CanopyPiloting

Yes, they are aware of this and he did mention that the pilot was waist deep which would put him in a five foot gate. Many pilots have already swooped over 400ft at this DZ and most of them you have never heard of before. In addition, the IPC has not yet established world record categories for canopy piloting but the proper paper work has been submitted. The Pro Tour has established its own set of record categories and may soon organize its own "World level events"...

A segment on swooping will air on NBC's Today Show Monday (June 13, 2005) morning at 8:15am. The segment was 1st scheduled to air a week ago but was rescheduled. The segment includes scenes from the Pro Swooping Tour, Canopy Piloting Circuit, current champion Jonathan Tagle and footage from the newly released film "Gravity Pilots"... www.gravitypilots.com

In addition to the $15,000 cash purse for the 2005 CPC Championships and Pro events, The organizing staff for the CPC Championships has just announce they will give an extra $1000 for any world records set at the event. This means an extra grand for distance and an extra grand for speed. They will also put in $1000 for the first person to swoop the entire new swoop pond (369 feet) during the event. The Top ranked pilots from the Pro Swooping Circuit's 2005 season and the top 5 competitors from each CPC district will be invited to compete at the Championships scheduled just after the U.S. Nationals of Canopy Piloting. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPETITORS FOR THE CPC CHAMPIONSHIPS IS SET AT 100! There is over 60 "S-class" pilots competing on the CPC and 40 Pro competitors. Pasted from www.canopypiloting.com

Clint Clawson has won the Pro Tour's 2005 "Triple Crown of Freestyle" flying a VX 89! Clint beat out 20 other competitors in eight rounds of freestyle competition that included a single execution, compulsory draw and Freestyle X event. There were many new moves attempted during the competition but none pulled off and landed successfully. The highlight of the competition included Clint's Boomerang/Blindman that he pulled out of the pond "Blind" (backwards) into the landing area. Also, Jay Moledzki pulled a Wingover/Switchblade/Tick Jockey! Many of the top names in swooping went big and paid big at the Triple Crown including TJ Landgren, Jay Moledzki and Jim Slaton. Freestyle is breeding a new type of canopy pilot that is part of a new sub culture of swooping. The next freestyle competition is schedule to take place during the 2005 Swoop Fest at Skydive Chicago August 4-7, 2005. 1st Clint Clawson VX-$1,000 2nd Fransisco Neri Velocity-$500 3rd Shannon Pilcher Velocity-$300 pasted from www.canopypiloting.com

The new 2005 Freestyle rules are here! The Pro Swooping Circuit has improved the freestyle rules and created a much better system utilizing a freestyle format similar to other extreme sports. A downloadable and printable PDF document of the rules can be found online at www.canopypiloting.com/pstrules.htm. Here is a brief overview of what’s new in the Freestyle event… See you all at the Triple Crown in Atlanta.... 1) New defined maneuvers 2) New defined combinations 3) New “approach” standards 4) New “time on water” bracket 5) New “degree of difficulty” standards with a fixed base 6) Changed definitions for some existing moves 7) Established procedure for implementing “new” moves in competition

www.canopypiloting.com/pipedream.htm

www.canopypiloting.com/pipedream.htm

For immediate release May 25th. 2005 TRIPLE CROWN OF FREESTYLE SWOOPING THE WORLD’S MOST EXTREME AERIAL ATHLETES SWOOP IN AT 70MPH SEE IT HAPPEN Date: June 2-4, 2005 Time: 9:00am-1:00pm daily Venue: Skydive the Farm Location: Rockmart, Ga SWOOPING SUMMARY Skydivers jump from planes up to 4,000 feet above the water. After deploying their parachutes the skydivers will fly to the ground in an exponential curve (starts steep then planes out). This allows them to gain speeds approaching 70mph as they plane out just above the water, "swooping" into the landing zone. EVENT SUMMARY The Triple Crown of Freestyle swooping competition highlights the acrobatic abilities of the world’s best parachutist and champions. One of the truly “extreme sports,” freestyle swooping features some of the most gifted athletes, performing routines in an Olympic-style format for a panel of judges. Competitors’ routines are made-up from a series of choreographed tricks that are performed across a pond. Freestyle is the crowd favorite, as spectators get a chance to interact with the competitors before, during and after the competition. Some of the more popular tricks and catch phrases include: Switchblade; Ghostrider; Blindman; Deadman; Cowboy; Suicide; and many other eye-catching tricks. For more info on the “Triple Crown of Freestyle Swooping” go to www.canopypiloting.com or www.skydivethefarm.com or contact Hans Paulsen at 1.404.295.5000

