The PD Blog

Mass Defiance

Ben Liston of Mass Defiance (PD’s sponsored 4-way team from up north) got in touch with a few updates. The boys from the North East had a strong finish at Nationals this season – a 19.3 point average earned them a 5^th

place open class finish in 4-way. They also had a blast for a third year in row with team Lock It Up in the 8-way event and took home a silver medal in 16-way with the Golden Knights. Outside of their competitive efforts, the team’s done a great job over the last four seasons of running the New England Skydiving League, being an approachable resource for new jumpers, doing demo jumps and helping to make local events and boogies successful.

While New England has brought a snowy winter, the team has been tearing it up in the tunnel and are hungry to get back air when the weather breaks. You can find team members at SkyVenture New Hampshire on Tuesday nights for free RW coaching (individuals and teams are both welcome!), and they regularly coach there on weekends as well. Mass Defiance was proud to work with the West Point Parachute Team over the fall and psyched with the Cadet’s strong performance at Collegiate Nationals this year. The team can be contacted via the Mass Defiance website  for general questions about 4-way or would like to inquire about coaching. 
The team also wrote a great article about the basics of 4-way that is posted at CollegeSkydiving.com (another great website for young jumpers) - but the information is good for people of all skill levels.

While the team’s tail flyer, Jim Rees, has sadly decided to step down for the 2008 season (this part-time team has held strong with the same line-up since 2004!), the rest of the guys are looking forward to competing at the Paraclete Money Meet, the New England Freefly Scrambles, and the US Nationals in 2008. There’s no news yet on who will fill Jim’s big shoes (size 13), but we’ll post more news when we get it!

Team Fastrax Swoop visiting

The cool kids from Team Fastrax Swoop stopped by this past week to visit PD.  They were in DeLand to kick off their first training camp of the 2008 season and decided to poke their heads into the PD Factory to see what was going on (yeah you guessed it, the weather was cold and crappy ;)   ).
The team members were able to take a quick tour of the facilities and meet many of the PD people hard at work, bringing to life the Dream of Flight.  It was great to get to show them first hand all the different steps a canopy goes through in manufacturing along with the quality control that is our hallmark.
After their visit, the team was off to Skydive Palatka to train.  Some 2-way bowling may also have taken place during weather holds, but we can neither confirm nor deny those rumors.

Team Fastrax Swoop consists of Kaz Sheekey, Brian McNenney, Scott Roberts, Isaiah McCauliffe and Stuart Schoenfeld - all of whom are proud and happy to be a part of the PD Family.

CSC Rhythm in the tunnel

CSC Rhythm kicked off their 2008 training earlier this January with style - and many firsts (beer!!!).
They did their first tunnel camp in 2008, it was the first camp with the new lineup, first camp with Kirk Verner as a coach and the first camp in the new Paraclete XP windtunnel.  The team said that each one of those experiences far exceeded their expectations - couldn't ask for a better start for 2008. 

JaNette from CSC Rhythm commented that in a very short time, the team has developed a great rapport that is evident bith in the air and on the ground.   "Kirk is a great coach, who is guiding us both jump-by-jump and helping to lay out a long term vision for the team.  This inlucdes not only flying and 4-way techniques, but also team building.  The new Paraclete XP windtunnel is extremely impressive.  We heard tons of great things about it, and yet only after entering that tunnel for the first time did we really appreciate how superior it is.  For starters, the size and smoothness of the air are awesome, but every detail from the moment you walk in the facility is the best we have experienced.   We were joined by another team, O2 for the camp.  They looked great and we enjoyed sharing the experience with another team.  Cant wait until next camp!!"

You can find more information about upcoming camps on the team website - check it out!

 

The Spire flying in Chamonix

This gorgeous video was shot by Nils K. Predstrup (Denmark) and shows JC and Jonathan Tagle of the PD Factory team flying the Spire in Chamonix, France - over the treetops and into the valley. 

New Marketing Intern

The PD family is growing again....  this time with a marketing intern Alex Bittner.  Alex (who also happily responds to Axel, which comes in handy for those of us that have a hard time with names) is a fresh and happy 20 year old from Port Orange, FL (native Floridian, very rare!).
He's currently a student at Stetson University where he is majoring in Finance and Marketing.  Alex is a jumper and can be found at Skydive DeLand when he's not busy studying or hard at work at PD.  He also enjoys wakebording and just loves long walks on the beach, reading poetry and watching the moon...     Axel also used the little free time he has available to start up a skydiving club at Stetson so hopefully he will be able to introduce a few new students to the fun filled world of jumping.    We included a couple of photos of Alex - one very proper, but then another one so that you might actually be able to recognize him at the DZ ;)    Please welcome Alex to PD - we look forward to many fun and organized projects with him... now where is my coffee and donuts???

Everglades Boogie 2008

Road Rep Nick Grillet is on his way down to Air Adventures, Clewiston for the 2008 Everglades boogie.  Boogie looks like it might be a lot of fun - just watch out for the gators!

Check here for more information about the event - have a great time everyone!

Texas Swoopers training for the season

One of our sponsored instructors, David Lund (better known as AggieDave) is also an avid swooper and a newly minted PRO card holder (as of last CPC Championships at Mile Hi, Colorado). 
In order to get some quality training in before the season starts, AggieDave is organizing a camp at Skydive Spaceland, TX this coming February.

Here is the info, in his words:
Texas Swoopers - the beginning of the 2008 training season is upon us!  We are meeting at Skydive Spaceland for two days of swooping and fun during the weekend of February 23-24th, 2008.  Remember that just like last time, this is not a coaching weekend (unless you bring your own) - we are simply bringing together jumpers interested in competitive swooping that would like to train for the 2008 CPC, PST and/or USPA Nationals (lets not forget the 2009 USPA Nats at Spaceland!).
Like last time we will have gates set up on the pond and we should have video again.  As of now we are planning a 08:30 AM safety briefing at the DZ each morning.  We will debrief together and help each other learn.  Do I have to mention that we will drink some cold ones at the end of the day?
Drop me a line if you think you can make it or if there are any questions.

We hope you guys have a great time training - stay safe and send the PD Blog some pictures after the weekend.  We know there will be some good chows... errr, I mean swoops!!  :)

The Spire in Valfrejus

Factory Team members Jonathan Tagle and JC Colclasure spent a few good days in Valfrejus recently, having fun with the Spire in the snow - click on each picture for a larger view :)

HEAT Inferno

The High Extreme Aerobatic Team, otherwise known as HEAT, are trying to light the new season up in the UK.  They're kicking it off at Netheravon by hosting an Inferno Canopy Seminar and Flight Coaching weekend during 9-10 Feb.  The UK can often have some cold, wet and miserable weather over the winter period (although it can also have some stunning cold and crisp winter days as well) and many warm weather jumpers hang up their rigs for the festive period.  That can often mean starting the season off slightly uncurrent so our sponsored team is aiming to help keep everyone safe from the outset as well as developing new canopy skills.  To make it a weekend of fun they're also throwing some of the registration money behind the bar and have a bit of party on the Saturday night.  So if you're going to be in UK in early Feb then you might want to go check it out...

Beerlight is ON!

One of our favorite photos Melanie Curtis, from Skydive Elsinore.  Look at the speed and determination, as she goes for the price during a sunset Hit 'n Chug at Chicks Rock 2007. 

We love ya Mel - thanks for being a part of the team!