CanuckInUSA

Know what sounds hypocritical to me? "Whuffo you dive that canopy close to the ground?" You sound exactly like the non-skydivers who want to protect us all from ourselves. Ah yes those horrible swoopers, what a menace we are. I mean according to this thread, 3 out of the reported 25 fatalities were because of the evil hook turners. Obviously 3 is more than we'd like to see, but I thought we were going in the right direction this year when it comes to fatalities of this nature. We should all be hung and dried because we clearly don't know what we're doing. I can't tell you how many times I've killed myself doing a hook turn. All DZs need to ban us from ever thinking of touching our risers. Clearly the only way to fly a canopy is by the toggles and God forbid anyone who would ever dream of jumping a canopy smaller than a 150. Hmmm ... I'm thinking of buying a new canopy (a 90ish something JVX with an RDS system and HMA lines) and start doing 450s (once I practice the 450s up high first). Of course there's a chance I'll be going too fast for my Cypres under this scenario. I wonder if the DZOs that require AADs will let me do hop n' pops at their DZs with either no AAD or having it turned off. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hey Tim thanks for giving us your two cents. I couldn't agree with you more that the person demoing the canopy needs to fly the shit out of it up high. And thanks for telling us about your bud Frank. Jumpers of the more modern era like myself are servered well by the people who came before us, who paid the ultimate price so that we can jump the gear we have access to today. I have been formely trained on how to swoop and could go through a bunch of drills for someone in that regard. But not every person wishing to demo a canopy is a swooper. But people need to not be afraid of playing with their canopies, and play with them up high. If you want to demo a canopy, dedicate some time to flying this canopy. Don't go off ordering a demo canopy and go do your normal skydiver with all that fun freefall. Instead pull high and attempt to wring it out. Be smart when it comes to your landing (chances are you don't know this canopy all that much), but as Tim mention, fly it hard up high to see if it's the canopy for you. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Welcome to the joys of canopy flight. It only gets better from here for the people with patience and/or people with proper motivation. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Call it whatever you want. When I reach for my risers, I have a pretty good chance of knowing where they are. It's call repetition and I practiced it up high before I brought it low to the ground. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Isn't this the way it works. We start off knowing lots in this sport and as we jump more and more we lose all that knowledge we started off with. So it's only natural that someone with 100 jumps would know more about canopy control than someone with 1000s of jumps. At least this is how I thought it worked. I think he'd be better off on a 78, maybe even a 74. In all seriousness to the orginal poster, don't even think about downsizing right now. 70 jumps on one canopy isn't enough to know all that there is to know about it. I have no knowledge of this Springo canopy you speak of, but if you don't like it, why don't you look into a Sabre2, a Saffire2 and/or a Pilot. I started learning to swoop on a Sabre2 190, before I went down to a Sabre2 170, before I went to a Crossfire2 139 (a big step), before I went to a Crossfire2 119, before I went to a Velocity 111 all before I went to my current Velocity 103. See the pattern? I started off on a bigger wing, put hundreds of jumps on each wing before I went to the next smaller one and never took too much of a downsizing step. Be safe, be smart ... swooping rocks ... but it is very unforgiving of the errors that we all make. I came close to femuring under a Sabre2 170 when I was caught in the corner with about 350ish jumps and I'd like to think that being under a 170 is the reason why I didn't mess myself up. If I was under a smaller wing, I likely would have femured. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I don't use it freefall (LOL ... I haven't done a whole lot of freefall in the last year), but I do use the light faced style of Suunto mounted on a belt around my waist for setting up my swoops and am very very happy with it's performance in this manner. My Suunto rocks for helping me to setup my swoops!