Black Team Training Day

Black team took advantage of the gorgeous weather today and spent the day out at our home training drop zone in Laurinburg, NC. All told, the team made six lifts, with a little bit of everything from cutaways to free-flying to canopy relative work to coach jumps.

The most tedious part of the day was recovering and untangling the released canopy from the intentional cutaway maneuver. During our Full Show performance, one jumper will wear a specially modified parachute harness that holds three parachutes instead of the normal two-chute system. The jumper causes the first canopy to malfunction, an antic that always gets the crowd going! The jumper then releases it, opens the main parachute, and lands in front of the crowd. Due to the focus and skill required to safely perform this maneuver, must practice the cutaway twice in a training environment prior to the start of the show season. It also takes a certain amount of precision to calculate where to release the first parachute so it lands safely away from the crowd and can be recovered.

Some of the team members also did some canopy relative work with some jumpers from the Gold Demonstration Team, putting together some canopy formations that we hope to make a more regular part of our CRW shows. SGT Chris Clark, SGT Dan Cook (both from Gold Team), and SGT Tylor Wheeler put together a “Tri-By-Side” formation using special straps and hooks to connect their harnesses while under canopy and fly their parachutes abreast.

It was a good, productive day…let’s hope the weather cooperates so we can do it all again tomorrow!

-Story and photos by SGT Rachel Medley

Photos:

-(left to right) SSG Brandon Valle, SGT Tylor Wheeler, SSG Howie Sanborn, SGT Chris Clark, and SGT Dan Cook await takeoff of the team’s C-31 for the day’s fifth jump

-SSG Brandon Valle tackles a nasty knot in the lines of the intentional cutaway canopy

-SSG Brandon Valle (left) and SGT Tylor Wheeler check the lines on the intentional cutaway canopy before it is hooked up and repacked