The PD Blog

Rockstar checking out PD

Here is a quick video from Eric's visit to PD - where you can watch him getting the grand tour of PD :)
More to come!

IST in Fano

Reported by Brian Bero, IST league director
Photos by Max Haim, photographer extraordinarie


Yes, we are into the season already and the first leg of the Italian Swoop Tour went over with a success.  This year brought even more participants than the previous year showing that Canopy Piloting discipline enjoys a steady growth here in Italy. 

It all started on Friday the 18th of April with the practice loads under cloudy skies.  Saturday brought a bit of wind, but in the afternoon the judges gave the go ahead and competition began with 2 rounds of distance.    Sunday things got off to an early start in perfect weather and competitors battled it out with Mario Fattoruso ending up in 1st place overall.   Riccardo Paganelli and Ulisse Idra placed 2nd and 3rd respectively.  The weekend concluded with a drawing for prizes donated by L&B, BERO, Turbolenza, PD, Alti-2, and Vigil along with the trophies for each discipline and the team trophies as well. 

In conclusion, the great vibe of all lead to a successful event for both competitors and spectators taking in sun on the beach, whilst viewing something new to the Italian public.  Stay tuned for the second meet in Molinella on May 9-11th.   Please visit the IST website for results, scores and photos!

Brazil here we come!

So we,ve boarded our plane and were off to beautiful Brazil. I was nice enough to give up my coach seat for an upgrade to Atlanta so Nick could sit next to a cutie. He'll owe me one. See you in boituva!!
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Spring hits Colorado!!!

Well it looks like the 2008 season has officially started out in Colorado! The weather is warming up and people are starting to jump. Yes the weather is still a little iffy, and by iffy I mean 20+ mph winds with the occassional Saturday blizzard, but hey that's not stopping hardcore PD jumpers like Jimmy Tranter and Justin Thornton at Mile-Hi Skydiving this year. So dust off those PD canopies, start jumping, and bring on the 2008 season!                                                    

Rock Star-ing Part II

Sorry I didn't post sooner, I had a miscommunication with our photographers. But we are up and running now though. 

Eric seemed to enjoy his days as a PD test jumper.  We were able to snap a lot of great pictures of him flying some of our prototypes.  But because those were all of our secret projects we cant post those pictures on the blog. 

Gilles, Morten and Nick got to do a 4-way with Eric and turn some points.  Eric did a great job, Morten on the other hand needed some work...it was obvious he hasn't jumped in 5 years!

All of the employees loved the pictures he signed for them at lunch.  Eric signed over 200 pictures for them. 

By the end of the second day Eric was closing in on making 20 jumps.  He got a excellent tour of the factory, talked with John LeBlanc, learned about our R&D program and jumped some prototype canopies.  All of us at PD had a blast, were looking forward for the next rock star... 

      

Rock Star-ing!

   Well, Eric's first day as a rock star went very well.  We kept him busy all day with meet and greet over coffee and donuts followed by a detailed tour of the factory.  After lunch we put him on as many loads as we could and he was able to make 6, very quick, hop and pops.  Now Eric has a feel for the different canopies we have which will make his test jumping today much easier. 

He has made 4 jumps this morning on a few of our project canopies.  One of the jumps required him to wear a belly mounted camera to video a deployment for a tandem.  We are back at the factory now for a employee lunch in.  Little does Eric know he will be signing a picture of himself for all the employees!  Just like true rock star status.   

After lunch its back to the DZ for an afternoon full of test jumping.  Check back tonight to see how the rest of his day went.  I am late for our lunch in so I have to run, hope you guys enjoy the pictures of him.   

Eric Heger, PD Rockstar, 2008!!

World, please meet Eric Heger, our very own PD Rockstar!!!

Eric took part in the Rockstar Sweepstakes last October, by purchasing and registering his brand new Sabre2 150.  His home DZ is Skydive Pepperell, Massachusetts, so he was pretty happy to be the lucky winner of a trip to sunny  Florida.  During this trip, Eric gets to know PD a bit better and then spend a day with PD's Research & Development Department - by being a test jumper for a day.
We asked Eric what he thought of being randomly selected to be a Rockstar, and he answered (in true rockstar fashion):  F***ing awesome.

Eric has 127 jumps and like many young jumpers just loves everything about skydiving. He says he hasn't really picked a favorite discipline yet, done some RW and some freeflying but enjoys spending time in the air, both in freefall and under canopy. 
We asked Eric if he had any specific goals he was working towards, and he replied that there were enough goals and ambitions in normal life.  Skydiving, Eric said, is time spent having fun, staying safe and keeping on learning.   Wise words there, from a young jumping-jedi.

Eric's buddy Hjalti joined him for the trip - and you can imagine our surprise when we found out that Hjalti is from Iceland (just like the writer of this blog entry).  They met at a Scott Miller canopy course, where Hjalti sat snacking on some pickled fish (in true Icelandic fashion) and have been buddies ever since.
Stay tuned for more to come!

Packing for Brazil

The month of May is just around the corner and the first days in May(May 1st -4th) the PD tour will be headed to Boituva Brazil for some canopy fun!  I've started to pack for the trip.  I've got a bag full of canopies, pull up cords, and some fun give aways, I'm just having one problem... we don't seem to have a bag big enough to fit our tour rep in!!!!  Nick is a pretty big guy and I'm worried his head might get nocked off if I can't fit it in the bag... 

Oh well, maybe we'll just buy him a plane ticket.  We're looking forward to spending some time with our friends down in Brazil.  See you guys(and gals) soon!!!

Albert Berchtold

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Elsinore Swoop Club: Surf's Up!

Those of you out there on the Left Coast (or willing to travel), that are interested in high performance canopy piloting and good times, perk up those ears!

The Elsinore Swoop Club is a mid-week swoop club for all SoCal swoopers looking to improve their skills, have fun, and compete in a low-key learning environment.  Specifically, the Club is geared toward those  busy jumpers who can’t compete on the weekends, but still want to continue pushing their canopy piloting skills.  Run by Jonathan Tagle, the mini-meets are suuuper high-quality.  Each event focuses on one specific swooping skill set— for instance, the first event was in-lane dragging distance (check out the pics). The second was freestyle— open water, but each move was pre-determined, so we could compare execution across the board.  All the rules are gone over in a competitor briefing, then 1-2-3 rounds.  All competitors review the videos together at the end of the meet, and a ton of learning takes place.  And of course, hilarity ensues using the pause button. 
Bottom line, the Elsinore Swoop Club is a ridiculously sweet opportunity to come out and take advantage of Jonathan Tagle, learn a ton, have fun, and get some sick video of yourself dragging sweet water.  Next meet is May 1st— anyone capable and safe is welcome! See you there!

Reported by: Melanie Curtis, all around skydiving goddess
Photos by: Herber Loureiro

Rockstar?? Really?? Where???

Remember this one???   Well, our Rockstar search has now been going on for a good while, and I have a feeling that we will soon - very soon - know more about the identity of the lucky winner. 
You will be able to read more about here on the PD Blog when the time comes, so check back for updates - soon!