Swoop training weekends

[ZoneRat 0]

My RW team schedules training weekends where we focus on 4-way and only 4-way. Skydiving culture understands, supports, and expects this.

Do you, as a swooper, ever schedule regular, training-specific weekends?

I see regularly scheduled CReW camps, Big way camps, Scrambles, and FF camps. But I havent notice any swoop camps. Just the occasional canopy control class.

Does swooping lend itself well to camps, or it it better taught one on one, mentor style?

Thoughts?

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

[skynole 0]

Sure. I attended the PD swoop camp back in November and I plan on attending the one in February. Plus, I'm the middle of working a deal out with my DZO for hop-n-pop weekends (Cessna prop time or something like that...).

I've also done one on one coaching, which is great but the camps are more cost effective and you still get a lot out of them IMO.

The reason you probably don't hear much about it is because only a small percentage of skydivers focus on this discipline.

[ramon 0]

I practice with my team usually but take every moment I can to hit the ditch. I usually have a goal in mind, like working on hiting targets or working on distance and I stick to that goal all weekend.

Periodically I will do 4-5 hop n pops in a row on the ditch with the same in mind.

I always plan swooping around team jumps, but I always take the out and abort if ther is a lot of traffic.

Ramon

"Revolution is an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment.", Ambrose Bierce.

[Spizzzarko 0]

Make every jump a swoop training jump!!! It may behove you to land out if you are just learning. Therefore you won't have as much traffic issues to worry about. Also doing super dooper freaky hook turns in the pattern makes DZO's nervous.

[skygod7777 0]

i have devoted a couple weekends to just swooping, like when i took the trip up to canton this past summer, it's purpose was to swoop a pond all weekend.

and me and vern and jonny have spent a couple weekends just swooping, doing team landings or what ever.

we just do it for fun mostly, we may go to some comps this year, but we'll have to see. verns got to get something better than his fx and jonny has to get an xbraced too.

later

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

I compete at the professional level and absolutely devote days prior to meets in order to get "tuned up" to the type of courses that are to be run. Swooping water is very, very different than running PST-type courses, so time on the actual course is important. The great majority of competitors show up for meets several days early to train on the actual course. Sometimes, though, you have to make due with what you have. There is a PST meet in April that is going to have freestyle rounds (over water at Perris) where you have to complete maneuvers off a compulsory list: moves such as the "lazy boy", "can can", etc. While it's really hard to do some of that crap over land, if you were paying attention at the Eloy Holiday boogie you would have seen TJ Landgren, Jeffro Provenzano, and Jason Peters practicing them right down the beer line in the main landing area on every coached or organized jump they did. You either make training time like that or you simply fall on your face in competition for lack of currency or practice. I sucked ass last year in the two meets I actually got to make, finishing 3/4 the way down the list in both meets. I attribute this to lack of currency over water.

Aside from that, I make every single jump, tandems included, accuracy jumps. Without accuracy you will never get anywhere in swooping other than the "ooh's and ah's" you get from whuffos watching from behind the beer line. I do straight in accuracy with Sigmas, but land both my Velo 79 and my Sabre2 97 exactly the same way, minus the difference in turn altitude between the two.

Also, everytime the clouds are low we generally set up swoop courses and have impromptu meets. We set different criteria for people of different experience levels and always keep safety in mind.

Chuck

[bobsled92 0]

I plan to get canopy training for basic knowledge and safety for myself and those around me.
It will entail some minor swooping for knowing my lift and control on landing with a Comp. Cobalt.
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[skynole 0]

Quote

Make every jump a swoop training jump!!!

I just wanted to stress this point that Spizzzarko stated because this is probably the most practical training time most of us get. Because of the unique nature of this discipline (outside of doing a tandem, but actually SkyMonkeyOne even made use of this...), no matter what you are doing in the air you can practice your HP canopy piloting on just about every jump...traffic permitting.

I have set up an unobstrusive swooping lane that can remain as a permanent fixture so others and I can use it regardless if we are working or playing in the air. Basically it's just practicing hitting 5' gates, along the windblades already in place that are used as windsocks by jumpers for landing.

[BrianSGermain 1]

Brian Germain’s
Swoop Camps


The goal of the course is to promote safety, as well as improving technique. I try to hit as many topics as possible in the time allowed, which is why I try to do an entire weekend workshop now, rather than one evening talk. There is a lot to cover.

The class-room portion of the course targets canopy flight skills and understanding as the primary subject matter, from the perspective of a parachute designer. I will, however, adapt the class to incorporate anything the students think is appropriate, as well as shaping the subject matter to fit each particular group of students.

I also try to include lots of information on the psychology of survival in high stress situations, a topic on which I have done a great amount of research. I also include a copy of my book-in-progress: "The Parachute and it's Pilot" for each of the participants.

The bulk of the learning is in the classroom, not the air. During the jumping phase of the class, I will provide specific jump objectives, as well as video everyone's landings for critique.

I highly suggest booking well in advance of the planned date of the course, as the demand for this has become quite high worldwide.

Brian Germain
zenfreefall@aol.com

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