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I would like to start this update by congratulating Britany Cubert, Dan Eisenhauer, and Jason Jarreau on completing the AFP course. Welcome to the amazing world of skydiving. The AFP program is on a roll this year with lots of interest in the ‘A’ License in a Week program. I’d also like to thank the AFP instructors for producing awesome students.
SDC was contacted to help with a demo jump in Wrigley Field! Through some contact I was called to help organize the demo including aircraft and jumpers. I leaked this jump on Facebook and instantly had numerous replies of people interested in jumping. With the original request being for 8 females that had jumped into Wrigley before, I told them they were dreaming. They then requested 4 girls and 4 guys with pro ratings. A little more realistic. I started recruiting people.
Two days later they emailed me stating that they only needed 2 more jumpers and they were providing the 2 female jumpers. Needless to say, all the jumpers that I had stoked about doing the demo were not too happy about that call. With only having one slot to fill, and knowing that a Chicago local would get more of a kick out of it, I contacted Mike Wittenburg. As you would expect he was more than happy.
Needing some larger parachutes, I contacted Alex at PD (sponsorships have their advantages!) I arranged for two Spectre 150s to be sent to the DZ. Going from a Velo 90 to a 7 cell was certainly a change. Luckily Alex sent the canopies a few weeks earlier for us to get some jumps on them.
As the jump date grew closer so did the excitement. This hasn’t been the first time I’ve been contacted to jump into Wrigley but all have been cancelled due to ‘paperwork’. Could this be the time I actually get to jump in? With the spring winds I was nervous that the jump would not go, but I was trying not to think negative. The forecast certainly wasn’t helping. Weather.com was calling for 20-30 mph winds!
We headed up to the city in the Caravan Wednesday night to get a look at the field and prepare for an 8am practice jump Thursday. With a quick stop at Clow airport to pickup Mike we made quick work of the commute to Chicago Executive Airport in Palwaukee.
We meet up with Chris Bachman, who was helping us out, and drove us to the Majestic hotel just east of Wrigley. There we meet up with Ben Crooch, Andy, Annie, and Gale. After the meet and greet we all walked over to the stadium to view the hazards of the park.
Upon arrival to the park we met the Park Manager who let us in. She toured us around a little and Mike, Gale, Annie and I picked our approaches into the park. Being a rather open field we felt good that the jump wasn’t going to be too difficult. We took some photos and headed back to the hotel to nail down the timeline of tomorrows events. All we needed now was the forecast to be wrong!
We woke up Thursday at 5:30am and instantly looked out the window to light winds, as best you can tell in the dark. We headed into the lobby and met up with the team (most had coffee in hand). Chris then took the jumpers and pilot Jerry up to Palwaukee to prepare for the first jump. Back at the Stadium Ben was making his way to the roof with a wind meter so we could have an accurate reading on the winds above the field. Andy was on the field with a wind streamer giving direction and velocity.
We departed Palwaukee at 7:30 am and headed over to the stadium. Below us was morning rush hour traffic into the city. We circled a little to line up for a streamer pass. I was in communication with Ben and Andy via Air to Ground radio’s. I tossed the streamers and they instantly were traveling at high speeds north due to the winds. Darn it! They landed so far away from the field we lost track of them. The excitement was growing, as the winds were becoming a huge factor. We did a few more passes with Andy and Ben calling out the winds and then Andy called the jump off. My heart sank. We were so close; I was tempted to accidentally ‘fall’ out of the plane.
We landed back in Palwaukee with disappointment on everyone’s faces. We unloaded the Caravan with the hopes of everyone jumping into Wrigley fading fast. Thinking of all the SDC jumpers, friends and family that were going to be at the game! DARN IT!
The next jump was scheduled at 12:50pm. Being from Chicago you know that is about the same time the winds are the strongest. DARN IT….. That was my feeling for most the morning. We headed to a nearby restaurant to get some breakfast and discuss the plan for the remainder of the day. The energy level was low thinking the next jump was going to be a wash as well. The only highlight of the morning was when we arrived back to the airport. Standing at the door was Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs of the Chicago Bears. They ask if we were jumping and Mike, quick to respond, talked more about jumping then I have ever witnessed.
To make the client happy they wanted us to do the streamer drop on the second jump regardless if we were jumping. Jerry and the team departed at 12:30pm. I was getting numerous texts asking if the jump was cancelled or not. We did our first pass over the stadium and tossed the streamers out. With better coordination we were able to follow the streamers until they landed about 10 blocks away. Bummer! I kept asking Ben what the winds were and the he first responded with thirtee……and before he could finish a gust of 30 registered on the meter. DARN IT!
