WAG 2015 - Day 2

Happy Birthday Dubai

Today is the National Day

Tuesday 2nd December

6.00 p.m.  the end of a long day

. . . . but a very successful one.  In the second time slot of the day for parachuting, 14.00 - 15.00, we completed a round of Canopy Piloting (Distance) and despite a strong (but under the limits) cross wind we had some good distance scores with France leading the way.with Guillaume Bernier reaching 138.6 m, Cornelia Mihai, UAE 135.04 m and Pablo Hernandez Moll, Spain 133.85 m  Unlike this morning, the crowds had arrived and Regan Tetlow had an audience to listen to his informative and bright commentary.

There then followed an Air Show with Wingwalkers, Zoltan aerobatics and formation flying with Jetman - for more visit WAG Website

You will find stories and pictures from the day including the impressive 44 hot air balloons that lifted off from the DZ at sunset to mark the 44th anniversary of the birth of the United Arab Emirates.

Tomorrow is not quite such an early start for all involved in Canopy Piloting with our first scheduled time-slot 9.00 - 12.00.

9.30 am    It was an early start this morning for the Canopy Piloting competitors, the Judges and Course builders as the 7.30 first lift off was on time - along with all the organisational staff, mannifest, pilots, etc. without whom there would be no competition.. 

Forty competitors from 22 Nations - all invited as the top competitors in the world for the title of World Air Games Canopy Piloting Champion.

The set up at the pond was, as you would expect from Skydive Dubai, professional with good signage and an immaculate pond.  The first two aircraft loads were for the competitors to make their practice jumps, to re-familiarise themselves with the area and their set up point, before swooping to the pond and taking one of the three options presented to them - Distance, Speed or Accuracy.

By 8.30 the first round of the Zone Accuracy event started with just a low wind down the course. By the end of the first session, before the Air Display started we had completed the 2nd round.of Zone Accuracy.  Already we have the makings of a great competition, with Curtis Bartholomew, USA in 1st place with 196 points, Christian Weber Jensen, DEN 2nd with 191 points and Guillaume Bernier, FRA 3rd 180 points.  (Please remember that all these results are "unofficial" until signed off by the Chief Judge). 

The two Italian brothers competing against each other in this event were tied after the first two rounds of Accuracy.  I think these are the first brothers we have had in an individual event - we have seen them before in Formation Skydiving - particularly with the Canadian 4-Way Open and VFS team - competing here and the French 8-Way in the past - but they are have not been in competition with each other. 

Italy's Armando and Mario Fattoruso - competitive brothers

.A couple of pictures from Zone Accuracy plus two from the Distance event.