jrpayne 0 #1 December 22, 2003 Curious how many dz's out there have swoop courses Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #2 December 22, 2003 Most dropzones have at least some rudimentary course now. The three dropzones within 80 miles of Fayetteville, NC all have (or had) them. The one I used to set up at Raeford was a mix of ten foot airblades and five foot swoop noodles. I changed the course fairly regularly, but mostly just kept it up in PST distance fashion. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybrat68 0 #3 December 22, 2003 Skydive City in Zephyrhills, FL has had a few swoop courses lately. Sometimes, the guys from Deland come over and they just make a weekend of it. I think they even did a swoop course for beginners recently. Give them a call. I'm sure they'll have the information you're looking for. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumperconway 0 #4 December 22, 2003 Spaceland has both a pond and swoop ditch! Then there's the wind blades and beer line too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airdweller 0 #5 December 22, 2003 Pepperell does not have one Lebanon has a pond------------------------------------------------------ "From the mightiest pharaoh to the lowliest peasant, who doesn't enjoy a good sit?" C. Montgomery Burns Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jrpayne 0 #6 December 23, 2003 I was actually referring to courses to swoop through, made out of noodles, windblades, etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sdgregory 0 #7 December 23, 2003 We do not have one at AerOhio. Sounds like it would be cool to see though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #8 December 23, 2003 We've had one and it got torn down due to its layout taking up too much of the landing area. I'll probally be putting one in for my self this year but its going to be a fast up/fast down one so the DZ does'nt have to mow around it.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grega 0 #9 December 23, 2003 lately there is a swoop lane on every dz i'm jumping at, if the dz doesn't have one already. I made it of 1m long and 3mm thick wires, and put 5cm foam around the wire. so they are "easily" transferable. and you can hit them fall on them and you won't even feel that you hit it. i have 12 of those "blades" Oh and it's name is swoosh "George just lucky i guess!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #10 December 23, 2003 Quote I'll probally be putting one in for my self this year but its going to be a fast up/fast down one so the DZ does'nt have to mow around it. Ha!! Good luck with Lee on that one pal!! You're the closest thing to a swooper we even have out there. IMHO it wasn't JUST cancelled cuz of the space it'd take up, but for a few other reasons. 1. We have maybe 5 people that would use it. (Take note Rastas is gone, and I don't think I could cuz I suck and I'd be afraid to get my canopy wet ) 2. There are certain people that really shouldn't be using it that would, such as students, overconfident/overenthusiastic newbies, etc., resulting in more unneccessary injuries.(see number 3 as a follow up) 3. We don't have enough jumpers that would use the pond to follow a "jump number rule". Example: Skydive Chicago has a HP Landing area that only jumpers with 1500 jumps are allowed to use. If we had a similar rule (for safety reasons), how many jumpers who would use it would qualify for it? ZERO. Not you, not even Mosby. Even if we lowered it to 1000, we'd have two jumpers (that would actually use it) qualified. That, my friend, is why we don't have a swoop pond. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #11 December 23, 2003 >That, my friend, is why we don't have a swoop pond. Pond is one thing... swoop lane is another. Installing a pond is a major undertaking and I would'nt want to do it when we have 3 natural ponds in a 3 mile radius from the DZ that work once permission is granted at them. Installing blades and noodles in an ever changing course is easy and fast to do. I've got my eye on a few places that will be great and they are out of the way too.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #12 December 23, 2003 Aha, I thought you meant pond... Hmmm....I'm assuming you mean at the far end of the dz, down by where they keep the planes??? "3 natural ponds in a 3 mile radius from the DZ " Not to mention one man-made lagoon just down the road..... Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomSpoon 2 #13 December 30, 2003 We have had a swoop ditch here at Skydive City for several years. It was recently made three times as wide by our own on sight engineer/skydiver Steve Motski. "Lake Motski" as it has been christened is now a genuine swoop pond. It's a good thing they widened it because as narrow as it was before , someone could have broken their neck. Oh wait, Someone did break their neck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greene 0 #14 December 30, 2003 Please contat us!! Love ya Lee Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Superfletch 1 #15 December 30, 2003 I jump at Freefall Express Skydiving in Mt. Vernon, MO. We're located a few miles west of exit 44 off of I-44 between Springfield and Joplin. We do NOT have a swoop course yet and as far as I know, don't have any plans to create one any time soon. There are only a handfull (if that many) of jumpers here at our DZ that can fly their canopies well enough to even attempt to swoop a course. We have plenty of jumpers in intermediate skill levels that would probably love to try and shoot the course, but then would probably end up in traction, or worse. I would fall into this category like an old lady getting out of a slippery tub. I've already bounced once this year just trying to swoop. That was without the added stress of trying to hit a gate. I only had one thing on my mind and that was to NOT hit the ground. I did anyhowm, and let me tell you, it hurt. Hopefully, I'll never make that mistake again. One of our jumpers had aspirations of setting a course up earlier this year and put up a gate made from swoop noodles. That was as far as he got. His plan was that he would supply the first two and the rest of us would get a set and turn his gate into a full fledged course. Fortunately no one took him up on his offer, so his swoop course, rather, his gate never quite took off. I know as sure as I'm sitting here that "I" would have been trying to enter that gate and swoop the course had it been up while I was on-site. Even knowing full well that I'm not ready. Seeing a course from above might well prove to be too enticing for some of our up and comers. As cool as swoopers are to watch I don't believe EVERY dz is qualified to have a swoop course in the landing area. It is IMHO that the more swoop courses we see popping up across the country, the more injuries and deaths we'll read about in the "Incedent Report" column. A dzo should think long and hard before rushing out there and putting in a swoop course. Swooping is dangerous. Period. It's also here to stay. In closing I would just like to say, "I'm glad we don't have a swoop course at FFE and I can't wait until we get one." Superfletch D26145 Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freekflyguy 0 #16 December 30, 2003 We have a 40m ditch here at RAPA, I dont know if there are many more in Germany or indeed the UK (we are a British Military DZ). BuzzIt's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremyneas 0 #17 December 31, 2003 Mile-Hi Skydiving Center in Longmont CO has a fully bladed and measured distance and accuracy swoop course. Skydive the Rockies in Canon City CO has a measured distance strip. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
