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dgskydive

PPP BIG WAY CAMP BREAK DOWN. Pics at bottom

By dgskydive, in Relative Work

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dgskydive    0

dgskydive
What a great weekend out at Perris.

4 days, 4 World Class Organizers, 20 jumps, many hours in the Wind Tunnel and about 80 people willing to fling themsleves out of an airplane in order to make a big ol formation in the sky!

Kate Cooper, Tony Domenico, Dan B.C. and Larry Henderson (on of my new good friends), ran a superb Big Way camp from the 13th to the 16th of May. I got to be Kate's designated stunt double and filled in for her on the dives since she hurt her shoulder in Thailand and won't sit still long enough for it to completly heal yet. Thanks Kate! Your energy and enthusiasm was very contagious! Next time you can have your slot back! ;)

Larry is a new face to the camps (although not to big ways) and brings a different style of coaching then the other three and really rounds out the team. He was there scouting potential new participants for his upcoming Texas State Record Attempts as well.

The night before the camp most of the jumpers had already shown up and where getting used to the Perris air by doing some fun jumps with Larry, or participating in pre camp wind tunnel sessions with Dan B.C and Tony Domenico.

In the tunnel portion of the camp they did a lot of fall rate drills and the campers spent a lot of time with B.C and Tony pushing them all over the tunnel and getting them to fly "STRONG". Showing them new and different tecniques for getting big and coming back up to your slot with out washing around under the formation. There was a big focus on flying your slot and not letting others take you out of the skydive. All the campers agreeded that they learned a lot in the tunnel and are now more confident of what to do when there neighbor suddenly decides to land on there back right or gets under them and tries to steal their air.

If you haven't been to one of these camps yet, let me explain a bit of what they are all about. They are not about completions. They are not about getting sat down if you mess up. Not once did I hear or see an organizer or participant point a finger at a fellow jumper and ream them for a mistake (even if they made the same mistake 3 times in a row).

The purpose of these camps is to learn in a no fault environment. To safely learn the skills neccessary to take part in larger formations (100 ways and up). There are minimum requirements to attend a camp and you should really be able to meet them before you come to the camp. If you don't it will be very obvious when you show up.

By the end of the camp they try to have rotated you through as many different slots as possible. If you spend the first day in the base, chances are the next day you where moved out to a zipper slot or into one of the 4 way lines or even out to a wacker slot way on the outside. They really try the first few days to push you out of your "box". They put you in slots that you have never flown before and on the first few dives it really showed. Some of the bases had little 105 lbs ladies in the base helping to set fall rate, and guys on the outside that had never been in a trail plane let alone diving and docking 34th on a 35 way.

The first day rolled around to beautiful blue skies no winds and warm temperatures. This was going to be a good weekend! Day one started off with 2 groups of 20 and one of 35. Out of the Box Day! First few dives where a bit rough as people got used to slots they had never seen before. As people got a bit of coaching and gained confidence the dives got much better and a few of them completed or had the last person docking as one was just turning to track away. The video told the story. If you watched the first dives of the day, you saw a bunch of people trying to get to there slot as fast as they could with not much displine and not much awarness of the big picture. By the 5th jump of day one, you saw what looked like real skydivers finding thier quadrants and then finding there radials and coming in to find there slot. Still not a lot of stopping before taking grips but better from the 1st jump.

TIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When they say STOP they mean STOP! When you come in to dock on a big way you better not be moving! You fly into your slot....... take a breath and count to 1.... then take your grip. Take your grip lightly don't hang on the formation. Become a part of the base and fly with it.

Day 2 saw more of the same. Different slots and different pictures. The learning curve was even greater then Day 1. Most people by now where much more confident about flying different slots. Still not many completions but really good flying by almost everyone in every group.

One of the things they do during these camps is key in the different waves of people to dock. It helps to keep people flying slowly and not just come screaming into the base. It also helps you to start ot learn the disipline needed to doak on a big way. Sit and wait until the base is nice and flying well, then take that grip only when it seems to be begging you to take it, and it will if you are flying right. This also slows down the flow of the jump and even if you are doing everything right you may not touch someone on every jump.

