Levin

always last. i great deal of attention needs to be paid to the spot. it's not somethin' that should be rushed in 5 or 6 seconds. i always exit last with ball. my dytter is set for 6500'. i retrieve the ball at 6000' and deploy by 5000' - 4500' leaving plenty of time to make it back from a long spot. And by exiting last if i get to the door and find a cloud layer has moved in i do not hose anyone else while giving the ball to the pilot. If the conditions aren't right I always give the ball to the pilot since there is no longer any reason to exit with it.

i understand what u r sayin', but i have to disagree. this information should be restricted. I get the freedom of skydiving, your life is your own do what u want with it, but skyballs are an exception. when jumping with a ball u r not only responsible for your own life but also pilot's license and career, the DZO's business and anyone or anyone's property or any living creature that maybe under the flight path of the ball. not to mention that a spaceball is an far violation if it is not retrieved. it will only take one major accident for the far's to be re-worded to specifically include balls. what's to stop an upcoming freeflying at a cessna dz with few or no experienced freeflyers from making a spaceball and experimenting with it when they are yet ready. say for example they follow jose's instructions in this thread. his instructions are for a very fast ball. after leaving the cessna or any plane that ball will take off like a rocket once released. the freeflyer will have to do 200+mph to catch up to it and when they do will discover how difficult it can be to retrieve one at 180mph. it's quit likely they will lose the ball. if spotting was not taken into consideration or the freeflyer does not know how to spot from a cessna the ball could go down in a place it shouldn't. if it hits pavement it could pepper anyone or anything wihin' a couple of hundred feet. like a tandem a spaceball is not a regular skydive. you r responsible for more than your own life. once a freeflyer is ready to jump with balls they shouldn't have any trouble finding out to properly make one. even if instructions are not available in print. it's part of policing our own sport. edit: typos

yawn you have no respect for the ball. there is a reason why instructions for making one are not readily available. your instructions for making one and your post are horrible. u took a stab at me with the skygod comment. i returned the favor. i wasn't offended. sorry u were. i'd offer u a cyber klenex if could.

jumping with a ball not only requires skill but also a great deal of respect for what u r doing. by posting instructions for making one in a public forum u clearly do not have the right attitude or a clue as to the ramifications if something goes wrong. u may have the skill but u lack the mindset to be jumping with a ball. ok jumpwonder again, it's a training aid, not a toy.

keep this in mind... if u lose that ball and it peppers or kills someone on the ground... 1. the pilot will lose his license 2. ur dz will be sued. any waiver will not be binding due to gross negligence. 3. u will be eligible for manslaughter charges at 600 jumps no matter how talented u r u have no business jumping with a ball let alone giiving advice to others. the ball is a training aid, not a toy. edit: typos

just to let everyone know i've cancelled the swoop meet this weekend. we only have two confirmed competitors and those competitors that are eligible to go to the championships were determined at the last meet sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused anyone.

this sunday at skydive spaceland. registration is 8 - 9 a.m. the distance course will be set up for practice on saturday. cya there!

u didn't miss anything. not 10 minutes after u left the winds picked up to 15+. we called it with only one speed round. storm blew in.

here's the results from the meet... Accuracy 1. Levin 2. Todd 3. Kat 3. Brit 3. Dave Distance 1. AggieDave 2. Todd 3. Kat 4. Brit 5. Levin Speed 1. Todd 2. Levin 3. Kat 4. Dave 5. Brit OverAll 1.Todd 2. AggieDave 3. Levin 4. Kat 5. Brit thanks to everyone that helped setting up the courses and judging. Stan, Reg, Chris, Kat, Brit (hope i didn't leave anyone out). thanks to CBS for covering the event. haven't seen the broadcast but supposedly it was really good. Kat and Mazzy were all over it. looking forward to our last meet of our 1st season.

