The competitors who showed up in Lake Wales for the first round of the South East District of the 2007 CPC season came from as far away as Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and Miami. A total of 24 of them showed up, including 6 Pro-class pilots who also attended the meet to keep themselves current and gain the additional competition experience.

Many of the amateur pilots in attendance were competing for the first time, although this was not always apparent when watching the actual swoops during the meet.

The day was far from an easy day to be running or competing in a swoop meet. The average crosswind speed was 10-12 mph with gusts much higher. These winds initially delayed the start of the meet until after 10:30 am. This gave guest coach Jay Moledzki a great opportunity to brief all the pilots on the dynamics of each event and the current conditions. Eventually, as the gusts settled, the organizers gave the go ahead and the meet was underway.

CPC events consist of three events... Speed, Distance and Accuracy, with two rounds of each comprising a full meet. Kudos go out to Chris Hayes who gave up his jump slot on the plane to allow newcomers to get their first taste of competition and as always for organizing the meet! Additional thanks go out to Kolla, Leticia, Kim and all the judges and staff. Special thanks to PD and Isaiah McCauliffe for supplying the PD tent, wind blades and extra special giveaways and prizes!!!!

All the pilots in attendance deserve credit not just for showing up but for stepping up and dealing with the less than ideal conditions and putting on a great meet. At the end of the day the handicap system showed its worth as the top three pilots of the day were all amateurs!!! Congratulations to Ryan Clough who at his first Canopy Piloting meet not only took 1st place but was also the only competitor to score every round. Bryan Buechler has started to show some consistent skills with this 2nd place finish (watch out!) and to Aaron Stocum who placed 3rd while attending his first comp!

Great swoops by everyone who entered and more importantly great attitudes and personalities.

LOUD SKILLZ Swoop Camp Recap
by Dan McAllister

The LOUD SKILLZ Swoop Camp held @ ASC this past weekend was by all measures a huge success. Foremost I'd like to thank all of the pilots who atteneded and a special thanks to Christie for taking such good care of all of the pilots and shooting some fantastic video. I'd also like to thank ASC and DZM Tyler Lawson for letting me put on this camp. Big thanks to Kat and Katie (the manifest girls) for getting us on any and every load we requested. Huge appreciation goes to Karl our pilot for providing meteorlogical info, math solutions and fantastic spotting all day Saturday and Sunday, and to all the packers that kept us on those loads. Finally I'd like to thank Jay Moledzki for making time in his impossibly busy schedule and helping each and every pilot individually and as a group to better themselves.

Participants were: Myself, Dan & G (who drove all the way down from Illinois), Noah Bahnson, Ron Stamey (who was recognized as most improved pilot), Sun Man, Travis Stewart, Aaron Anderson, and Brian Ward.

Weather was amazingly cooperative in that as soon as the classroom portion was over on Saturday the clouds broke, and we headed sky side. Sundays weather was even better and we managed 15 training jumps over two days (6 on Saturday, 9 on Sunday) with debriefs after every jump.

We kicked off the camp working on basic pattern establishment which quickly turned into "Point of Maneuver" positioning in relation to the course and building power in the turn. All of this culminated into firing all of the power built in the turn straight thru the gates and down range. The last two jumps on Sunday were fantastic flocking jumps which challenged each pilot to fly their high performance canopy (median wing loading right around 2.3) in an assigned slot at a controlled speed. After working so hard all weekend to improve our individual skills it was truly amazing to experience just how skilled each pilot was while flying together in the flock.

I won't speak for anyone else, but I gained some knowledge, honed some skillz, made some new friends, and had a fantastic time doing it... you know... what skydiving is all about.

For those that attended look for another camp coming around again in probably 3 months or so, for those that didn't get a chance to attend, talk to those that did and show up next time.

For the second year in a row, a PD Factory Team member was invited to Sydney Skydivers in Picton, Australia, to coach some of the nation's finest canopy pilots as they prepared for their recent canopy piloting nationals.

A total of 24 canopy pilots participated in the camp, which was split into four two-day mini camps. Picton, about 45-min southeast of Sydney, is site of the upcoming 2007 world championships of canopy piloting. It has a huge pond that merges perfectly with the ground on all sides, providing a nearly seamless transition from water to dirt.

While the majority of the participants were veteran pilots and competitors, there was a handful of intermediate and advanced level pilots. Guest coach Shannon Pilcher found it refreshing to see less experienced pilots attending a "SWOOP" camp.

"It's no wonder Australia fields one of the strongest canopy piloting contingents in the world," said Pilcher. "Even the less experienced jumpers are eager to learn."

"It was the most valuable learning curve of my skydiving career to date," said James Lemon, a Katana pilot with about 750 jumps. " An unbelievable opportunity, I can't wait for the next."

The top pilots, who compete head to head against Pilcher at the world level, were also happy to have a new perspective on techniques and theory.

"An awesome week of coaching,� said two-time Aussie national champion Cameron Rolfe. �Very valuable brief and de-brief sessions, great practical advice which saw the level of competition step up a notch this year. The coaching helped me to achieve all the goals I set myself for this competition, which resulted in my 2nd Australian Canopy Piloting Championship Gold Medal. Thanks heaps to [Shannon] and the PDFT!"

As always, Pilcher and the PDFT are grateful for the opportunity.

Pilcher had a few special thank you's: "Thanks to Michael Vaughn for the dedication and devotion to making this happen; to Drew and Isabella Lipinski for being such gracious hosts, for the Australian history lessons, and for teaching me about that mythical creature, the kangaroo; to George and Lianna for showing me Sydney and making me feel so welcome; to David for loaning me his BMW; to Robbie for the meat pie and the tour of the coast; to Jimmy for giving up his bedroom; to James for the sailing lessons; and to everyone else who participated in the camp: Ronnie, Luke, Keiran, Wayne, Jules, Alan, Darren, Cameron, Steve, Adam, Bob, Ivan, Niki, James, Gary, Charlie, Matt, and the other Cameron. You guys rock!"

Check back frequently for the dates of next year's camp.

Follow the PD Factory Team as they continue the dream of flight.

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