{"id":32172,"date":"2021-03-06T10:54:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-06T10:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=32172"},"modified":"2021-03-06T11:02:31","modified_gmt":"2021-03-06T11:02:31","slug":"p3-winter-fling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/p3-winter-fling\/","title":{"rendered":"P3 Winter Fling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

P3<\/a> – Perris Performance Plus – is known across the international skydiving community for hosting world class large formation FS events <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Exit during the Winter Fling event
Photo by Kristian Caulder <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition they also hold camps to help skydivers with 100 to 10,000 jumps get the experience and learn the skills to be included in these great events. In the past while training teams for upcoming world records P3 has had over 200 jumpers participating in their 100-way camps. That’s right, two separate groups doing back to back 100-ways! Many of the participants qualified the week prior at the P3 Big Way Camp.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As the focus of large formations has switched from pure numbers to more artistic formation flying done at events like the P3 Spring Fling, P3 Power Play, Arizona Challenge, Team Elite and Sequential Gang P3 developed their Sequential Camp to practice this type of intricate flying in particular. In February P3 modeled their spring format of the Big Way Camp\/ 100-Way Camp combo by doing a Sequential Camp\/ Winter Fling combo.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Skydivers approaching the base during a Big Way Camp
Photo by Craig O’Brien<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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What you learn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Big Way Formation Skydiving, whether done on our bellies, head down, head up, in wingsuits or under canopy can be broken down to two basic parts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. the ability to get to the formation in a quick, efficient and predictable fashion, and<\/li>
  2. the ability to fly your slot in a quiet, smooth, controlled manner that helps the entire formation to build. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The more intricate and fragile the formations are the more important Part #2 is. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At the risk of throwing out a broad generalization, it is common to see classic big way jumpers who are great at Part #1, getting to the formation but not as skilled at Part #2, flying their slot. And classic team jumpers who do great at Part #2, flying the formation, but get lost seeing dozens or hundreds of people in the air and have trouble with Part #1. At the camps P3 participants practice all of these skills. But the Big Way and 100-Way Camps focus primarily on Part #1 and the Sequential Camp on Part #2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Type of events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    When designing large formation records we keep the formations as simple as possible with lots of structure which help the formation to hold its shape especially towards the center. It’s not about the “design” it’s about getting as many people on the formation as possible. Everyone is facing directly or almost directly at the center so they only have one line of vision to reference.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But on Fling and Power Play type event formations it’s not about record numbers, it’s about the designs or multiple designs of each jump. Many of the formations have a lot of open space within the formation that needs to be maintained without grips. Jumpers are flying slots where they are faced away from center or building formations like cats and compressed accordions where it is much more difficult to see the center. On these types of formations each person will nearly always have two or three different lines of vision they must maintain to keep the shape of the formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    An Open Diamond formation requires very good referencing in multiple directions
    Photo by Kristian Caulder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    For instance in the picture above there is an Open Diamond and we have Kevin Kierce, the jumper in blue at 11:00, who is the tail of the diamond. He has several lines of vision he must maintain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n