CanuckInUSA

LOL ... looks like I got myself into some trouble again. What else is new? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm on it ... that would be my required reading ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

A Spectre or a Triathlon are both excellent canopies to learn on. But that's all I'm going to say before I get myself into trouble here (something I seem to do every once in a while). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Dear Sunshine I'm concerned that you're not keeping up with the influx of messages. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Welcome to DZ.COM ... I'm also a Mile-Hi jumper and I'm not alone. There's a few of us here on DZ.COM. Weather permitting I'll be jumping this weekend as well, but Saturday isn't looking so promising (damm that Mother Nature). But if you believe the forecast, Sunday will be nice. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Dear Sunshine I couldn't help but notice that your Bubbles icon is enganged in a sweet head down. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Sam Thanks for info about the PST. I do fall into the "Ignorant about the PST" category, but rest assured I will start paying more attention to it from here on out because while I'm nothing more than a novice swooper (who really doesn't want to hurt or kill himself), I am very much interested in the discipline and would love to attend a PST event as a spectator. I knew the guys and gals on the PST were very skilled and competent. Pond swooping may not be a mainstream event like many of the other dangerous Olympic sanctioned events. But the people competeting in it are just professional as these other athletes and they require a high degree of skill to be even considered world class. So I am kind of glad to hear that the ratio of injuries isn't any worse than some of the other dangerous sports. I for one would like to see the PST get more TV exposure (hell I'd love to watch it when Mother Nature grounds me) and I would still like to see it in the Olympics. But I do understand some of the others concerns about not having it included. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You'll want to steer with your risers under a variety of situations. First off, upon opening you should be reaching for your rear risers immediately in order to be in a postion to steer your canopy away from another canopy which may be on a collision course. Second, the rear risers can be used to flare the canopy if you ever break a steering line and you don't want to cut away a perfectly good canopy. Keep in mind though that when flaring with your rear risers, you'll have less control range and the canopy will stall at a higher air speed. Thirdly the rear risers can be used to get back from a long spot (keeping track of your progress is important as there are times that just going full flight or using your fronts risers are more advantageous). There are a number of techniques which can be used to steer the rear risers. You can just pull down on them. Some people like to spread them apart and if you can reach above your risers, you can place your fingers between the risers and the line links (this techniques helps save a little arm strength on those long spots). As far as the front risers are concerned, they can be used whenever you want to have a whopping good time. The dive loops on the front risers can be pulled down and the canopy will enter a steep diving turn building up ever increasing forward and vertical speed. Always keep your toggles in your hands while using your front risers and be warned that you will lose a lot of altitude very quickly so don't do this down low until you know your canopy. Double front risers can also be used to penetrate into a strong head wind as well as get you down faster. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Well this has sure turned into an interesting thread with just as many good points for having pond swooping in the Olympics as not having it. Also, one would think that if pond swooping was in, so then would accuracy jumping. But we know which event the whuffo public would warm up to. Now I don't know much about the PST, so here's a question for the more knowledgeable. How often are the competitors serious injured and/or killed? If most of the injuries are your run of the mill ankle and knee sprains with some shoulder injuries and concusions thrown in to boot, then it really doesn't sound all that different than some of the skiing disciplines (keeping in mind I have worked on World Cup ski races as a ski patroller and did pick up the odd injured body though it wasn't all that frequent) as well as some of the other interest sports like bobsled, luge and skelton. But if many of the competitors are femuring in and/or dying on a regular basis during Pond Swooping, then I guess it shouldn't be included in the Olympics. Too much gore and bad publicity for the sport (and I do tend to agree with Bill concerning the threat of added regulations). PS: I'm trying not to flame anyone here, but for the record, skiing is not like skydiving where smaller and smaller skis equate to high performance. With the advent of shaped skis, they have gotten a little smaller since the mid 90s, but traditionally longer skis equals more stability which equals more speed. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I thought that's what the canopy police were for. Seriously, you do have some good points. But I still think pond swooping and World Cup downhill racing is something that can be compared like apples to apples. One small mistake in either discipline and the competitor is toast. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I think Olympic pond swooping would be a big hit and yes there will be people who would all of a sudden become interested in the sport and show up at their local drop zones to take skydiving lessons. Some of them may think that they could all of a sudden become world class swoopers, but there are many sports out there (downhill skiing comes immediately to mind) that have a training and proficiency hierarchy one must obtain before one reaches that goal of being world class in their sport. Now I do wonder what the public would say when the Olympic favorite biffs into the pond and kills themselves. But then how is this any different from the Olympic downhill ski racer? It has happened, where world class ski racer has crashed and severly injured themselves and/or died during a high profile event. What about America's favorite race car driver Dale what's his name? Skydiving and pond swooping are extreme sports, but so are many other sports. I would love to see it recognized as an Olympic sport. But then what do I know? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

No arguement here and point taken. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I never said anything in this thread about transitioning to a smaller canopy (though I was guilty of talking about that awful word ... speed). To me having a canopy which actually flares arresting the vertical descent before continuing the flare to bleed off of the forward speed is paramount to learning how to make good and yes safe landings. From my experience (yes I agree I don't have very much experienced compared to many others), the student canopies I was first introduced to were old F-111 types with thousands of jumps and flared like crap. As soon as I transitioned to a canopy which could be flared (it didn't have to be smaller, it just had more life to it), my landings got better. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

