In late March, the PDFT had one of its most successful training camps to date. The focus of the camp: Stunts and Special Projects.

With an increased involvement in demonstrations, expeditions and film productions, the team realized a need for more training in these areas. The specific objectives of this camp were four-fold:

1. To perfect the 4-man criss-cross landing.
2. To hone team Bird-Man formation flying skills.
3. To get familiar with landing on moving ground vehicles.
4. To practice landing in a moving speed boat.

Criss-Cross
A criss-cross landing is one where the pilots plane-out head-on at opposing ends of a landing field, and fly past one another at high closing speeds, with only inches separating their end cells. A perfectly executed, four-man criss-cross is the same, but with two, 2-ways flying directly at each other. Ideally, all four pilots should cross a pre-designated center point at the same time, with every other pilot flying in the opposite direction; a "weave" might be a better term to describe it. Obviously, the faster the closing speed, the more impressive the stunt.

For years the PD team has been performing criss-cross landings, but never consistently with all four team members. This year, however, the stunt went off without a hitch, largely due to the Rare Dynamics radio communication systems. On one jump, the center flyers-Ian Bobo and Jay Moledzki-actually brushed end cells at about 70mph closing speed.

"Our standard 4-man team landing-in the same direction-is our bread and butter," said Bobo. "But it's nice to know that we now have this in our arsenal."

The team hopes to use the criss-cross stunt more frequently, especially in conjunction with the boat landings and jet-ski landings. Stay tuned for news from the summer exhibition tour.

Bird-Man Flights
To date, most of the team's Bird-Man flights have happened in small groups, or in the BASE environment. So it was absolutely essential-from an exhibition perspective-that the team refine its team flying skills. It took a couple of jumps to sort out who should fly in which slots-based on body sizes and experience-but by mid-day, the formation was flying tight and fast.

"The Skyflyer S6 allows us to fly together more easily than previous suits," said team member Shannon Pilcher. "Its less sensitive than the S3, so its easier to find our line together, and thus, easier to increase our collective forward speed."

Teammate Jonathan Tagle elaborated: "Even though we only logged a day of wing suit training together at this camp, I am confident now that we can successfully integrate team Bird-Man flights into our exhibition performances."

Vehicle & Boat Landings
As exhibitions go, the high-speed boat landing is one of the biggest crowd pleasers. And with JC Colclasure now under the PD banner, it only made sense that the Factory Team raise the bar in the boat-landing department.

The most important person in a vehicle landing is the vehicle driver. His job is to gauge the jumper's setup and time the vehicle's acceleration perfectly with the recovery arc of the jumper. As the jumper levels off and nears the vehicle-usually at high speed from a rear quartering angle-the driver can make throttle adjustments to help close the final distance. A keen eye and an intuitive awareness of both canopy flight and vehicle controls are essential.

Before attempting the boat landings, the team thought it wise to do some "dry" runs with a quad-runner. This proved to be a valuable experience, allowing everyone to develop sight pictures for their setups-relative to a moving target-and for JC to get familiar with the differences in their setups-turn altitudes, degrees of rotation, and especially the closing speed. By day's end, each team member had successfully landed on the moving quad, and was ready for some boat action.

Landing on the boat proved to be trickier, especially for the boat driver. It is essential that the driver get the boat planed out (or trimmed nose down) in order to have full throttle-range and steering control. Getting the nose down, however, takes considerably more distance and speed, and a lot more anticipation by the driver.

The canopy pilot's job is fairly easy, at first. He simply sets up on a pre-determined line and executes his maneuver. Only during the final "landing" phase does the jumper really have any control over the situation.

In the early part of the day, the team was inconsistent, partly due to closing speed unfamiliarities, and partly due to JC's unfamiliarity with the boat. Eventually everyone landed in the boat, at which point the goals suddenly changed.

"I wasn't going to be completely satisfied until I caught all three of 'em, in a row!" JC said.

And that's exactly what he did, on the very last jump of the day. It was a great way to end the day, and an even better way to end the camp.

Thank You
Tons of people helped make the week a success, and we thank you: Ziggy Sigmund loaned us his 4-wheeler; Mike Johnston and Bob Hallett of Skydive DeLand, got clearance for us to do the 4-wheeler landings in the middle of the airport during peak traffic hours; the DeLand Research Corporation (Graham, Rickster and Mike) hooked us up with PD Optimums to use as mains during our Bird-Man flights; crazy man Carl Daugherty provided us with a venue, a ski boat and a jet-ski, and still found time to do a little rhymin' and wakeboarding in between; Van "the man" Wideman shot chase cam aboard Rambo's beast of a jet-ski; Richard "Rambo" Calledare loaned us the beast, which we promptly wrecked on the first day (sorry 'bout that Rambo...we owe ya, big time!); Carey Whitley pitched in his fishing boat, which turned out to be the perfect pickup vehicle; Kim Worthington, Sandy Bobo, and Kylie Rhoades steadfastly manned the HD cams, and tried not to laugh at our wipeouts; Justin Carmody shot some fantastic pics, which we're sure will be seen in the mags soon! To each of you: Thanks for your patience, thanks for your generosity, and thanks for helping us achieve our goals.

