CanuckInUSA

It happened to me last September. I could even show you the camera view from my helmet cam and it sure looked like the swoop lanes were open (I exited last and pulled at 5k to ... what I thought ... would ensure that I was last down). But then as I am entering the swoop course at 60-70 mph I see a large canopy to my immediate left also wanting to enter the course. Fortunately my canopy was fast enough (or my turn started a split second just in time) and no collision occurred. But it was close and it was a reminder that what appears to be a open swoop lane, might not be as open as we think it is. I still say this guy (who toggle whipped it into the course) had no business flying in the high performance swoop lanes. But I am also not innocent as I did see him off in the distance before I started my turn. Just remember ... unless people have lived a perfect life, they shouldn't judge people for the mistakes they make just as long as the people making the mistakes are willing to try and learn from them. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes I agree with JP here. One of the most important things for hop n' pops is to predetermine what order people land in and then stick to the original plan by creating vertical and time seperation between people. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It all depends on who's jumping with you. If you're on a lightly loaded canopy and I'm on one of my swooping canopies, first thing is I'm going to ask you where you're planning on pulling. If it's in the basement, then I'm going to let you go first, because I need to deploy higher to protect myself against a possible mal. But if we're pulling at the same altitude, I will exit first because of my higher wing loading. It all depends ... but chances are that you will be exiting near the back of the pack and there is nothing wrong with this. In time you will exit first, last and most often in the middle. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I would hope not since anyone who generates any sort of speed for their landing is swooping. Even people who fly straight approaches, can swoop their canopies across the ground before they touch down if they've got a moderate wingloading.. We need to clean ourselves up. The sport as a whole. We as jumpers (this includes DZOs) need to police ourselves with the help of some common sense like seperating slow canopies from fast ones when possible (leaving the details up to each DZO). The message needs to get out to the wannabees more that in order to become a better canopy pilot they need to dedicate time to the skill. But we also need to speak up to the minority of very experienced full time jumpers who will swoop in traffic. But what is traffic? That depends ... obviously what happened to Danny and Bob was traffic. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Why did I start this thread? Surely not because Brian Germain talked of seperate landing areas. No I started this thread because Brian explicitely made the comment that we need to communicate with each other prior to boarding the airplane. The proposed BSRs never made any mention of this. We competitive swoopers talk to each other before we board the airplane, we come up with a landing sequence and we even tell each other where in the sky we will be approaching our setup points from. It's time that we take these habits and apply them to regular loads. Along the line of this: 1) Who's swooping the high performance lanes? 2) Where are you exiting on this load? 3) What altitude are you planning on pulling? 4) What's your canopy type and wingload? 5) What kind of approach do you plan on flying? 6) What are your canopy colors? 7) Who else is swooping? Okay let's try to have so and so land first because (insert explaination here) followed by so and so, etc, etc, etc. Oh and finally, we're all landing in the high performance swoop lanes regardless of what the winds are doing right? Everyone understand? And for all you tradition pattern people, follow the direction set by the first one down, no s-turns or spiraling over the LZ. Okay let's do it ... saddle up. Then we follow the plan and of course abort the swoop if for some reason someone failed to follow it and created traffic issues. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You two should have a gun battle ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hi Kris The problem isn't 270s. The problem is people winging it after opening. We need (when possible) to seperate fast canopies from slow ones but we also need to communicate our intentions with each other before the airplane even takes off, come up with a plan for the load and then stick to the plan. It's a combination of communication and education. PS: Swoopers need to know when to abort their swoop ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Your words ... not Grant's. Go refresh yourself as to what Stu said about responsible canopy pilots versus the irresponsible ones. We're all canopy pilots out there. It's just that some of us are under race cars while others use minivans. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Not sure if we can ever fix this, but there is a certain percentage of jumpers out there with such poor canopy control that they just land wherever their canopy takes them. You don't actually believe that all tradition pattern fliers when finding themselves in the high performance area will be able to stay out of the swoop lanes do you? But not to sound like a broken record, I AM NOT AGAINST the BSR yourself and others have proposed. I am just against people thinking the root cause of the problem is the turn type. The turn type is only one of several aspects of high performance landings. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Stu said it all here: It's all about communication up front before loading the aircraft and then being a responsible canopy pilot sticking to the plan after opening and aborting the approach if someone else causes traffic if/when they fail to stick to the plan. