posted Jan 12th, 2011 - The meet management at the Dubai Championship 2011 was busy today trying to figure out how to deal with the windy weather situation, which will most likely continue into tomorrow's afternoon. It is a cross wind for the short runway of 400 meters, and this increases the challenge for the pilots who are hesitant to fly in critical conditions. This means that there is only a realistic chance for the 4-way teams to finish the competition tomorrow.

The Canopy Pilots still have two more rounds to go, one in Speed and one in Accuracy, plus a re-jump. However, tomorrow's Canopy Piloting activities would begin with the Freestyle category, which was requested by the host. This event is also not so wind depending and could have a chance tomorrow. Only 70 of the 90 Canopy Pilots are signed up for this category.

The classic Accuracy competition is at Round 6 and needs two more rounds to complete the team event, plus additional two rounds for the individual competition. Chief Judge Dr. Rainer "Exi" Hoenle said that the host needs approx. 1.5 days of flying time to complete all events. The last official competition day is Saturday.

Another topic is also related to the Dubai Championship. The International Parachuting Commission (IPC) is currently checking out two official bids for hosting the World Meet 2012. The IPC Delegates will decide at the end of January 2011 in Bar, Montenegro, where the 2012 event will take place.

The bids include the aircraft for the 4-way and 8-way Formation Skydiving competition at the World Meet 2012. Italy plans to host the event in Belluno and use Pilatus Porters with right-hand doors. Dubai is the other potential host and has announced aircraft with left-hand doors in the bid.

The NSL News posted the first story with more information on 11 October 2010 when the German national team Paratec-Saar launched a campaign against the right-hand door option. The NSL News followed up with another story on 14 October 2010 and offered a poll to vote for left or right, which means more or less for Italy or Dubai.

The German team, which is also involved in hosting the World Cup 2011 in Saarlouis with left hand door aircraft, is now providing more logic of their position regarding the jump plane situation. A special Facebook page was created to accommodate feedback and discussion.

The German team is trying to avoid for all teams the effort to train and compete from a Pilatus Porter, possibly even without a step. They say that they cannot imagine that the IPC Delegates would consider such an option after previous experiences with extended discussions.

The Germans admit that the comfort of a larger jump plane is a good point that speaks for the left hand door. They say that two years of training from the small cabin of a Pilatus Porter would be painful.

Travel efforts also make a difference. There is a limited number of skydiving centers that offer jumps from a Pilatus Porter. Access is easier for German teams since neighbouring countries like France and Switzerland have a number of them. However, it can be difficult for other teams to find a Pilatus Porter for training nearby.

The German team points out that even several "right door teams" would have to work harder, as they have been mostly jumping from left hand doors in the past years. They use the successful French world champion teams as a good example for "right door teams" training from left hand doors.

They see logistical challenges from the perspective of the host and the meet director, as well. It would take a large number of Pilatus Porters to accommodate the teams and participants efficiently. All those planes would need to be transferred from other locations to the competition site, which would increase the costs for running the event.

It is also more challenging and complicated to manage several smaller planes compared to larger ones with more teams in the same load. This also counts for critical weather situations where teams may have to get up quickly and use any upcoming opportunity to jump.

Last not least, the finances matter a lot, as well. The Paratec-Saar members say that the Pilatus Porter is simply not a very efficient jump plane any longer, which is shown by the decreasing number used at commercial skydiving centers. They claim that the costs for the competition, which find their way into the entry fees for the teams, could be lower with more efficient aircraft.

The unofficial German amateur world champions of 2010 think that the voice of the teams and competitors should be expressed and heard when it comes to the decision making at the end of January in Bar, Montenegro. Team speaker Jörn Thiele made the last and strongest point:

"We think that the IPC Delegates should keep in mind that most of us are amateur competitors, and only a few teams have all their expenses covered. It is a very big effort for most of us to find the time and the money to train and compete.

The teams and competitors fill the events with the actual content and give them life and action, and we do that on our own expense and time. This should be enough reason to provide us with good logistics and aircraft that the majority would like to exit from at a competition."

World Meet 2012
Exits from Pilatus Porter right-hand door at the World Meet 2012?	Yes No Doesn't Matter
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