bought all they had for something like $1.50 each.

Josh

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. - Edmund Burke

[LawnDart21 0]

Thanks Dan, will do. They are 1/2 inch dowls, I'll hammer them into the ground and start withonly 6 inches above ground and see if that work, and only raise an inch or so as needed to keep the majority of the dowl under ground.

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[ernokaikkonen 0]

>That's EXACTLY what they did at my DZ. Every one of them is curling over (...)

We're having that same problem, except that ours are bent all the way back to the ground. These are thin, solid children's flotation devices approx 7.5cm(3 inches) across. Guess they weren't designed to stand in the sun for the whole summer...

We used to have something different; it was the stuff that is used to insulate pipes in construction work(I don't know what it's called in finnish, and much less in english...). They lasted much longer, but the drawback is that it only comes in gray. I'm thinking of getting more of that stuff and some brightly colored self-adhesive tape!

Erno

[cobaltdan 0]

i wonder if you could find some vinyl company that makes cheap blow-ups to make blow up noodle-blades...?

sincerely,

dan<><>

Daniel Preston <><>
atairaerodynamics.com (sport)
atairaerospace.com (military)

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

This is getting very interesting...... I am thinking it would be cool to get a bunch of blow-up punch dummies, like you had when you were a kid. You know, the type you punch and they stand straight back up.....

Chuck
<><>swoop lord

[PhreeZone 20]

Been there... done that with one last year. It to the point that everyone was making runs at the thing just to kick it in a swoop. I think he lasted all of 2 weekends before we could'nt patch him any more... It was a sad day when the inflatible clown had to be thrown to the fire gods...

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

At my dad's DZ down in Alabama, they have "Ivans" that you kick on the way by. These are the plastic, formed targets that we use on pop-up ranges in the miltary. You swoop, kick the Ivans, then stand them back up after your run. Simple, but very fun.

Chuck

[polarbear 1]

I've been to a couple of DZ's that have swoop lanes set up with short punch dolls. They work great. I've also seen beach balls used.

"Holy s*** that was f***in' cold!"

[AndyMan 7]

Quote

Anyway, these collapsible fiberglass or graphite poles run between $18 and $22 here in the USA.

When I was skiing compeditively, I'd frequently whack into gates (intentionally), sometimes at over 50MPH.

Original ski gates were bamboo, and they'd break. Over time they'd replace the bamboo gates with plastic gates on a flexible rubber base. When we'd whack into the gate, the pole could just bend over out of our way, then bounce right back into the original shape.

The rubber base was strong enough to support the gates with a pretty big flag on top.

I wonder why something like this isn't used for wind-blades.

Any skiiers here know what I'm talking about, and can explain why we don't use something like that?

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[weid14 0]

remember all the plastic guards you also wore when deflecting those gates? not to mention that if you were cross blocking, your pole took most of the impact (slalom). wack one of those gates straight on and it will leave quite a mark, not to mention the fact that they are pretty expensive.