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It should be known that if someone wants to progress as a canopy pilot, then they need to dedicate time to the discipline in the form of hop n' pops, high pulls and COACHING. I agree that there is a problem with some people wanting their cake (freefall) and eating it all at the same time (swooping). Seperate landing areas help ... but until more aspiring swoopers realize that they are only hurting their progression as canopy pilots, we'll always have this issue of hot dogs in the pattern. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Spin it anyway you want ... but go back and read what I've said in the past and what Brian has written (mainly the part about communicating in the loading areas). It's not the turn type which is the biggest problem. It's people just winging it after they open. Have a plan, stick to the plan. SWOOPING IS NOT A CRIME!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Check the archives of all the posts related to this topic and you will see that I have always stated that I thought fast canopies and slow ones do NOT mix in the same landing pattern. I am NOT against these proposed changes. But some people equate turn type to canopy speed. But the knowledgable know that speed can be generated without the big turn. Take a highly loaded x-braced canopy and lean into it on a 90 degree turn and you will be coming in faster than someone doing a 270 on a larger canopy. SWOOPING IS NOT A CRIME!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Why stop there? Seems to me people are dying in all sorts of ways in this sport. Ban skydiving altogether and that will solve 100% all the skydiving related fatalities right? SWOOPING IS NOT A CRIME!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Go back and check the archives and see that even a low life nobody like myself was saying these things here before Bill or Brian. But I'm not about to claim credit for nothing. The difference is that a respected canopy pilot, parachute designer and canopy control instructor has decided to add his two cents to the topic. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Brian may not be one of the top PSTers, but you might want to rethink your stance on him not being nationally known in the sport of high performance canopy flight. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Geez tell me something I didn't already know and as a PST qualified competitive swooper believe me a huge chunk (like 90-95%) of my last 1000 jumps have been dedicated to canopy control. But thank you for stereo-typing. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Brian Germain is my hero (at the moment) for his article just posted. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Cool ... I will look it up. But the question remains. Does one need a rig in SL skydiving? I only ask this because by default we can take to the skies Superman style whenever we want in SL. As far as anything over 90s being banned in SL ... oh well maybe if I can figure out how to build things in that game, I can engineer a swooper who does a 270 just to spite the SL canopy nazis. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Do you need a rig in SL when making a pod jump? I know in SL we all have the ability to fly like Superman, so maybe I didn't need to do that gear check? Or is this skypod jumping different and yes you do need a rig? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I came across two seperate DZs in the game last night (one on purpose after a search and one purely coincidental). At the first DZ I visited after my search, I arrived to find the DZ empty and everyone had gone home (I think this was actually the "Skydive SL" though I could be mistaken and well when you ring the bell and no one at manifest is there to greet you (because it's past midnight ... LOL) well I guess they're not ignoring me but instead they are at home sleeping like they do in the real world. Oh and the second DZ I came across, I came close to launching myself into the skies. But I stopped when I did a gear check found no rig and didn't know where to get one. Anyway ... there is tons of things to do in this game and skydiving is just one of many. Of course if I find myself spending more time in Second Life and less time in the real world, well then maybe I need to do some real world skydiving to remind myself that Second Life is not real. It's fun, kind of neat and very novel. But it's not real ... at least not in the big picture. PS: It appears that there is no skydiving in Second Life and instead you're more of a BASE jumper. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I might have to ask some of your peeps where this virtual DZ is. I've known about Second Life for a while now, but it was only last night (or was that early this morning) that I logged in, created an avatar and started fumbling my way around there. Time will tell as to how long this virtual world keeps me interested, but it is a novel idea and certainly a great place for the real world handicapped people to regain some mobility in their lives (not that that would apply to me). So if I showed up at the DZ as some young hottie, would they still ignore me? Damn skygods ... who do they think they are? They're just like the real world of skygods. Can we swoop at the Second Life DZ? Or have they banned 270s? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Denver Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Congrats to Samantha for reaching the summits of all the tallest mountains on each continent (especially the tallest mountain in the world). The sky is the limit for such a young woman. What's next? Maybe a little gravity experience after exiting from an airplane? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

A Mexican restaurant that serves up some of the most potent margs you'll ever try. There is one in Boulder, one in Denver and one up in Fort Collins. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over