This Sunday, 8/7, at Skydive Aggieland. Register by 9 & comp starts at 10. cya there!

bummer about that Dave. u weren't in long enough toget it in the pics. but fortunately u were in long enough to make it on the news. i now have a copy of both broadcast. they should probably be on skydivingmovies.com late next week. just have to get them burnt to dvd and sent to pilotdave. hope ur knees are feeling better.

and a few more...

and a few more...

here's some more. those are some good shots u got over the water, amanduh.

our swoop meet at lake gladewater sunday went pretty well. about 300 people came out to watch the event. we got started right on time at 1:00 w/ a 5-way demo jump w/ smoke. JeNnEjEnN & moonglo made a couple of bird-man demo jumps w/ smoke. it was definetly one of the coolest things i saw that day. our first round of competition didn't get off till around 2:30. the competition went well. There were 8 competitors entered and 4 that competed in every round. this event was a huge learning experience for me. i failed to put enough attention into the flow of the event. the errors i made were obvious and easily fixable. i really think after this experience all of our future public meets are going to go very well. most of my attention for this event was focused n ensuring a crowd and media coverage. the tyler paper ran an article on the event the sunday prior. 105.7 was onsite from 12:30 - 3:00. They advertised the event for two weeks prior. Region 56 news and Chanel 19 (CBS) both covered the event. CBS did an excellent job getting intervies at the DZ and lake from both competitors and spectators. They also took there news camera for an observor ride. They got some great shots rom the ground and narrated it very well. Region 56 interviewed the jen and jen and got some good shots as well. as soon as i have copies of both broadcast i will mail them to pilot dave to add to skydivingmovies so everyone can see. tghe results of the competition are as follows... DISTANCE 1. Casey Anderson 231' + 212.9' = 443.9' 2. Todd Spillers 262.7' + 171.2' = 433.9' 3. Katrina Autry 171.3' + 191.4' = 362.7' 4. Dave Lund 235.8' + ns = 235.8' 5. Brittany Sanchez V + 155.7' = 155.7' 6. Lee Todd 91.5' + 33.7' ACCURACY 1. Todd Spillers (L60 + Z24) + (L60 + Z9) = 153 pts 2. Casey Anderson (L60 + Z16) + V = 76 pts 3 Brittany Sanchez (L60 + Z0) + (L60 +Z0) = 0 3. Katrina Autry (L60 + Z0) + (L60 + Z0) = 0 3. Aaron Neccesary (L60 + Z0) + (L60 + Z0) = 0 3. Levin Jackson ns + (L60 + Z0) = 0 SPEED 1. Katrina Autry 2.43 + 2.27 = 4.7 2. Todd Spillers 1.8 + F = 11.8 3. Casey Anderson 2.2 + V = 12.2 4. Brittany Sanchez V + V = 20 4. Aaron Neccesary V + V = 20 5. Lee Todd ns + 2.7 = [2.7] 6. Levin Jackson ns + V = [10] OVERALL 1. Todd Spillers - Aggieland 2. Casey Anderson - Eagle Flight 3. Katrina Autry - Spaceland 4. Brittany Sanchez - Houston 5. Aaron Neccesary - Eagle Flight 6. Levin 7. Lee Todd - East Texas 8. Dave Lund - Aggieland Thanks to everyone that helped w/ this event. Amanduh, Kathy, eagle flight girlfriends, demo jumpers, bird babes, aggieland jumpers and skydive east texas and jumpers (hope i didn't leave anyone out). couldn't have done it without yall. and thanks to aggieland for the caravan. i talked to the city manager during the competition and we will definetly be doing this again next year. looking forward to it.

Just to let anyone that is planning to come out Saturday to qualify what the qualification will consist of. A 300' distance course will be set up. Of the 3 qualifying jumps at the DZ, u must make the gates at least once. On the other 2 jumps you cannot vertical the gates by more than 5' and must plane out in the course by the 100' marker. The main thing I will be watching for is a good appraoch and no low turns. Same goes for the qualifying jump at the lake. You cannot vertical by more than 5'. The main thing I will be watching for at the lake is a good approach and avoiding any flight over the spectator line; which will get you a automatic red card in the competiton. Of those 4 qualifying jumps if you do not make the gates on any, but do not vertical by more than 5' you can still compete in distance and accuracy, but will not be able to compete in the speed event. The DZ has advised anyone planning to stay overnight in the hanger to bring a sleeping bag. After the competiton Skydive East Texas will be providing a free Bar-B-Q dinner and beer.

ALL 3 events will be over water. 2/3 of the speed course & around a 120' of the distance and accuracy courses. Probably be a good idea if competitors brought a change of clothes and a 2nd pair of shoes.

