Herckydude

I bet that a lot more than 5% of the people in skydiving and aviation use the imperial system over the metric system. When I speak for Belgium: Flemish 60% uses imperial, 40% French uses metric in general. It's not so difficult to convert the given data in this article to the units that are desired by the reader...

I'm sure most pilots are more than willing to practice stalls, slow flight, spins, forced landings etc... with the DZ's plane or another if the DZ is willing to pay for the hours flown. But I guess most DZ's don't want to spend money on flying around empty planes, as most skydivers are not happy to pay extra money for their jumps to have some extra money to allow the pilots to "play" with their airplanes. Just my input...

Dear swoopers! Finally more information about the next edition of the annual Belgian swoopmeet! * On Friday the 21st of June we have a training day where we can start jumping at 09h till 20h in the evening. Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 are competition-days. We have one official training round and nine competition rounds: 3 Distance, 3 Speed and 3 Zone Accuracy. The usual stuff! Compared to the past, we don't have a spare day anymore. But as it will be 25°C, with a light breeze (1m/s) all weekend long, we don't need that spare day anymore ;-) We will finish the competition on Sunday afternoon at 15h at the latest. On Saturday evening we plan a BBQ with some beers and music. Horsefriends-style! The BBQ is included in the registration fee. Extra BBQ portions for non-competitors can be ordered by sending an e-mail to claudia.stratermans@telenet.be, price is €12,5. * The cost of the competition has not changed and remains €275. This includes 10 jumps (1 training jump, 9 competition jumps) and the barbecue on Saturday evening. Competitors who do register and pay a deposit of €50 before May 31, only have to pay an extra €200 at the day of arrival, meaning they only pay €250 in total. In other words: registering and paying before the end of May saves you €25. For obvious reasons, the €50 deposit is not refundable and covers the expenses that the organization have to make to organize the competition. * Jump prices for the training day are at €14/jump, exit altitude 5000ft to 6000ft. Non made competition jumps will be refunded as €14/jump. * 25€ of each competitor goes to prize money. As usual this competition is more about the fun and less about the money... * The competition rules in general will be the FAI rules, exceptions will be made well clear before the start of the competition. * In Belgium, an AAD is mandatory for all jumps, but for the swooptraining and our competition, swoopers are allowed to jump without AAD when they sign a waiver. Funjumps at 13000ft without AAD are not allowed! * Lodging is possible in a tent at the dropzone or the airfield, and there are also some alternatives nearby, ranging in price from cheap to expensive. * We are pleased to welcome the Dutch swoopers! This year the Black Mountain CP competition will not only count as Belgian Nationals, but also as Dutch Nationals! * Still interested in joining the meet? Click on this link, fill in the blanks and the first step in scoring the gates is completed: www.pcv.be/BMCPC2013 After registering, you can pay the 50€ registration on the following account: Para Centrum Vlaanderen VZW Nieuwe Dijkstraat 44 B-3290 Schaffen IBAN BE69 0354 3267 2278 Bic : GEBABEBB If you need more info, please send us an e-mail. More questions? Send an email to evanlommel@hotmail.com! We hope to see you soon, dragging the water! the Black Mountain organizing committee