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I don't know all of the nitty gritty details of what's been going on in Brush (and believe me I know more than what I let on to know, but I still don't know much compared to the actual Brush people). But it really is sad to see how things have transpired here. Brush without a doubt is a family. Dysfunctional yes, but a family nonetheless (if there was any doubt, which there shouldn't be, their family was there in mass this last weekend at the Moab boogie). I don't know much about what's been going on down in Canon City as it's been 2+ years since I've jumped there. But the jumping scene here in Colorado need not be as bad as some people make it out to be. Colorado is a great place to skydive. It's no accident that I've made the respectible number of jumps that I've made in my short time in this sport. Despite what some (southern acclaimated people think), the weather here in Colorado is some of the best weather you'll find anywhere when you consider we jump all 12 months of the year. Mile-Hi is the largest DZ in the state and yes in the past it (the past being the key word here) for sure had that "Tandem Factory" label. But Frank is taking this DZ to a new level what with his new Otter, the swoop pond and the planned hangars. Brush has always been about having fun at their DZ. Sure their idea of fun may be different from others, but rest assured, they are having fun. Their weather (IMHO) isn't as good as what happens in Longmont, but sending up X number of loads per day has never been their priority. Their priority seems to be "let's welcome everyone who visits our DZ into our family ... as dysfunctional as we may be". And yes Brush has one of the worst Farmer McNasty's you will ever meet. I've got to think that their DZ wouldn't be going through what they've been having to go through if it wasn't for this nut case. So please people ... let it go. Yes there is some good shit happening at Mile-Hi right now, but let's not forget that there IS a market for a DZ in Brush. Not everyone likes to jump at a large DZ. Some people like jumping at the smaller DZ like what Brush has to offer. My days (at least in the short term future) are numbered here in Colorado. But bickering amougst each other is not sending out the right message to those outside of Colorado. This state is one of the best places to live (once again in my humble opinion) and I would love to come back here in the not too distant future and see a thriving DZ in Longmont, Brush and yes Canon City as well. Please people, as long as they're jumping safely (sure we've all made mistakes in the past), let's leave the Brush people to be what they're best at. Being Brush people. It can be a fun place to jump at if you arrive there with the right attitude. And for the Brush people, be yourself, be smart, be safe ... have fun like we know you can. PS: This post was not direct at you Mary, you just happened to be the last one in the queue. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Thanks for the info Andy and having you numerous times in my short skydiving career, I can totally picture you confronting this professor/officer you speak of. I've met a lot of AFA cadets who jump here in Colorado and I can't think of one single guy or gal who is a bad person. They all represent themselves with a maturity level beyond what others of the same age can. So the AFA can't be all that bad to these students. I just hope that cases like this help clean up the potential crap that may be going on there. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hmmm ... not sure what to say except that Windcatcher is much hotter than she ever let on to us before (either that or I missed the other pics you may have posted of yourself). BTW ... congrats on your 100th. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I haven't worked since April. Not sure if this is good or bad, except that my savings are much smaller now than what they were back in April. But I still have enough to play for a little while longer. Then there's always the house which could be sold to play even more. But at some point this is going to have to stop. I'm on to road to poverty in my (pre) retirement years if I don't change things. I guess I better start BASE jumping more huh? But swooping is plenty dangerous enough isn't it? Now what does this all have to do with Columbus Day? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There's been a DZ.COM tent at the Eloy holiday boogie the last three years I've attended where people gather, meet each other (if you don't already know each other) and organize jumps with each other. Don't be shy, that's they key. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The DZ where I do most of my jumps will NOT let me jump with tandems because I'm not a tandem rated instructor nor am I an AFF instructor. Yes my last 600 jumps have predominately been hop n' pops where I've been working on my swooping. But my first 750 or so jumps were mainly freefly jumps. But that still isn't good enough to let me jump with tandems. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Tell them that it's a parachute and that it wants to open. It just may not open on heading or it may open into line twists. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

This is not the first time something like this has surfaced at the Air Force Academy. In fact I'm wondering if this a new incident, or just left over from earlier this summer? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Weight: 180-185 lbs. Height: 5 foot 10 Age: 42 (look and act much younger) Education: College Level Certificate Vices: People who drive slow in the left lane Tattoos: Tribal band on the left bicept Piercings: None Wingloading: 2.2 with weight, 2.0 without Number of Jumps: 1424 (skydives and BASE jumps) My only problem is that I'm on my way out of the USA, so I can't help the orginator of this thread who wants to move to the south. So I'm guessing that I don't qualify. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