DIRECTIONS: from Dallas... I20E exit 271N, the DZ is on the left just before u get into Gladewater. from Houston... 59N thru Nacogdoches leaving Nacogdoches 59 turns into 259. Stay North on 259 Highway comes to T intersection in Henderson, take right. Highway is still 259N In Kilgore take left at first light on 42 (short road) Take right on 135, then left at circular stop sign. Stll 135. Go North on 135. At Gladewater 135 will T intersect with 271. Take right. Then left into airport. At T intersection airport is across highway. Watch out for cops in Splendora, Corrigan, Diboll & Henderson.

The speed event will definetly be over water. I'm not sure about distance and accuracy. The problem is finding a place to put the judging camera that monitors the top of the entry gates. Right now the lake is low. Lower than it looks in the pictures. Even with the rain we had here yesterday. I'm going to go back down to the lake and check it out again before I head back to Houston. I should know something for sure then. I'll let ya know.

Texas HD record is 12 @ spaceland 10/02

This is our 3rd CPC meet of the season and our first public meet. If you want to compete in this event and did not compete in one of our two previous CPC meets you will need to be at Skydive East Texas on Saturday to qualify. Qualification will consist of 4 high performance landings into the practice course; 3 at the DZ and 1 at the LZ by the lake. Ideally swooprs wanting to compete in this event should have around 1000 high performance landings. That doesn't mean you have to have 1000 high performance landings to compete. You just need to look like you do. In between rounds and events there will be belly-flyer and wingsuit demo jumps w/ smoke. I still have room for 2 >experienced< wingsuit pilots on the demos if anyone is interested. If I don't get 2 more wingsuit pilots then I can make room for 2 more >experienced< belly-flyers. All non-competitor demo jumpers will be making 3 - 4 jumps into the event. We will be using a Grand Caravan and 2 C182's. There will be a radio remote onsite from 12:30 - 2:30. They've been advertising our event 4 times an hour. We are expecting a really good turnout. I've attached pictures of LZ by the lake. Looking foward to a kick ass event. Cyall there!!

this taken from www.tylerpaper.com _______________________________________ 'SWOOPERS' CONVERGE ON LAKE GLADEWATER JULY 10 By MEGAN MIDDLETON, Staff Writer GLADEWATER - Spectators can watch as about a dozen skydivers from around the state compete in high-performance canopy piloting, also known as "swooping," July 10 at Lake Gladewater. The competition, hosted by East Texas Skydiving in Gladewater, takes place at 1 p.m. Admission is free. Swooping is described as "skydiving's newest, most extreme and only true spectator sport," in which skydivers jump from planes at up to 5,000 feet, and, after deploying their parachutes, fly to the ground in an exponential curve and "swoop" into the landing zone at about 70 mph. This is the third swooping event in Texas. Other competitions have taken place at Skydive Aggieland near Bryan. "This one will be particularly interesting because of the set up over the lake," said Brittany Sanchez, a 23-year-old skydiver from Houston who will be one of the competitors in Gladewater. "It's going to be a lot of fun and more challenging to not get wet. I think it will also motivate us to really make our targets." Levin Jackson, district organizer of the Texas Canopy Piloting Circuit, said that "swoopers are a subculture of skydivers who have made a new extreme sport out of landing parachutes." "It's not something most people have seen before," Jackson said. "It's like watching jets land without the jet ... It's really exciting." According to an article Jackson wrote for Parachutist magazine, B.J. Worth and Air Blade inventor Reggie Eastaugh first introduced competition swooping to the skydiving community in 1995 at the World Para-Ski Championships. Later, in 2002, Perris Valley Skydiving in California hosted the first Pro Swooping Tour. Texas Canopy Pilot Circuit competitors participate in two rounds of three events - speed, distance and zone accuracy. In the speed event, participants must navigate an 185-foot-by-30-foot carving course as fast as possible. If a pilot's canopy touches the ground before he or she passes through the exit gates, the run is over and the competitor gets the worst possible score for that round. In the distance event, the object is to navigate the course for the longest distance possible before touching the ground. In the zone accuracy event, the purpose is to navigate the course while scoring as many gate and zone points as possible without getting penalty points. A pilot, for example, can score gate points for dragging a foot in the water while flying through the gates. They gain zone points for landing in one of the five accuracy zones nearing the end of the course. Swooping enthusiasts promise an exciting show for spectators. "It's fun because they get to experience it firsthand," Ms. Sanchez said. "When spectators are out at the drop zone, they usually can't really see anybody in free fall ... Here, the spectators get to sit along the sidelines and see these guys just screaming out of the sky. It looks like we are really going to hurt ourselves, and then all of a sudden we flare our parachutes out and start coming in kind of like you would see an airplane coming in to land on the runway. It's just really neat to watch." She also said it should be fun for spectators if some pilots get wet. Lee Todd, manager of East Texas Skydiving, said this is one of the most spectator-friendly events in skydiving and called it a "pretty spectacular sport." "I expect it will draw quite a few people," he said, adding that he expects it will draw more each year. Jackson said the competitors know what they are doing, with most having jumped more than 1,000 times. He stressed that great attention is paid to safety. "The people who will be competing in this are some of the best skydivers in Texas," he said. He also said because the event is over water, it "makes the crashes more spectacular, but greatly reduces the possibility of injuries." The competition is expected to last between four to five hours, and spectators are encouraged to bring water. At least two wing-suit pilots will skydive between competition rounds to keep the crowd entertained. They will wear smoke canisters on their feet, which will create smoke trails in the sky. Jackson hopes to see the competition become an annual event in Gladewater. "I think it will definitely turn into something in the next few years," he said. For more information on the Texas Canopy Piloting Circuit, go to www.canopypiloting.com.