Hello! The annual and famous Belgian swoopcomp, held at Black Mountain is this year going to happen in May. The dates: Thursday the 17th of May we have a training day where we can start jumping at 0900hrs till 2000 hrs in the evening. Friday 18 and Saturday 19 competition, we have one training round and nine competition rounds. This is it: 3 Distance, 3 Speed and 3 Zone Accuracy on our nice pond... Sunday is our spare-day... hopefully we don't need it but if we have to we plan to jump till 1400hrs for the competition. But if we can, we try to finish all rounds by Saturday evening, followed by a nice barbecue and some nice cold Belgian beer, music and some more beer ... The cost of the competition is 275 Euro's. This includes 10 jumps (1 training jump, 9 competition jumps) and a barbecue on Saturday evening. Competitors who do register before the 30th of April get a 25 Euro discount and have to pay a further 200 Euro's at the manifest. The 50 Euro's registration is not refundable and covers the expenses that have to be made by the organisation. Sorry for that one. If you still want to join us, click on this link, fill in the blanks and the first step in scoring the gates is completed: https://docs.google.com/​spreadsheet/​ccc?key=0Al7fpmFOR9r3dFhKR1​R0blBEZ3pEVlFOaDVKWElNYUE#​gid=0 You can pay the 50€ registration on the following account: Para Centrum Vlaanderen VZW Nieuwe Dijkstraat 44 B-3290 Schaffen IBAN BE69 0354 3267 2278 Bic : GEBABEBB Jump prices for the training day are 14 Euro/jump, exit altitude 5000 to 6000 ft. Jump prices during the competition are also 14 Euro/jump and will be refunded if they are not completed. 25€ of each competitor goes to prize money, as usual this competition is more about the fun and less about the money... The competion rules in general will be the FAI rules, exceptions will be made well clear before the start of the competition. The rules are the new rules, but non X braced don't have to drag the entry gate for distance. In Belgium, an AAD is mandatory for all jumps, but for the swooptraining and the swoopcompetition swoopers are allowed to jump without AAD when they sign a waiver. Funjumps from 13000 ft without AAD are not allowed! Lodging is possible in a tent on the dropzone or the airfield, and there are also some alternatives nearby, ranging in price from cheap to expensive. If you need more info, please send us an e-mail. Questions? Send an email to evanlommel@hotmail.com and I am happy to answer all your questions. Hope to see you soon, Black Mountain Swoop Team

You shouldn't do this in RVSM airspace... Also not in all airspaces it is recommended to do a lot of manual flying, with or without FD, manual flying is a higher workload. But you're damn right on the point of not being a pussy and to fly manual when the occasion is there to do it.

Registered so far: Erwin Baatenburg de Jong Holland Erwin Vanlommel Belgium Grim Swinnen Belgium Anthony Daumerie Belgium Nina Engel Germany Arno Declercq Belgium Ronald (Superman) Emonts Belgium Gerard Burnside France Nicolas Tombari Belgium Steve Braff Belgium Rémi Zabardi France Glenn Farrell Australia Pieter Wittevrongel Belgium Tobias Koch Germany Frederique Roeloffzen Holland Mirko Di Siena Italia Marc Birky Jacobs Belgium You want to join us? Fill in the link: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dEpRdmhRZE84UTV1UGRnOS1DSmE4LXc6MQ#gid=0 Check us out on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166446766741240 Hope to see you at Zwartberg, Erwin

Registrations are coming in, at this moment 5 nationalities and we especially welcome the newcomers from France! For those interested to join the comp, check the previous post! Erwin

