After days of waiting in the smoke filled skies of Kolomna, Russia, the wind has finally changed in our favour and the Canopy Piloting World Meet is in to its second day of competition!
Jumping started on Monday with most competitors getting between one and three practice jumps before they were engulfed by the smoke, making its way from the many fires that are currently plaguing Russia due to temperatures soaring into the high thirties.
An early start on Tuesday looked unlikely to begin with but again the skies cleared around ten o'clock and the competition started with two rounds of distance. With a gusting tail wind, competitors were able to make impressive distances including Christian 'Wuzi' Wagner, Jonathan Tagle and, with a leading 159.77 metres, Greg Windmiller from USA- all were flying Competition Velocities.
After lunch and two re-jump loads, the course was set for speed with crosswind to downwind. Greg put in another good round, trailing a split second behind USA's Curtis Bartholomew with 2.582 seconds. With a few re-jumps and an impending storm, at about 1900 the meet finished for the day.
The only event yet to be run was Zone Accuracy and so that was first up this morning. The loads planned to take off at 0800 but this slipped to about 0830 although we're not sure why. With the lack of training jumps some of the top competitors took some poor scores. The scores show jumpers tied on 84 points for first place in this event.
As the last jumpers were making their turns the thick smoke was rolling back in at a fast pace and we're back on a hold. Competitors are now seeking shelter and walking around with their face masks on. Check out the results here.
Considering the extreme weather conditions here in Kolomna, spirits are high amongst the competitors and everyone is enjoying the sights of scantily clad Russian women!
Reported by: Alastair Macartney & Ceri Lewis