For immediate release June 22nd, 2005 EXTREME SKYDIVING COMPETITION TEXAS’ MOST EXTREME AERIAL ATHLETES SWOOP IN AT 70MPH SEE IT HAPPEN Date: July 10, 2005 Time: 1:00 p.m. - Sunset Venue: Lake Gladewater Location: Gladewater, TX Admission: FREE SWOOPING SUMMARY The sport of high performance canopy piloting or swooping is skydiving’s newest, most extreme and only true spectator sport. Skydivers jump from planes up to 5,000 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 surpassing 70mph as they plane out just above the water, "swooping" into the landing zone. COMPETITION SUMMARY Texas Canopy Piloting Circuit competitions consist of two rounds each of the three traditional events of speed, distance and zone accuracy. In the speed event competitors must navigate a 185’ X 30’ carving course in as short a time as possible. Scores for the speed event generally average 2 to 4 seconds. In the distance event competitors must navigate a straight course for the longest distance possible before coming into contact with the ground. Distance scores average around 300’ or the length of a football field. In the zone accuracy event competitors must navigate the course while scoring as many gate and zone points as possible without incurring any penalty points. Competitors earn gate points by dragging their feet in the water while flying through the gates. Competitors earn zone points by landing in one of the five accuracy zones nearing the end of the course. A competitor earns penalty points for overshooting by coming to a stop in one of the three penalty zones at the end of the course. In all three events, competitors must pass through the ten-foot-tall entry gates and stay within the boundaries of the course as defined by the course markers to obtain a score. With the exception of the entry gates, all course markers are five-feet-tall. All course markers are air blade style wind indicators. For more info on this event contact Skydive East Texas at 1.903.845.5867 or contact Levin Jackson at 1.832.367.0379 or email [email protected] For more info on the Texas Canopy Piloting Circuit go to http://www.canopypiloting.com or contact Levin Jackson at 1.832.367.0379 or email [email protected]

so, is that official? i heard these rumors a month ago. i called paul a couple weeks ago and he said he hadn't bought the dz. he said they were still in negotiations and it would probably be a month or 2 before anything happened. he also said i was the first person to ask him if he'd bought the dz. at the time i asked him he really wasn't sure if he was going to buy it or not.

LATimes.com Saturday, April 23, 2005 Sports Illustrated Adventure www.si.com Swoop Dreams April 19, 2005 The Swoop Circuit in this month's Parachutist. Can anyone give me the date of the article for the Seattle Times? I'm currently working on putting together a press kit. If anyone else knows of any canopy piloting articles or media please post it here. it would be geatly apprciated. Also another good source would be the Today's Show whenever they air that clip.