Day three. Once again new slots and different pictures for everybody. The dives once again got better jump by jump. Less people going low and more people trackin flat tracking away formt he formations. Remember when you attend one of these things. They are camps not attempts at any certain size of formation. Just becasue there are 70+ people in the camp doens't mean you will be doing 70+ ways. You must be able to perform all tasks safely. This includes tracking and pulling at the right altitudes. Not just tracking but a really good flat track.

Day 4. High Altitude jumps. 16.5 with oxygen. More new things to deal with. Two groups (one a 36 way and the other a 38 way). You could tell the mood had changed by day 4. People wanted to go big, but would they be allowed to? After the first two jumps the organizers got together and made some big decisions. Do we attempt go as big as possible or do we stay with what we have? The good of the many was put above the feelings of the few, and the decision was made (and a painful one at that) to send a few people on tracking dives and let the remaining 69 go up and try a four plane load from 16.5.


The 69 ways didn't complete but came very close and and most came away with a ton of learning and confidence. That is what this is all about. Learn, get better and have fun at the same time. People left with smiles on there faces and a ton of new experiances and friends to go with. Hope to see you there for the next camp!

Pics here http://www.shutterfly.com/progal/album.jsp?aid=768a5498ce868382b759
Dom


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dgskydive    0

dgskydive
Paul Quade took the pics. Look at the 10th photo. I am at about 4 o'clock on as an anchor to a 4 way line. Look for the neon yellow stripes on my mid flap. Royal Blue helmet. That is me in the first picture gettin on the plane. Letting everyone know just what is on my mind.
Dom


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skyyhi    0

skyyhi
Quote

Letting everyone know just what is on my mind.



Was it. . ."What the hell am I doing here anyway. . .don't they know I only do 4-way?"

Or was it. . ."damn, its hot, noisy and stinky in that plane. . .why should I get in. . .they certainly aren't paying me for this torture. . ."

Or maybe. . ."damn, too many beers last night. . .I think I am gonna puke. . ."

Luv ya Dom. . .
________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

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VanillaSkyGirl    6

VanillaSkyGirl
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I have time to do plenty of things with you.:$ :o

You just aren't around that much anymore:(



Dude, she will be there for Memorial Day Weekend and so will I. Maybe you can do a 3-way with 'Celle and myself and watch us pass the Barbie for her PM initiation jump. :P Well, what do you say, Dom? :)

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Conundrum    1

Conundrum
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I have time to do plenty of things with you.:$ :o

You just aren't around that much anymore:(



Dude, she will be there for Memorial Day Weekend and so will I. Maybe you can do a 3-way with 'Celle and myself and watch us pass the Barbie for her PM initiation jump. :P Well, what do you say, Dom? :)


Only for the time being until Im back from school. After that, it will be back to normal. :)
And Rosa, that's a great idea! Dom... think you can make some time to do a jump with your Schnauzer? ;)

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VanillaSkyGirl    6

VanillaSkyGirl
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I don't know. Won;'t all the guys laugh at me for going on a Barbie Doll jump?

Screw em! Both of you are hot so, I would be honored to get jumped (I mean) jump with you ladies! :)



Cool! Just be careful you two, my hands seem to be out of control. I accidentally "groped" Marie (from Elsinore) by blatantly grabbing her a** on Sunday during a 4-way dirt-dive. :S The funny thing is that my hand was correctly on her leg gripper, but then I moved it to grab a handful of her bum. WTF? I have no idea why I did that, or how my hands ended up there! After that...EVERYONE was volunteering to dirt-dive in her place with me. It was soooo embarrassing, although so hysterical that I had to share it, again. :ph34r:

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skyyhi    0

skyyhi
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Yes all the guys will laugh at you Dom. You could bring the Ken doll and make it real interesting. Just a thought



ROFLMAO. . .that was a good one Steve. . .
________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

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