Just a word to the wise, if you have a pond use it! Your holding qualifiers over the ground so they can swoop the pond? When you set gates up pilots often get target fixation causing them to put themselves in the corner trying to make the gate. Why, setting up too close (lack of experience swooping gates) and then diving at the gate. You want them doing this over the water, not the ground....period. Drew, please have Missy contact me...Jim

www.GravityPilots.com The next Gravity Pilots episode titled "Canopy Piloting Revolution is due for release May 31, 2005. This is the third film from Slaton Air Sports which follows "Out of the Blue" and the 2003 PST DVD. Canopy Piloting Revolution chronicles the three year journey swooping has taken since the release of "Out of the Blue". The DVD focuses on the two newest swooping disciplines...freestyle and ground launching. The DVD also features the best of freestyle from the Pro Tour, amazing crash footage, swoop festival scenes, ground launch expeditions, tow ups on the beach, paraboarding, formation landings, GLC camps, kiting sessions, Bladerunning, obstacle swooping, pilot interviews, photo gallery, deleted scenes and much more! Over 40 pilots featured. Running time 60 minutes/ color/ stereo

The complete results from the 1st Southeast CPC competition is posted to the homepage at www.canopypiloting.com

The "Triple Crown of Freestyle Swooping" is the 2nd stop of the 2005 Pro Tour and is taking place June 2-5, 2005 in Atlanta, Ga at Skydive the Farm. This competition is open to all Pro & Advanced qualified pilots who wish to demonstrate their freestyle skills and hang out on the scene. Big bash at the end...For more info check out www.canopypiloting.com/triplecrown.htm

Cheers...

Duane Hall has won the 1st ever ground launching competition at the Ground Launch Center in California with his Daedalus GLX. Competitors made about 35 launches each over the 4 day event. For more info on this or future events check out www.canopypiloting.com

The article that appeared on the front cover of the Los Angeles Times with pictures is posted under "News" on the homepage at www.canopypiloting.com

Icarus canopies and Daedalus canopies are two different companies made by the same engineer in New Zealand (jyro). Icarus canopies for the U.S are distributed from and manufactured in Spain. Daedalus is the new line of ultra performance canopies distributed directly from New Zealand and NZ Aerosports. You'll be hearing alot more about Daedalus in the future and it will all become quite clear. Check it out at www.daedaluscanopies.com

The U.S. Canopy Piloting Grand Prix is going down next month in Perris and is the first stop on the 2005 Pro Tour. This competition includes a speed, carving accuracy, distance, team speed, freestyle and ground launch Bladerunning event. For more info on the grand prix check out www.canopypiloting.com/grandprix.htm

Good job boys!

There will be a new DVD coming out soon that will have alot more mountain swooping and ground launching on it. In fact, there is almost as much ground launching/mountain swooping footage on the new DVD than on the entire 30 min Out of the Blue DVD. Look for the new DVD at www.canopypiloting.com soon...Jim

Read all about Ground Launch Center's camp II on the homepage!