The Ron Jon Easter Surf Fest in Cocoa Beach, Fla., is one of the nations oldest and largest surf competitions, and the PD Factory Team was on hand this year to make a memorable event even more unforgettable.

A diverse group of talented PD pilots teamed up to make the show a success. Vladi Pesa (Belgium), Marat Leiras (Brazil) and Kaz Sheeky (Australia, Fastrax) kicked off the sunset exhibition, each with a distinct solo performance. Pesa got the crowd warmed up with streamers trailing from his legs. Leiras gained their affection by planing out well beyond the breaking surf, and sliding belly first into the wet sand. Sheeky rounded out the first pass with an impressive Lazy-Boy maneuver across the water, made even more impressive by the 30-ft banner streaming behind her.

CK-1 (www.ck1freefly.com) was up next, and with the thousands of spectators now fully engaged, they did not disappoint. One by one, Jimmy Tranter, Yonatan Ran and Will Lajeunesse swooped beachward, parallel to the iconic Cocoa Beach pier and straight toward the gauking crowd. At the last possible moment, each one carved hard left, flying his "tiny parachute" to a tip-toe landing, and shattering the stereo-typical pre-conceptions of everyone watching.

Gene Newsom closed the performance in patriotic fashion, skillfully navigating his 3700-square-foot American flag to a safe landing. But not before the PD Factory Team-Ian Bobo, Jay Moledzki and Shannon Pilcher-literally scalped the crowd.

In typical fashion, the PD team set up high in its trademark, single-file, "snake" formation. With the sun sitting low on the distant horizon, and white smoke clearly marking their paths, the team soared down the beach and then out to the end of the pier, slowly making its way back to the shoreline in perfect unison. Finally, as if to build suspense, the team slowed its forward flight, appearing momentarily to almost hover overhead. Then in stark contrast, and in one sweeping moment, the team pitched forward, rolling into a perfectly synchronized spiral, leveling out just above head height, and more than 100 feet deep in the crowd. The sheer speed and proximity was so unexpected, many onlookers dove for cover, while others just stood in awe.

The icing on the cake, however, was the post-performance autograph session.

The surf competition is a huge draw for children and teenagers, and their families. Urock Productions, the company coordinating the skydiving show, anticipated the frenzy that would follow, and came equipped with lots of PD giveaways and plenty of Sharpies to go around.

"Seeing the enthusiasm on the kids' faces, and knowing that somehow, some way, our performance might inspire them to follow their dreams, that's what makes it all worth while for me," said Bobo.

The PD Factory Team extends its gratitude to Urock Productions (Anne Maxwell, Emma Tranter and Kim Worthington) for its dedication, perfectionism and professionalism. Job well done, ladies. You rock, Urock!

Thank you also to Performance Designs, which came through in the clutch to fund the event. We salute you, PD, for remaining steadfast in your efforts to "grow the sport."

To our pilot, Jim Teters, what can we say? It's always a pleasure flying with you. Your "no-nonsense" attitude is vital in these environments, and it allows us to focus on our mission. Although, it was a bit distracting trying not to put as much as a fingerprint on that meticulously cleaned Cessna of yours!!

Finally, to the title sponsor Ron Jon, and to the surf event promoters, Dick Catri and John Griffin, we are proud to be associated with this event, and sincerely look forward to working on future projects together.

On Thursday, May 3rd the PD Factory Team will be hosting an assembly at Orchard Valley Middle School in Sewell, NJ. They will be speaking with the students about making proper life choices, setting, adjusting, and achieving goals, handling peer pressure, working hard, and many other essential life skills.

With final plans in the works, the team is awaiting approval to kick off the motivational speaking event with a demo into the school, before a crowd of over 260 seventh graders, their teachers, staff, and dropzone personnel.

The team is also donating all of the registration costs from the partner event, a skills camp hosted in conjunction with Skydive Crosskeys, in neighboring Monroe Township, NJ.

For more information on how you can help out during this great event contact Kelly Evans by email at Kelly@realxstream.com or call Skydive Cross Keys at 856.629.7553. Registration forms are available online at www.skydivecrosskeys.com under the events section. Just copy and paste the form into a word document, fill it out, and email it back to Kelly.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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

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