Hello swoopers, After a bad winter, we are ready to start for a much better 2011, we organize a new swoop competition at Black Mountain!! A new Government or not, this is on!!!! Last year we had once again a great thrilling competition and this year we're going to make it happen again! The dates of the Black Mountain Canopy Piloting competition 2011 have been set!!! This year it's going to happen in june, on a beautiful blue sky no windy day! Indeed, those are the dates: On friday 10th of june we have a training day where we can start jumping at 1000hrs till 2000 hrs in the evening. Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 competition, we have one training round and nine competition rounds. This is it: 3 Distance, 3 Speed and 3 Zone Accuracy on our nice pond... (OK Dubai was better for those who were spoiled this winter!) Monday is our spare-day... hopefully we don't need it but if we have to we plan to jump till 1400hrs for the competition. But if we can, we try to finish all rounds by Saturday evening, followed by a nice barbecue and some nice cold Belgian beer, music and some more beer ... The cost of the competition is 275 Euro's. This includes 10 jumps (1 training jump, 9 competition jumps) and a barbecue on Sunday evening. Competitors who do register before the 31st of May get a 25 Euro discount and have to pay a further 200 Euro's at the manifest. The 50 Euro's registration is not refundable and covers the expenses that have to be made by the organization. Sorry for that one. If you still want to join us, click on this link, fill in the blanks and the first step in scoring the gates is completed: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dEpRdmhRZE84UTV1UGRnOS1DSmE4LXc6MQ#gid=0 You can pay the 50€ registration on the following account: Para Centrum Vlaanderen VZW Nieuwe Dijkstraat 44 B-3290 Schaffen IBAN BE69 0354 3267 2278 Bic : GEBABEBB Jump prices for the training day are 14 Euro/jump, exit altitude 5000 to 6000 ft. Jump prices during the competition are also 14 Euro/jump and will be refunded if they are not completed. 25€ of each competitor goes to prize money, als usual this competition is more about the fun and less about the money... The competion rules in general will be the FAI rules, exceptions will be made well clear before the start of the competition. In Belgium, an AAD is mandatory for all jumps, but for the swooptraining and the swoopcompetition swoopers are allowed to jump without AAD when they sign a waiver. Funjumps from 13000 ft without AAD are prohibited! Lodging is possible in a tent on the dropzone or the airfield, and there are also some alternatives nearby, ranging in price from cheap to expensive. More info can be found on this link: http://www.uitingenk.be/en/commerce_cats/record/72/accommodation.html We ask you to make reservations yourself, but we have no problem to help you if you need it. Questions? Send an email to evanlommel@hotmail.com and I am happy to answer all your questions. Hope to see you soon, Black Mountain Swoop Team

FLCPA Meet #1 Skydive Deland- January 29 Australian CP Nationals @ Sydney Skydivers Feb 16-20 FLCPA Meet #2 Skydive City Z-Hills - March 26 FLCPA Meet #3 Skydive Palatka - April 16 FLCPA Meet #4 Raeford Parachute Center - May 14 FLCPA Meet #5 Skydive The Farm - June 11 BELGIUM Black Mountain Swoop Comp - June 11-13 USPA CP Nats SD Spaceland Aug 31-Sept 3

So, is there any update yet on the AAD's? The fact that an AAD is mandatory is understandable, but why certain types and others not? (except for FXC off course... ) Is it safer (certainly for a competition at this level) to force people to jump an AAD that has no swoop mode and to prohibit others that do have a swoop mode? To my opinion the list with allowed AAD's is not complete!

Competitors that have registered so far: 1 Matthew Sweeney UK 2 Grim Swinnen BEL 3 Paul Alexandrow AUT 4 Ronald Emonts BEL 5 Luc Knuts BEL 6 Frederique vd Hilst NED 7 Erwin Vanlommel BEL 8 Erwin Baatenburg NED 9 Jordy Zangerle BEL 10 Pieter Wittevrongel BEL 11 Nicolas Tombari BEL 12 Mike Vogeleer BEL 13 Laurent Vanhecke BEL 14 Nina Engel GER 15 Johan Nuyts BEL 16 Marc Jacobs BEL 17 Tobia Alsiö SWE 18 Bo Wienberg DK

Three weeks to go to the competition... If you want to pay 225 Euro's and save 25 Euro's, please register at evanlommel@hotmail.com before May 07 and pay 50 Euro's on account nr. Para Centrum Vlaanderen Fortis: Iban BE69 0354 3267 2278 Bic : GEBABEBB Hope to see you all soon, Erwin Vanlommel

