Dropping in With a Message
by Kelly Evans

The PD Factory Team took young children's dreams of flight to a whole new level when they made their long awaited debut at Orchard Valley Middle School in New Jersey, swooping in with an encouraging message. Shortly after performing a 4-way swoop landing, PD team members gave motivational speeches to 7th graders about pursuing their dreams and interests, setting and achieving goals, and making life choices.

Kelly Evans, a teacher, skydiver and friend of the team, gave it the personal touch that doesn't often occur when learning about athletes and other media figures by telling the kids personal stories about the skydivers.

"I wanted to bring these men, these hard working, dedicated, and professional, multi-skilled athletes, into the school," said Evans. "It's not often that kids can connect on a personal level, but through my friendships with the boys, I was able to bring them to the students in a unique way."

The teachers, administrators, and students caught the enthusiasm. Student Ben Perez couldn't believe what he was seeing. "They looked like little toys flying in the sky."

Vice Principal Angela Petrongolo believes that the "PD Factory Team is a dynamic, educated group of individuals and their passion for life is quite evident."

In addition to the event at OVMS, Freefall Adventures at Cross Keys, sponsored a partner event the following weekend. The PD Charity Skills Camp For the Kids, a coaching camp for licensed skydivers, brought in over $3,000 for the students at OVMS.

The team would like to thank John Eddows of Freefall Adventures for his support and sponsorship. Special thanks to Mark Kruse, Pam Riggs, Kelly Evans, and Principal Stephan Buono. Without their hard work and support the event wouldn't have happened.

FlyGang, in Molinella, Italy (www.flygang.com), hosted the PDFT in early May, as part of the grand opening for its new swoop pond. Team members Ian Bobo, Jay Moledzki, and Shannon Pilcher spent the weekend load organizing--in a variety of disciplines--and generally "showing off" on the pond for a warm, receptive crowd.

The team also used the opportunity to offer advice on a variety of topics, primarily traffic patterns, and the challenges created by adding a swoop pond to an already small landing area.

"We had a fantastic and memorable weekend," said Stefano Volpi, co-owner of the drop zone. "It was what every drop zone would like to have as Opening Swoop Pond weekend!

"We swooped, flew, jumped and shared time with Ian, Shannon and Jay. It was amazing but also very important. They transmitted to all skydivers, crew and people of FlyGang Molinella some of their experiences about safety. They are the best in the world and now we know better why!"

Many thanks to Emanuele Bielli of 90 Percent magazine for spearheading the event and to FlyGang owners Walther Idra, Stefano Volpi, and Sandro Andreotti, for being so receptive to our ideas. Thanks Christina Angelucci for accommodating all of our small needs, and for the 5:30 am "ride to the airport." To everyone else in Molinella: Be safe and Grazie Mille!! We will see you again next year, for sure!

     
Photos: Emanuele Bielli

This year's PD Beach Boogie in Empuriabrava, Spain, ended in sadness when one of the participants--Diego Feher--died after a high-speed impact with the water.

Feher, 32, of Barcelona, had 400 jumps and was flying a Safire2 129-square-foot canopy. He had executed a 90-degree front riser turn, letting off the risers just before impact. Feher died on site after lengthy attempts by emergency medical personnel to resuscitate him. A coroner's report had not been released at the time that this newsletter was released.

Several jumpers and coaches witnessed the incident, and reviewed video footage later to learn from Feher's actions.

In the video, it is clear that Feher simply initiated a front riser turn too low, and then stayed in the front risers until approximately 20 to 30 feet above the water's surface. He made a hectic attempt to lunge for his rear risers--the incorrect response to such a situation--and in doing so, dropped his right toggle. However, it is clear that neither response--risers or toggles--at that altitude and descent rate would have changed his flight path or speed.

On behalf of everyone attending the Beach Boogie, the PD Factory Team extends its heartfelt condolences to Feher's family and friends.

"It's very difficult to share this kind of news in our newsletter, much less to witness it firsthand," said Pilcher. "But we cannot let that stop us from honoring Diego, and the enthusiasm he had for the sport. As difficult as it may be, we feel like we can honor him best by sharing this information so that everyone can learn from it."

The team was surprised after the accident to hear from several jumpers who commented that they "had no idea one could generate enough speed doing a 90-degree turn to kill oneself."

So while there are many lessons to be learned, two immediate ones are:

1. While water can be more forgiving than the ground, it doesn't replace good judgment, and respect for one's canopy, one's skill level, and one's experience.

2. While bigger turns usually equate to more vertical speed, even a straight-in approach can be deadly if executed poorly. Learn to properly use all control inputs properly and effectively before adding speed to your landings.

Out of respect for Feher, this year's boogie was cancelled after the accident. On Sunday, many of the 42 participants from 10 nations came together to celebrate Diego's life with several high-altitude canopy flocks. The jumps were safe and fun, and a small highlight to an otherwise sad weekend.

Quickly, we would like to express our appreciation to the following people for their contributions to this event: Reinier Bos, Christian "Moke" Majewski, David Monton, Dave Ship, Nigel, Emeric Chatelet, and Adriano di Gerlando.

The PD Factory Team will be headed to Gryttjom, Sweden for a whole week of canopy coaching, as part of the Swoop Basics. The camp runs from June 11-15, and will include informative seminars, air-2-air coaching, no contact CReW, and video debrief of landings.

From June 20-22, PD team members will conduct another canopy skills camp in Oestre Aera, Norway, before heading to Voss for the 2007 Extreme Sports Week.

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

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