On May 6th, AXIS Flight School hosted a Canopy Flocking event and free seminars dedicated to educating jumpers on canopy flight at Skydive Arizona. The goal of the course was to expand on the awareness of each individual’s canopy knowledge, as well as canopy separation while in the pattern. The course welcomed jumpers from all skill and experience levels, from jumpers with less than 100 jumps, to competitive canopy-pilots with several thousand. Niklas Daniel, Justin Price and Brianne Thompson were on hand as the organizers of this event.

After an extensive brief in the morning, the participants were then broken up into three groups with similar skill levels. Then during the jumps, practical application of rear-riser, front-riser and brakes were put to use in order to fly relative to one another. The results were a success!

Each jumper learned something new about his or her own canopy, as well as being able to expand on their range of flight while flying relative to other jumpers. In-air communication was established, as well as expanding upon their awareness of other jumpers in the air with them. As the groups became more proficient and their understanding grew, some groups were combined to build flocking formations (Canopy formations with no contact). Starting with some basic formations such as flying side-by-side, moving up to diamonds and deltas. In an effort to learn how to get together, they inevitably learned how to stay apart and create separation when it came to landing patterns. An “Everyone has the right of way but me” attitude was fostered which resulted in more predictable landing-patterns and better separation amongst jumpers. Even though not all jumpers participate in all disciplines, we all share a canopy ride at the end. Therefore it is imperative that all jumpers seek out knowledge and gain more experience in this realm. AXIS would like to thank Skydive Arizona and its staff, as well as all the skydivers who participated in this event. Through their efforts and wanting to learn, they are making this sport a little safer not just for themselves but also for their fellow jumpers. AXIS will provide more seminars like this one to further promote safety through education. To find out about the next courses or to inquire about a personalized training plan, please contact AXIS at Events@AxisFlightSchool.com.

For more pictures, please check out the AXIS Flight School Facebook Album!