ianmdrennan

A word about gear maintenance: As we subject our gear to the elements in the harshest way we need to be vigilant about maintenance. We need to be sure our gear drys properly (I prefer in shade with a fan blowing on it or even a high hop n pop) and that we pay extra attention to our reserves getting wet. Terminal openings should be avoided and can be unpredictable at best. As pointed out, SA has a 6 month reserve cycle. My recommendation is, that after a weekend of getting soaked, that the reserve container is opened, dryed out and inspected. Remember, wet gear wears faster and requires extra care. The price of pond swooping, IMO. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

A good deal has already been coverered in some way in this thread but here's my shot at it. Starting out: The temptation is great to simply go and drag water on your first pond swoops. This is generally not something I recommend. I believe it's a good idea for pilots to do a few swoops along the SIDE of the pond, over ground, like they were normal swoops. This allows the pilot a few things: You get to swoop over conditions you are already comfortable with You get to gauge how far you'll go, and where your 'touchdown' point will be. This will help you refine your setup with confidence You will begin to get used to having water in your peripherals while landing You will be less likely to get 'sucked in' As the comfort level grows: Once the pilot has reached a comfort level in this environment they then move over to the water itself. Once again, here there are some factors to be aware of: Getting wet is not the end of the world. Fly consistantly and cleanly for the safest (least erratic) approach. Stick near the edge of the pond so you can bail out if you'd like to Do your first few approaches with no intention of touching down. Stay 5 foot above the water and get used to being over it while giving yourself a little bit of a buffer Don't swoop gates just yet. Focus on getting comfortable on where you need to be in your setup and how far you'll go. The likelyhood of 'diving down' on the gates at this stage is high and you dont need the added distraction Don't stare at the water. Look ahead and use your peripheral vision to help with altitude cues. Also be aware that with huge ponds (like JSC and Mile High) your peripherals will be filled with water as well. Make sure you're looking ahead at the shore in some capacity When you're finally ready to start touching water, gently set yourself down. Don't reach for the water, let it come to you. Be gentle, as Stu said there's no need to be an anchor and dragging water WILL shorten your swoop. Don't do anything you wouldn't do over land! Once you are comfortable over water: Here the fun really begins. You get to start learning the limits of your wing. Set up gates and get used to swooping through them. Remember to be careful of diving down on top of them. Being over water, staring straight down at your 'entry point' is almost a guarenteed way to hit the water....hard Gradually start exploring the limits of your wing and your skills. It's critical to remember that as you begin to explore new things, you're going to easily fall into a 'rush trap' where you are doing moves before you've reached the surface of the water. Make sure you are level before trying your moves. Be safe, have fun, and enjoy the water. It's there to help you when you screw up but it's just a small buffer. Great for horizontal speed (hence being level = good) but high vertical speeds can still have the same effect as the ground. I've seen people hit hard enough to blow their dytter to pieces and be lifeflighted out. No matter the medium, high vertical speed into the ground/water is bad Hope this helps in some way. Remember to seek out advice from as many qualified people as possible. There are more than a few ways to start your progression over water. Edited to add the obvious: Get coaching from qualified pilots whenever possible. Reinventing the wheel hurts, and is unnecessary

Lets stay on topic folks I'll be editing this post soon to add my thoughts on swoop ponds. Blues, Ian ps: Stu, don't make me molest your myspace page again Performance Designs Factory Team

Uri (from Israel) used to have nurf whistles on his helmet. Was really fun hearing him come in under canopy. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Bev, I'm very proud of you girl

Here's something you don't see every day Performance Designs Factory Team

Canadians dont have birthdays. Happy one's bro. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Im on the fence with this one. On one hand I think better protection is good lets face it, swoop pants offer squat and I often come away with road rash from training or comps. On the other hand it might be just a little too far out there for the sport right now. I'm not sure, but no matter where this goes I do believe we will see swoopers paying closer and closer attention to what they wear. When you consider the fact that the top speed rounds are seperated by 10ths of a second....it starts to really matter. As for where Jim is going with this....I have no idea but I'll be watching with interest.

Can I have a 'hell yes'!

Tell Kristen we said hi, AND have a blast on your trip....both of you

There are also a bunch of canopy pictures in this thread. Enjoy. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Well the weather looks good (albeit a bit windy - can anybody say crosswind!!) so hopefully there'll be some people there. Anyone out there that day that wants to sit and talk shop, trade ideas or just be general canopy geeks, don't be shy to look me up.

Hey all, Lets try and keep this on topic please (ie. leave price gouging out of the discussion). Personally, I'm finding a lot of the medical costs very interesting. They add up fast! Thanks. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Mind if I ask what happened? Those are some serious medical bills! Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Looks an awful lot like a continuous line set VX to me (XAOS'esque) I haven't really heard too much about it, but hopefully T or Chris Beasly (or anyone who's jumped it) can step in with some info. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Done Performance Designs Factory Team

Brought back (and locked) at Bob's request for everyone's amusement Performance Designs Factory Team

You're all bastards for making me delete my first thread......and here I thought you'd all make it easy on me Performance Designs Factory Team

Actually along the lines of the original idea with the X-Rays, if people have the medical costs, and whether or not they had insurance, please post that with your x-rays. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Something to add on to that - don't forget about accuracy. Do the type of turn that allows you to most consistently, safely, and as powerfully as possible for the turn, to hit the gates (5 ft). Once you feel you are able to do that under almost any circumstances (winds, pressure, traffic, DA and a myriad of other considerations) then slowly start increasing the turn radius until your power or accuracy suffers. Then stop there and refine the technique. Rinse and repeat

LOL, thanks everyone. Turtle, I was training in Lake Wales this weekend. I won't be hitting a GA DZ until the middle of January at the earliest because of travels. I'll be at The Farm soon enough

As an advocate of the braked to double front approach I have to say that, IMO, it's success is critically dependant on the pilot staying on the front risers long enough to recover to full flight speed before turning. Most people I see struggling with the technique turn before they ever recovered their lost airspeed, ultimately resulting in a slower swoop than they could have achieved. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

This is a cross post from my thread on www.canopypiloting.com but I wanted to get as much feedback as possible. Performance Designs Factory Team

Play with them and learn them up high, but I'd advise against jumping on the rear riser landing bandwagon just yet. Of all the landing techniques out there it's become the latest offender in people slowing their progression down. There are a million other things you need to focus on before you'll see any rewards from them, and I doubt you're there yet. I'll say what I say to everyone I coach - get a SOLID (very very very solid) foundation of your canopy flight and pattern. Building on that solid base is far easier, and better, if done well. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Thanks guys, that was a lot of fun (even if the winds were 'interesting')