Hello swoopers, The time has come to take your rigs and come to Belgium. Last year we had a great competition and this year we're going to make it happen again! The dates of the Black Mountain Canopy Piloting competition 2010 have been set!!! Unfortunately we had to change our dates because everybody had to, due to the WPC in Russia. So now we meet from Friday 21st of May till monday 24th of May. On friday we have scheduled a training day where we can start jumping from 1000hrs till 2000 hrs in the evening. Saturday and Sunday competition, we have one training round and nine competition rounds (3 Distance, 3 Speed and 3 Zone Accuracy). With the new rules. :-) Monday is our spare-day... hopefully we don't need it but if we have to we plan to jump till 1400hrs for the competition. Whenever possible, we try to finish all rounds in the weekend, followed by a nice barbecue and some nice cold Belgian beer... The cost of the competition is 250 Euro's. This includes 10 jumps, 1 training jump and 9 competition jumps and a barbecue on Sunday evening. Competitors who register before the 7th of May and pay a 50 Euro advance get a 25 Euro discount cash-back after the competition! This allows us to organize the things better and anticipate on the amount of people coming. You can pay this money on the following account: Para Centrum Vlaanderen Fortis: Iban BE69 0354 3267 2278 Bic : GEBABEBB Jump prices for the training day are 14 Euro/jump, exit altitude 5000 to 6000 ft. Jump prices during the competition are also 14 Euro/jump and will be refunded if they are not used. Prize money will depend on the amount of competitors, but we guarantee at least 500 Euro's prize money for the overall winner. Competition rules in general will be the FAI rules with the new accuracy rules (again), exceptions will be made well clear before the start of the competition. In Belgium, an AAD is mandatory for all jumps, but for the swooptraining and the swoopcompetition jumpers are allowed to jump without AAD when they sign a waiver. Funjumps from 13000 ft without AAD are not allowed! Lodging is possible in a tent on the dropzone or the airfield, and there are also some alternatives nearby, ranging in price from cheap to expensive. Rooms can be reserved for you (shared with 4 to 6 swoopers) if you request it on the registration form, and the cheapest solution is about 16 Euro's/night. If you are interested to participate, please send an email to evanlommel@hotmail.com with the registration form and I am happy to answer all your questions. Hope to see you soon, The Black Mountain Swoop Team

Are there any changes in the 2010 competition rules compared to 2009?

Sowww... any news about 2010 yet? Can someone tell me when the IPC meet is scheduled for CP this year? Erwin

Hello swoopers, after our wonderfull swoopmeet in Zwartberg - Belgium, Katja Calluy took a lot of nice pictures. If you want to have a look at them, please click on the following links to see yourself or somebody else in action. If you find a picture you like, you can mail her on the following address: katja.calluy@gmail.com She will mail you the requested picture in a better quality so you can have a print-out or so. http://picasaweb.google.be/Karl.Goossens/SwoopVrijdagInZwartberg# http://picasaweb.google.be/Karl.Goossens/SwoopBlackMountainSaturday220809Part1# http://picasaweb.google.be/Karl.Goossens/SwoopBlackMountainSaturday22082009Part2# http://picasaweb.google.be/Karl.Goossens/SwoopBlackMountain22082009Part3# http://picasaweb.google.be/Karl.Goossens http://picasaweb.google.be/GuyVerbraeken

Passing 30 competitors, here's the list: Name Country Erwin Vanlommel BEL Grim Swinnnen BEL Ronald Reijmen BEL Erwin Baatenburg NL Frederique Vanderhilst NL Michael Vaughan AUS Shane Price AUS Nina Engel GER GER Roel Roeloffzen NL Rod. Mc. Crory IRL Albert Berchtold USA Nick Kyndt BEL Steve Braff BEL Mike Vogeleer BEL Johan Nuyts BEL Maarten Siegers NL Tom Gilmartin AUS Peter Kallehave DEN Marc Jacobs BEL Bavo Vleminckx BEL Bo Wienberg DEN Ronald Emonts BEL Jordy Zangerlé BEL Daumerie Anthony BEL Gonzalo Sanudo CHILI Karl Goossens BEL Mark Thierry NL Oliver Jünger GER Bruno Brokken BEL Pablo Hernandez SPA Achim Bledau GER Aldric Ludescher AUT Fabien Rameau NL

At this moment the competition counts 20 participants. 1 Erwin Vanlommel 2 Grim Swinnnen 3 Ronald Reijmen 4 Erwin Baatenburg 5 Frederique Vanderhilst 6 Michael Vaughan 7 Shane Price 8 Nina Engel 9 Roel Roeloffzen 10 Rod. Mc. Crory 11 Albert Berchtold 12 Tobias Landman 13 Steve Braff 14 Mike Vogeleer 15 Johan Nuyts 16 Maarten Siegers 17 Tom Gilmartin 18 Petra Mans 19 Marc Jacobs 20 Guido vanden Eynde If you're interested to participate and you are not on the list, please send an email to evanlommel@hotmail.com for your registration. Hope to see you soon!