For what it's worth I was told by the INS that I'm no longer welcome in the USA (at least as a resident), so next week I'm moving back to my native Canada. So you're not the only person frustrated. I will miss Mile-Hi's new swoop pond that is for sure (not to mention missing Colorado's great 12 month jumping season). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Isn't this the truth. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Why? Is it because you need help trying to setup for making the entry gates? This is where your one-on-one HP canopy coaching comes in. Or is it because you don't know the rules of the distance course, the speed carving course and/or the zone accuracy course. You don't need a camp for these. Just check out the details here on the canopypiloting website. Don't get me wrong, a low stress, low expectation swooping camp (something we've sort of talked about in Colorado, but this was for the existing local CPC competitors) isn't a bad idea. But I still think that the proper progression is: 1) Seek basic canopy control coaching. 2) Build the appropriate canopy control experience. 3) Seek HP canopy control coaching. 4) Build the appropriate swooping experience with no gates. 5) Seek more HP canopy control coaching hitting gates. 6) Practice, practice, practice (hop n' pops are best) 7) Find a local swoop comp, enter it and don't worry where you finish. 8) Know that there is someone always better than you. 9) Be safe, be smart, have fun and set realistic goals. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The simple solution for swoopers wanting to go big (going big meaning not only doing bigger turns, but also flying gear like the RDS and HMA lines which cause less drag), is to not go big on regular loads where the AAD may be benificial. A normal 270 shouldn't set off one's AAD during the turn. But big turns starting above 1k on a wing with minimal drag should be done when no other traffic is around (ie: go big only on hop n' pop type loads). Also, it takes the swooper time to go through their after opening procedures (make sure your airspace is clear, make sure you're turned towards the DZ and/or turned into the winds, deal with your slider and possibly your pilot chute if/when using an RDS system, open up your chest strap, unstow your brakes and fly your canopy to your setup point ensuring you're in the proper sequence of swoopers landing). To add another step to shut off your AAD to your after opening procedure is just taking more time and adding more stress to the skydive. I'd much rather just jump with my AAD turned off when I'm doing hop n' pop loads and not go big when doing normal loads. It really doesn't get much simpler than that. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Pond swooping is one of the most fun things I have done to date. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I see your point in this but I guess they offer these plea bargains to avoid additional trials dates and backing up the system worse than what it already is. Oh and to add insult to injury, on top of the fines I had to pay for the "Head Light Infraction", "No Insurance" and additional court costs, those bastards made me pay an addtional $92 for the "Victims Assistance Fund" an additional $35 for the "Victims Compensation Fund", $1 for something called the "Family Friendly Surcharge" and $2.60 for something called "VAST min for off after 5/1/03" whatever the fuck that is. I just love that those bastards are making me pay an additional $130 for a bunch of people I never victimized. Flame me all you want people ... I don't give a shit right about now. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I had a day in court today for a traffic offense last month where a cop pulled me over for not stopping at a stop sign (I rolled through the intersection at about 3-5 mph on a deserted country road), and since I had no insurance for my motorcycle I got nailed, guilty as charged. So today with my new insurance papers in hand, I showed up for my day in court. Now it's common practice for the District Attorney to offer people like myself plea bargains but I just couldn't notice how random and arbitrary these plea bargains can be. I got my traffic offense reduced from the 4 pointer that it was to a 1 point head light infraction, but they would not budge one bit on my lack of insurance charge ($500 fine and 4 points against my driving record). But there was this latino dude who could not speak English who in my humble opinion got off much easier than myself. You see he ran some red light, got into an accident, left the scene of the accident and was picked up later by the cops for all of this as well as not having insurance and driving under a suspended license for a DUI dating back a few years. Sounds pretty harsh huh? I thought it would be until the DA offered him the following ... The DA kept the traffic ticket charge but dropped the leaving the scene of the