We made several passes getting constant updates with each pass. The winds were steady in the teens with gusts in the twenties. Both Gale and Annie backed out when they got the report of winds. Mike and I were still going back and forth. The winds on the field were light. About this time the clock was ticking on our window. I looked at Mike and without saying anything we both were thinking that this opportunity wasn’t going to happen again. I guess after three years of being an on a team you learn how to read each other.
I told the ground crew we were going, looked up at Jerry to start lining up the spot…. a bit upwind was my first command. 5 left, cut, I looked up at Mike one last time and told him to be safe. Then I jumped. I had a great on heading opening and immediately looked down to see if I was going backwards. What I relief; I wasn’t, however, I wasn’t going forward either. I looked over my shoulder and did one 360 and was instantly over the rooftop bleachers. I crabbed over top the scoreboard and looked to make one last left turn. AS soon as I reached rooftop level I got an updraft. Worried that the down draft was coming next I went to half breaks and continued my approach. Not having much flare I slid in my landing. (That’s my excuse anyway). I turned around and watched Mike come swooping in. He was pumped up!
As we were escorted off the field I looked up in the bleachers at all the SDC jumpers yelling and cheering in the stands. I was still shaking from the jump and the fact that we pulled it off. Thanks to Ben and Chris for ground crewing. Andy for hook up, Mike for not getting hurt in front of his entire family, and all the jumpers and friends that came out. It was truly one of the best and shortest jumps in my career.
This past weekend was Ben Crooch’s first LOing weekend. He kept most of the freeflyers busy with all types of jumps. Ben’s next LO weekend is May 15-16. In addition to Ben organizing, SDC Standard will be LOing most weekends starting at noon.
On behalf of SDC we’d liked to welcome Rhythm back. They had an exciting winter finishing 10th at the Bedford World Challenge, 9th at the Shamrock Showdown, and 1st at the NSL meet in Sebastian. Combined with tunnel and Skydive Camps they have certainly kept busy. This coming weekend is their popular Team for a Day event.
Team for a Day
During Team for a Day you will be paired up with 2-4 other participants and one Rhythm member. Groups will be 4-6 people in size, and paired based on similar experience and goals. This is not a competitive event, and has options for all levels from those just off student status to experienced jumpers. Your Rhythm team captain will plan the dives and lead the team through a day of jumping following the same format we follow when we train. You'll get the dives ahead of time. We'll stretch, creep, dirt dive, mock up the exit, and then debrief and repeat each dive and debrief at the end of the day. Each team will aim to do 8-10 jumps over the day, using the same training day plan that Rhythm uses when we train, to maximize learning and efficiency. At the end of the day, in addition to tons of new skills and a fun time, you'll also receive a DVD of all of your jumps for the day. The team captain will work with you to outline a set of goals for the day. The dives will focus on the fundamentals of 4 way and formation skydiving as well as the specific goals. This way you can do Team for a Day over and over, and focus on something new each time. Costs are $15/jump in addition to your slot.
TFAD dates still available for May are:
May 9th, May 15th, May 22nd/23rd
Summerfest 16-Way Invitational
Rhythm will be organizing a dueling 16-way invitational during the last weekend of Summerfest. Dives will be a mix of the national draw and complex / challenging formations. A similar event will run in the northeast, and possibly elsewhere throughout the country for more fun competition. The event is scheduled for Saturday, July 31st, with Sunday August 1st in case of weather. Optional warm up jumps are scheduled for Friday July 30th. To apply or for more information contact Steve@rhythmskydiving.com.
Tunnel Camps
Rhythm has a handful of tunnel skills camps at Paraclete XP throughout the summer. Tunnel is a great way to hone your freefall skills quickly. Dates are:
June 15-16
June 25-28
July 16-19
Aug 20-24
For more information or to sign up contact
janette@rhythmskydiving.com
SDC, in partnership with Skydive Spaceland, have purchased a Skyvan! That’s right, the Midwest will have a tailgate! They are currently using the Van in Spaceland and loving it! We are finalizing the schedule and will post when the Van will be flying at SDC.
Attention campground residents: you will be happy to hear that we are bringing wireless Internet back to the campground at speeds of 1.5mbs! We have contracted an outside company to install the system. Once its up and going you subscribe monthly and work directly with the company. We are hoping to have this all up and going by the end of the month.
Don’t forget to put your team together for the PD Battle at Midway event June 12-13. We are getting great response for the event with many team rooms and cabins being booked. For the latest info click HERE.
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SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY….the swoop club is back in action. Get your swoop on with a low-key swoop event. Be sure to be at the hangar at 9am this Sunday (May 9).
Jumpers interested in getting their USPA Coaches Rating can signup for the rating course May 12-14. This is the first step you must take before you can get your tandem or AFF rating. Steve Verner will be heading up the course; you can contact him with questions at bigeyesky@hotmail.com.
Don’t forget to enter your pictures and vote for the 2010 seasons first Sunset of the Month contest!
Rook
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