GROUND LAUNCH CENTER's CAMP III The Ground Launch Center® in California is organizing ground launch camp III. The camp will offer pilots the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of launching and negotiate level I, II, III and IIII launch sites. The Ground Launch Center® will issue a GLC certification for successful completion of the camp. The certification can be used for entry into future GLC events including GLX Expeditions® and BladeRunning® competitions. The camp will be lead by Jim Slaton and other GLC staff. NEXT CAMP DATES March 31-April 3, 2005 (Thursday thru Sunday) WHERE IS THE GROUND LAUNCH CENTER The Ground Launch Center® is located in Lake Isabella, California in the incredible Sequoia National Forest. It is the gateway to the giant Redwood trees, Red Rock Canyon, King Canyon and Yosemite National Park. WHAT IS THE CLOSEST AIRPORT TO THE GLC Bakersfield Municipal Airport (BFL)-Most major airlines fly into Bakersfield and its only 30 minute drive from the Ground Launch Center®. WHAT CAN I EXPECT You will get initial ground instruction and watch video footage of launching & flying techniques. You will then go to "Storm" hill to get some hands on "kiting" instruction and then over to "Pioneer" hill to practice some basic level I launches. Next day you will move to level II launches and learn how to set up/launch from a static position. On day three we will move on and learn high wind kiting techniques and ridge soaring. Some pilots will get the opportunity to try some basic BladeRunning® on this day. On the final day everyone is taken to a level IIII launch site where pilots get to choose their flights based on their experience and comfort level. WHAT KIND OF GEAR DO I NEED It is possible to use a normal skydiving rig and harness but not ideal. You will not need to pack but just stuff the canopy in a container for your next launch. Some pilots get by with using B.A.S.E. rigs with external stuff sacks to carry up the mountain. Here at the GLC we use Ground Launch Harnesses designed for the sport. These harnesses have packs on the back to stuff the canopy so you just have to pull it out at the launch site and you’re ready to go...no pins, velcro or external flaps. The Ground Launch Center® keeps a few harnesses available for use by clients on a first come, first serve basis. You will need a canopy that you can fly at about 1.2-1.5 loading. Those pilots currently skydiving with non-high performance canopies will enjoy launching canopies like a Safire, Sabre or Spectra. Pilots currently skydiving with high performance canopies will enjoy starting out with canopies like a Crossfire, Stilleto, Kantana or Rage. Our average pilot at the GLC weighs about 175lbs and uses canopies between 104-140sqf. The canopies most used at the center are GLX 130, GLX 104, VX 111, FX 135, Crossfire 119, Space 130, Safire 129 and Sabre 135. You will need a hard helmet and good tennis shoes or hiking boots. Also recommended...digital altimeter with clock, sunglasses, camelback (or similar hydration system), front pack and small two way radio (wal-mart brand O.K.). WHAT'S THE WEATHER LIKE The weather is almost perfect 365 days a year at the GLC. The average high temperature in November is 70° F and the low at night can reach 38° F. The annual rainfall in Lake Isabella, Ca is less than eight inches! Nestled in the mountains at only 2,600 feet above sea level, Lake Isabella has very mild winters for a mountainous area. There is rarely snow in the valley. Dry, clear and invigorating, Lake Isabella combines the cool breezes of the mountains with the no-humidity environment of the high desert. WHO CAN JOIN Pilots must have at least 300 ram-air parachutes jumps or 100 ram-air parachute jumps with paragliding experience. Wavier to this requirements are issued case by case, please contact us for details. GLC off road transportation is available to the top of the 300ft and 500ft training hills. All launch sites above the training hills require pilots to climb. If you want to launch sites higher than the training hills (level I) or you wish to compete in an GLC Bladerunning event you must be in reasonable condition and able to climb a variety of hills ranging from 800ft (15min) to 2,000ft (40min). Pilots must be motivated and ready to have some serious fun! Do you want to learn more about camp III? www.canopypiloting.com/GLC.htm Would you like to join the camp? Click on the link below. [/url]http://www.canopypiloting.com/GLCcampform.htm[url]

The CPC regional schedules will be posted to the CPC web pages at www.canopypiloting.com at the end of next month...

"Competition is a great thing.... it stimulates the market place and pushes us to develop better equipment and in the end the end user is the one that benefits the most"...right on Bushman!

It doesn't really matter what the name is or who first designed it but I still find it a funny coincidence. You guys do know what I mean don't you? O.K. check it out: 1995 Icarus NZ releases Mach 1 Extreme 1997 Icarus NZ releases 21 cell tribraced "FX" Extreme 1999 PD releases 21 cell tribraced "Velocity" 1999 Icarus NZ releases 27 cell tribraced "VX" 2004 Icarus NZ begins testing and flying in public a 33 cell tribraced prototype 2004 Icarus NZ showcases their improved version of the VX called the "JVX" at the U.S. Nationals of Canopy Piloting 2004 Icarus NZ begins flight testing of their 45 cell "JSX" which includes a new cell structure (penta) dubbed "NZ" bracing 2005 PD releases information at PIA they are in development of a new cell structure called "Z-bracing". In the end I am very glad there is more than one company out there pushing the limits of HP canopy development. Cause it wouldn't be very fun if we all had to fly the same canopy or drive the same type car to the DZ.

The post is meant to clarify the history of NZ Aerosports (Icarus NZ) and tri cell canopies, not date the entire history of parachuting...