posted Sep 19th, 2007 - The qualification events for the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2008 in France have taken place in most of the countries that will send their teams to the event next year. The majority of the nations that are members of the International Parachuting Commission (IPC) select their national teams at the national championship of the year prior to the next world meet. However, the selection process may be different in each country.

The USPA Nationals 2007 included the selection of the US national teams for the World Meet 2008 in France. Airspeed Odyssey and Fastrax Blue will represent the USA in 4-way. There is still a question mark behind the 8-way line-up.

Arizona Airspeed won the 8-way competition at Skydive Chicago, but only the Odyssey members will travel to France next year. Knight Trax, the 8-way combination of Team Fastrax and Golden Knights, won the silver medals in Ottawa and would be the next 8-way team in line for the 2008 slots in France.

The decision in 8-way needs to be made quickly since serious challenges will be waiting for any US 8-way team. France, the defending 8-way champion has the same line-up as in 2006 and 2007, which guarantees a comfortable head start. The competition will also take place on French home turf in Maubeuge, with exits from Pilatus Porters and right-hand doors.

The choice of the jump plane in France with all its implications is probably one of the main concerns for all qualified teams.

Exits from the right-hand door of the Pilatus Porter forces the teams with left-door patterns and continuity plans to re-evaluate the team strategies and get enough exit practice from the right-hand door of this jump plane.

It is nothing new in the history of Formation Skydiving competition that such a change of the side of the exit door happens. In fact, it was only four years ago that the jump plane for the World Championship of Formation Skydiving was the Pilatus Porter. France hosted the Mondial 2003 in Gap where the 4-way and 8-way teams exited from the right side of the plane.

The Pilatus Porter is a popular jump plane in several European countries, and especially the French skydiving community is very familiar with the exit from this right-hand door. It might look like the French teams have a serious advantage next year. However, it has not been too easy for the French national teams so far to take advantage of the situation.

The French national teams of the past years had to switch back and forth between left-hand and right-hand patterns just as much as the teams from other nations. There have actually been significantly more international IPC competitions from left-hand than from right-hand doors. The French teams always had to find ways how to accommodate the left-hand doors, as from Twinotters, in their French continuity plans and the exit training.

They surely found successful ways, including training camps in the USA and other countries with the needed jump planes. The medal positions of the past years provide the evidence. However, the Pilatus Porter and the right-hand door is still the most familiar situation for the French teams, and they will literally feel like coming home.

The majority of the other national teams have less than one year to make the necessary adjustments and get ready for exits from the Pilatus Porter. There are a few different options how to make the move from left to right.

Teams can keep each member in the familiar exit slot and only practice the specifics of the different exit formations. This would cause mirror images of all random formations and blocks and bring primarily a right-hand pattern to the team training, which is more natural from a right-hand door.

Teams can also switch certain exit positions (Point versus Tail or Center Inside versus Center Outside). This strategy would keep each team member in the same slot as from a left-hand door and offer the option to also maintain the left-hand pattern.

The French national teams have applied this option in a reversed way in the past years whenever they had to compete from left-hand doors. They switched exit positions and continued with their right-hand pattern, which originated from Pilatus Porter exits.

No matter which option the majority of the national teams will choose to prepare for next year's World Meet in France - there will be the serious need for exit training from Pilatus Porter. The major training centers in the USA are already prepared for this request.

Dan BC recently informed the NSL News that Perris Valley Skydiving added a Pilatus Porter to the line of jump planes in California: "We have acquired a Pilatus Porter in Perris Valley. It is a jewel of a plane that we should have on line by November 1, and it will be available at least through July leading up to the World Meet in August. We picked up the plane to accommodate the many national teams that have been training in Perris over the last few years."

Team Storm's coach will continue to work with the new British 4-way champion, which has already spent time in Perris this year for training, and also for competition at the SCSL meets. Perris Valley is Dan BC's home base for professional coaching.

Skydive DeLand confirmed, as well, that a Pilatus Porter will be available beginning in November this year. The training center in Florida was already in the same situation sveral times in the past and is therefore familiar with the needs of the national teams that train for the World Meet 2008 in France.

Both training centers, Perris Valley and Skydive DeLand, are hosts of several league competitions every year, and both Pilatus Porters will also be available at next year's meets for competition practice from this jump plane.

There will be an additional challenge for the national teams that have to train from the Pilatus Porter. Fiona McEachern, Chair of IPC's Competition committee, recently updated the national federations with a very important detail. IPC President Patrice Girardin had informed her with specifics of the Pilatus Porters in France:

"As I promised you, I have been working in Maubeuge with the next meet organiser under my future umbrella as the meet director. I can confirm that we are going to use Pilatus Porter, as in the bid, with ten slots, with no step except for the videographers."

It is a short note with big content. The confirmation of the Pilatus Porter as the jump plane was no big news. Even the missing step for easier and more comfortable exit positions is not a surprise since this is the same setup as it was already at the Mondial 2003 in Gap.

The last detail is new and important. It will be a different and unfamiliar situation for the teams to share the small jump plane with a second team. French meet organisers of the past could load up each Pilatus Porter only with one team since it was restricted in France to the maximum number of nine skydiving passengers.

There is not much room left in a Pilatus Porter with two teams on board. It will be important to work out the most efficient seating and climb-out procedures. Even the cheering-up and motivational tactics in the plane and prior to the exit will probably need more or new consideration.

However, the teams will appreciate to know early enough what to expect at the competition site. The training for 2008 can begin, and Hayabusa Defence is already on the way to Spain. The Belgian World Cup champion of 2007 has the first training camp after the end of the 2007 competition season on the agenda - from a Pilatus Porter...