As skydivers who like to swoop, the answer is obvious. Swoop!!! But before I go on, I'm sure to some, I'm not even a swooper. And that's ok ... I'm still new and learning this whole aspect of skydiving. But it does interest me even if I'm more of a spectator than a participant. Anyway, as I sit here. I'm thinking this is kind of interesting. Airplane pilots are taught to nail their airspeeds on short final just prior to touch down. Why? To obviously not stall, but also to not get stuck in ground effects (ie: a swoop) so that they can land and stop with plenty of runway to spare. In fact a much sought after skill in aviation is to be able to nail your short field take off and landings. But as swoopers, canopy pilots like to bring in extra air speed to increase their swoops distance for as long as the canopy can stay in flight. Quite the contradiction I'd say. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That would be cool and it might open up the eyes of many Whuffos. I mean if the half-pipe is an Olympic event, why can't swooping be one. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I've been sitting here wonder whether or not I should respond, or whether or not I should just shut up. Well I'm a communicator, so I can remain silent no longer. First off, if I've come off as over-confident in a sport which is dangerous, then that is my mistake and something I must learn to deal with. But I am a confident person. I have done many things in my life which have succeeded (as well as the fact that I have suffered failures). Have I hurt myself in sports? Yes many times. Hockey has been the most brutal thing I've been doing to my body for the last 35 years, but I still play it and play it at a high calibre. I'm also a former ski patroller and a rock climber/mountaineer. So I have been exposed to many risky sports and have seen the results of when the human body hits something that it wasn't supposed to hit. Is this sport any different? Yes and no. Do I know everything there is to know about this sport? Hell no. I am constantly going through new experiences (one of the things I really like about). Can you honestly say that you know everything about this sport? But to get back to your question of "why are you insulting me", you must also understand that sometimes some of the people we encounter in life bring out the worst in us. And this is not the first time we've locked horns. I do not disagree with you that new skydivers shouldn't downsize too rapidly. But people will never get better if they aren't allowed to take certain risks and learn from their mistakes, just as long as those risks aren't above their skill levels. Oh I too am a licensed private pilot (I was a pilot before I became a skydiver). But somehow I can see you demeaning this accomplishment as I'm sure in your mind it no way is equivalent to yours. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Dr. Sunshine I find myself in a classic Catch-22 situation here. I'm addicted to skydiving and I can't wait for my next jumping opportunity. But in order for me to pay for my addiction, I must work. But I can't think about work. But if I don't work, I will get fired. But I can't think about work. Ah just shoot me and put me out of my misery. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Can you speak English for me? It would be much easier to understand what you're trying to say. I guess you're superman and the rest of us are obviously inferior and probably shouldn't even be skydiving. Speed equals lift ... but the forward speed is relative and not something to be taken for granted. For someone like Speer, the speed I use on my landings would likely be uncomfortable just as the forward speed someone like SkymonkeyOne and/or Hooknswoop use would be uncomfortable to myself. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Now where on the container is this? I'd like to mount a protrack somewhere other than my head, legs and arms. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Russ I hope you're feeling better soon. I can understand the confidence feelings you may have had. I was never one to get nervous with my dives. But there is an important saying in skydiving. It goes something like this "The trick towards making better skydives in the future is to survive the ones you do today". It's hard to know what went wrong with your landing (we can speculate until we're green, but we weren't there). I never had much success standing up the monster student canopies I first learned on, so I had plenty of PLF practice on those early jumps. But once you start flying a canopy which has some forward speed and a flare to arrest the vertical decent, your landings will become much better. So don't beat yourself up too much for biffing on a student rig. But do remember to respect the dangers of the sport (yikes spoken from someone who came about 20-30 feet away from hooking a turn too low the other day). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I watched the video a 2nd time and did notice someone who looked like SkymonkeyOne swooping under an orange canopy at least once. But Chuck is more visible at other times in the video (he's interviewed twice and I believe you see him jump out of the airplane about three times). Yes the tape was dedicated to the memory of Lisa Gallagher (I believe she's shown swooping the pond at the beginning of the tape prior to the start of the event) and I don't mean to bring up bad memories for anyone concerning her. I was just curious as to ratio of crashes to good swoops. Some of those crashes looked pretty nasty. All in all though I liked the tape and is now one of my favorites in my skydiving tape collection. By the way, that's an awesome swoop at the beginning of the video (where what's his name, the guy who finished 3rd swoops through the Ranch's entrance gate). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hey, I'm on the "I really hope I can convince the boss to let me take some time off of work and go to Perris Valley in May" list. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I bet they tasted good. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I just finished watching the 2001 Pond Swooping Nationals video and I have to say not only was there some neat and gnarly stuff going in the video, but some downright dangerous stuff as well. There seemed to be more crashes than sweet swoops and I'd like to know whether or not the crashes were the norm for most of the swoops or were the producers just sensationalizing the event. Anyone is free to chip in their two cents here, but I'd especially like to hear from SkymonkeyOne as he was one of the competitors. Chuck if you do choose to answer this thread, what canopy were you flying? I had a hard time figuring out where you were with the swoop footage (though I did get a kick of you saying "take chances, don't wear a helmet" and then I see you jumping out of the plane with your helmet). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You won't be dissappointed with a Sabre2. I have one and love it. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over