The PD Blog

Happy Holidays

We wish all our customers, near and far, a happy holiday season.  Hopefully Santa brought some good skydiving boys and girls fun new toys for Christmas!

We look forward to an exciting and fun 2008 :)

Blue Skies,
the staff at PD.

Military Canopy Coaching

Scott Campos is one of our sponsored athletes and has been working with PD for several years. I'm sure that many of you have seen that ball of energy running around a dropzone or attending a boogie, usually either wearing a wingsuit (which can make for awkward running) or  running around organizing a flock dive or something similar.  But always running.
Many don't know that Scott's in "normal" life he is also a member of the Army's Special Forces and a part of his job includes skydiving.  Pretty cool huh. Scott just sent us a line about a canopy course he recently did with members of the PD Factory Team, read on....

I recently had the opportunity to spend a week doing a canopy control course with Ian Bobo and Shannon Pilcher. As part of a workshop offered by CPS, tailored to Military jumpers, I was able to send 15+ military HALO jumpers/riggers to this training, many of whom are also active in the civilian skydiving community.

The feedback both Ian and Shannon provided to the group was fantastic, everyone had a great time and had noticeably improved by the end of the week. Ian even went on to jump a military rig and a 75lb rucksack to see what it was like when we "go to work". If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of their canopy courses, no matter your experience level, I highly recommend it. Both are great guys and excellent instructors.

- Scott Campos

Prankster Pilcher

I'm sure most of you know or know of Shannon Pilcher from the PD Factory Team.  Apart from being a great guy and a fantastic skydiver (in just about every discipline, although I can't recall him doing much Freestyle), he's also known to be a bit of a prankster.  He likes a good practical joke a little more than the next guy, but I guess that can be expected from someone born on April Fools day.
Through the years, Shannon has been a part of more pranks than I can count, many of them absolutely hilarious. 
Occasionally though, Shannon is on the receiving end - and many of you probably remember when the Norwegians painted his house pink with a big "Skydiver of the Year" lettered on the side (see the NSL website for pictures).
About a month ago, when Shannon returned from his very successful trip to Australia (for the World Cup of Canopy Piloting), he had a bit of a surprise waiting for him.  Shannon rolled into DeLand in the middle of the night, tired and jet-lagged after the long trip home, wanting nothing more than to put his little head on the pillow and get a good nights sleep.   But, as you can see in the pictures, it wasn't an easy path to the bed, as 2 of his "friends" had decided to fill about 2000 dixie cups with water and place on the floor in Shannon's bedroom. 
Nice job guys - you know who you are... and I think Shannon knows too, so watch out!

Blog-slacking!

Well, evidently PD's main blogger was so overwhelmed with the new 100-way record in Lake Wales that blogging was suspended for a few days - either that or it was one of those "life happens" things.
Anyway, we are back on track and ready to bring you some updates and news from the always busy PD world :) 

So long Beezy, thanks for the good times.

On Friday October 27th, our friend Beezy Shaw left this world for a brighter and better one.  We first met when I started traveling to boogies and events for PD, but had of course heard of him before that.  As Beezy used to say, "I'm famous, didn't you know?" and then chuckle when the person he was speaking to didn't quite know what to say.
I think the first time we spent some time together was in Rantoul, where him and Chris Martin were like peas in a pod, manning the Precision RV and tent.  I took an instant liking to Beezy, his friendly manner and easy going attitude, always ready to share a beer or two and tell stories.  I found his southern drawl absolutely irresistible, that combined with his story telling skills and unique choice of words always had me laughing. 
Beezy and I may have worked for competing companies, but always in a respectful and friendly manner.  We shared the philosophy that our customers should jump the canopy that best fit their needs and likes, and both did our best to help them find that canopy.  Beezy didn't hesitate to refer people over to the PD tent if he wasn't able to accommodate them - always with a smile, being the gentleman he was.
Beezy touched many lives and was genuinely loved by the skydiving community.  He worked with students and introduced many a jumper to the sport.   More importantly, he then did his best to keep them safe and didn't hesitate to lay down the smack when needed, Beezy style.   
Beezy was a proud father and a husband, our deepest condolences to his wife and kids.
Check out dropzone.com to read some of the memories jumpers from around the world are sharing. 
Beezy - we will miss you dearly.  Thanks again for the good times.  Put some beer in the fridge and keep it cold, we have a lot of catching up to do when we meet up again.
Oh, and I hope that the Chattanoogan.com doesn't mind that I borrowed the picture of Beezy from them, I just didn't have one handy.  If they are anything like Beezy they'll be ok with it, and he always did say that Tennessee folks were some of the nicest in the world!