Hello swoopers, Info on the Black Mountain Canopy Piloting competition 2009 in Belgium: The dates of the swoop competition in Zwartberg, Belgium have been set: Training day: Friday the 21st of August from 1000 Local time. Competition: Saturday and Sunday 22 and 23 August. The cost of the competition is 225 Euro's. This includes 10 jumps, 1 training jump and 9 competition jumps. We plan to do 3 rounds of distance, 3 rounds of zone accuracy and 3 jumps of speed. Also included in the money is a small breakfast with two croissants and coffee on Saturday and Sunday morning and a nice barbecue saturday evening. However, to be able to organise the events in due time and to have a good idea about the number of participants, we request the competitors to pay an advance of 50 Euro's on the following account before the 10th of August: IBAN BE69 0354 3267 2278 BIC GEBABEBB Participants deciding to compete who didn't pay before the 10th of August need to pay an additional “late inscription” fee of 50 Euro's. Jump prices for the training day are 14 Euro/jump, exit altitude 5000 to 6000 ft. Jump prices during the competition are also 14 Euro/jump and will be paid back if they are not performed. Prize money will depend on the amount of competitors, but we guarantee at least 500 Euro's prize money for the overall winner. Competition rules will in general be the FAI rules with the new accuracy rules, changes will be made clear before the start of the competition. In Belgium, an AAD is mandatory for all jumps, but for the swooptraining and the swoopcompetition jumpers are allowed to jump without AAD when they sign a waiver. Funjumps from 13000 ft without AAD are not allowed! Lodging is possible in a tent on the dropzone and there are also some alternatives nearby, ranging in price from 16 Euro's/night to 55 Euro's/night. Rooms can be reserved for you (shared with 4 to 6 swoopers) if you request it on the registration form, as the cheapest sollution for 16 Euro's/night. If you are interested to participate, please send an email to evanlommel@hotmail.com and you will receive an email with a registration form and the answer to your questions. Registration is final when the 50 Euro registration fee is paid. Long swoops, Black Mountain Swoop Team

The Black Mountain swoopcompetition in Zwartberg is also ON! Regsitrations will start soon (very very soon), the competition will take place 22/23 Aug, with a training day the 21st Aug.

I just compared the line trims of the VE90 and the VC90 and to me they are the same. So, what is the difference between the two canopies, apart from the WL chart and the removable slider (off course). 300's or also things inside the canopy? Curious!

Maybe it's good to give some advantage to zone acc. Speed and distance are good scoring rounds for the heavy boys, but zone acc is more difficult for them. Fat boys can score 6 rounds, skinny swoopers have 3 rounds to try that stand up with some downwind. Now people train some more for zone acc, which is a nice event to see for the spectators. If I could change the rules, I would propose one canopy size for all rounds, but leave the scoring system as it is (but yes indeed, the speed scores for different performances are close together).

I think we will follow the Henny and the "Dutchies" with soms Belgians too ...

On 6 and 7 October we will have a swoop competition at our pond in Zwartberg. (Belgium) Prices will be about 50 Euro's inscription and 15 Euro/jump. This is not a big money competition but more about fun. The rounds will be speed, distance and accuracy. If you have questions, feel free to post them or come see us at Bussloo. If you want to see how our pond looks like, you can check our site: www.swoopduvels.be Here you can find our latest movie: http://www.swoopduvels.be/2007/2007-9-climcotech%20THE%20MOVIE%20BREED%20kopie.wmv See you at Zwartberg!

If this was true you Americans would have half the drag than the rest of the world ... now I know why you have the distance record ... Force drag = 1/4 C_D rho Area V^2 is not completely correct. It should be: Force drag = 1/2 C_D rho Area V^2