accident. The DA also dropped the charges for not having a valid drivers license but did keep the charges for the lack of insurance. WTF!!! I say. Yes I was guilty of not having insurance. But I didn't cause an accident nor did I run away from the scene of an accident with no valid drivers license. This guy got basically the same punishment that I got yet he did something which caused an accident, ran away from that accident and had no insurance and no drivers license. Thank you Mr DA for installing great confidence in your legal system. Oh and while I know this comment will provoke some people to flame me, I couldn't help but take note at the majority of the people who were in court today who couldn't speak a word of English. It's nice to know that the INS is so concerned about people like myself (making me leave the US next week) while illegal Mexicans are just ignored and may I say this ... accommodated to make their stays more enjoyable. Flame away ... as it's back to your regular scheduled programming. I'm fucking pissed off right now. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Specialized camps couldn't hurt. But what you're asking for already exists. It's called the CPC and it's the premiere amateur swooping league. Why not enter you local CPC swoop comp and start learning there? I would however highly recommend that prospective competitive swoopers first seek advanced coaching from reputable swooping coaches and then shoot the gates in practice before you subject yourself to the pressures of competition. But once you've got a little HP canopy coaching and have practiced some gates in the lower stress environment of practice, then there's nothing you can't learn during a season on swooping on the CPC than what a specialized camp could offer. In fact I think you'll learn a lot more competiting for one season on the CPC. Plus don't be one of those guys who says "I'll only compete when I know I can win". There's only one winner at a swoop comp yet there's plenty to learn even if you're bringing up the rear most of the season. It's all about being able to consistently hit the entry gates and making it through the desired course and it's nothing that 10,000 jumps can't fix. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

They're trying to prevent possible suicide bombers. Stadium security is not very tight these days and a would be suicide bomber wouldn't have much trouble getting into a stadium during an event and killing a few innocent people. But how much security is too much? I don't know that answer. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Granted I only have one year's worth of competitive swooping experience to my credit, but I echo this statement. I ran a lot of gates this summer practicing for the CPC and I learned a lot about how to read the winds, how to setup and how to make the gates (10 footers). I still have tons more to learn about competitive swooping, but I would be happy to talk about what I learned to those trying to get into it (ie if you're someone from western Canada wanting to get into competitive swooping, let's talk as I'm moving up there next week and will be looking to continue to press forward not backward with my short competitive swooping career). Hopefully things will change in the not too distant future. This was the first year of the CPC and we can't get too critical about something that's just starting. It was disappointing at the CPC Championships to see hardly anyone from Illinois, Texas and the Northeast (what happened to all those swoopers at the Ranch and Crosskeys), but at the same time I see that there is a current strong contingent of swoopers coming out of Georgia with some good existing talent in Oregon, the Carolinas, California and yes here in Colorado as well. Give us a few more years and local grass-root swoops comps could become the norm. Then again there will probably always be the beer line swooper who doesn't give a rats ass about running gates as they're likely only swooping to be seen and not swooping to learn how to push their limits. I welcome the opportunity learn from those who started before me. I've already received some good coaching on how to fly my canopy and I think my repetitive practice this summer running gates took care of how to setup for competition swoops. But I have tons to learn about the new RDS type of gear which is out there and I still have tons to learn about refining my swoops to make better distance, speed and accuracy jumps (and freestyle is tons of fun if/when you're not afraid of getting wet). So who knows what will happen this year Chuck. I may be calling you when it's time to visit Raeford (if you don't mind giving me some tricks to help me get better and ultimately finish ahead of you on PST events if/when I'm ever allowed to take the pro qualifier). Oh and if I can wing it, I might just be at the SkyQuest swoop comp competiting at sea level for the first time. I'm hoping to make the Ground Launch Championships as well. But we shall see what happens once I'm settled in after my move next week and see if I can find someone to take care of my pet in my absense. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over