There’s something about swooping that pulls every skydiver in. The sound, the speed, the precision; it’s art in motion. A perfectly executed turn and a mirror-smooth pond carve? That’s skydiving poetry.
But lately, I’ve noticed more and more jumpers chasing the swoop for all the wrong reasons. It’s become less about mastering the craft and more about chasing clout, downsizing too soon, copying what they see on Instagram, or just trying to look cool on landing. And that’s when people get hurt. It's “The YouTube effect.”
Henry carving in on a swoop at Skydive Monroe. Photo by Albalia Perez De Kochen.Continue reading →
Landing or swooping downwind seems to be a continuing rage at many drop zones. Many of these jumpers are hoping to get a longer surf to finish a great skydive while some are the “high performance canopy pilots” practicing for upcoming competitions.
Either way, this is not setting a good example for students or less-experienced jumpers. And even worse, this is leading to some hectic traffic patterns and close collisions during landing. While jumpers are trained to check the windsock or tetrahedron for the landing direction they are also trained to land in the same direction as the skydivers landing before them to prevent conflicting traffic patterns or collisions. Continue reading →
