Jay Moledzki of the Performance Designs Factory Team, recently hosted a special Flight-1 swoop camp. The seven day camp took place in two parts... Three days during the break between Christmas and the New Years, and a four day session right after the holidays. What made this camp special was the fact that it was oriented around a simple concept... Jump as many times a day as possible while wasting very little time on the ground. All of the participants that came knew the goal of 15-20 jumps per day and arrived prepared and excited.

The Florida Skydiving Center, in Lake Wales, Florida, provided exclusive use of their Cessna 206 for the duration of the Flight-1 camp. The center has a swoop pond on site and they were willing to work with the group and make their facility open and available for the swoopers.

"The first day we flew 38 loads even with a bit of a late start", said organizer Moledzki, "by the end of the camp, a total of 16 jumpers made over 750 swoops. We had one bad weather day and one day was cut short buy the Cessna having to make an emergency off field landing. No one was injured thanks to the experienced piloting of Jim West, and the DZ always made sure we had a plane to fly." Everyone had a great time and the progression that happens when you compress a large number of training jumps into a short time became very apparent to the entire group of jumpers. Most participants walked away sore and tired but better pilots for their efforts and enthusiastic about the possibility of doing it all again soon.

In an effort to reduce the number of canopy related injuries and fatalities in both the US and throughout the World, the USPA requested industry leaders and educators in the realm of canopy flight to attend a summit meeting conducted January 10, 2006 in DeLand, FL. From the industry side, the attendees were Ian Bobo, Shannon Pilcher, Jay Moledzki, Scott Miller and John Leblanc.

The USPA approached this summit with an open mind, forward thinking and safety conscious attitude. Scott Miller, (flight-1.com) a reputable instructor of canopy control from basic through advanced levels, showed his experience and preparedness to the group with a well thought out plan and ideas that he freely offered to the group for their dissection, interpretation and approval.

"It was a real honor and a breath of fresh air to be invited to help shape the future of our sport and the attitude every jumper should have toward safe canopy piloting", said Moledzki. "The USPA is right on track with their attitude and actions to change the current trends. With sound opinions toward safety and the need for improving awareness, I see only good things coming out of this meeting."

Jay Moledzki conducted a two day camp at the Atlanta Skydiving Center for five jumpers. Their assertive/aggressive attitude at the camp offered Jay the opportunity to not only help the class pursue their full potential, but also take a step back and re-evaluate the concepts and strategies currently thought of as "the norm" by the locals.

The group included a few jumpers who were flying wings fairly small and heavily loaded for their experience. The jumping only lasted one day due to a cold front that blew in, but this only offered more time for discussions of theories that may prove to be more beneficial in the big picture. Thanks to Loud Dan for organizing this camp and working with management to arrange the details. From the number of people who took the time to hang out near by, it's obvious that this is something that will likely happen again soon.