For those of you in the US or abroad who read USPA's Parachutist magazine, be sure to check out Page 69. The next in a series from Axis Flight school teaching the foundations of flight, this months article discusses the toggle stall. You can also check out the article at Parachutist online. Happy Learning!!!
"The sport of skydiving continues to become safer, and USPA is constantly working to improve this trend. 2011 marks the 15th anniversary of USPA Safety Day, an annual event where skydivers around the country brush up on safety procedures and prepare for the season ahead." USPA Website
In the spirit of the upcoming USPA Safety Day 2011 on the 12th March. Performance Designs has put together a video on how you can inspect your canopy. Having airworthy gear is the first step in keeping yourself safe while skydiving.
Remember to check with your S&TA or local rigger if you have any questuions regarding your gear.
In late January 2011, two instructors, Brad Cole and Ryan Risberg from Skyventure Colorado decided to push their birds out of the nest. Assembling a group of 20 tunnel fliers (that are also skydivers), they traveled to Skydive Elsinore to not only put what they have learned to the test, but to also round out their skydiving skill set.
It's amazing to watch people fly all over the place in a tunnel on their head, back and feet, but they really aren't quite sure how to dive down to a formation or float up to one for that matter. What happens when someone rocks the base and send a wave through the entire group? How does one turn 180 degrees and back track? If you're a pro it might sounds like a silly question. But if you've only flown in the tunnel you've never had to do it.
These skills and more were practiced over a long weekend. PD photographer Brian Buckland was there to capture the action. To check out the entire gallery from that weekend follow this link. All in all it was a great experience for these tunnel fliers to build some basic skills and gain some real world skydiving experience. The event was so successful there is another one planned for March.
The Third Annual Mountain State Boogie hosted by SkyVenture Colorado went off without a hitch! PD was there supporting, educating and enjoying a great time! Nick Grillet held a seminar on canopy flight and Sponsored Atheletes Brian Buckland held a photography seminar while Melanie Curtis shut the tunnel down so everyone could attend her life coaching talk. FREE tunnel time was handed out and even more cheap time was sold to all who attended. Looking forward to next year!
Best of all was Russell Moran. He was the lucky winner of a FREE PD Canopy of his choice! Congrats Russell!
For a Full Gallery of shots by Brian Buckland please take a peak here! Enjoy!
