Day 4 Completion at the P3 Big Way Camp, Skydive Perris Valley
Barely enough time to choke down a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee and we are on our way back to altitude for the first of three jumps and the end of the P3 Big Way camp at Skydive Perris Valley. The first jump was close but not enough. But hey, it’s first thing in the morning and we have two to go.
The next jump was way more relaxed for some reason and everyone was on their game. Back in the left trail plane I was content with my visuals, trying to stay out of trouble and smile as much as possible as we closed in on the last two jumps. If we were going to get a completion, it had to be now. Leaving a completion for the last jump seems painful.
After a smooth exit the formation began to start taking shape. As I sat there and filmed my sector my thoughts ran off to other things, like the drive home and how much fun I was having when all at once it occurred to me that the formation was looking pretty complete and it was game on.
I could not detect anyone low or out-of-place except for one person, slowly, ever so slowly moving to fill what appeared to be the last slot directly below me. Could this be? How? No time to think about it, time to compose the background and that’s when I spotted Craig OB on his back under the formation snapping a way, a very good indication things were going well.
I popped a ton of pics as the last guy approached stopping only to consciously allow my camera to breath and record to the card as not to miss the coming completion. As soon as that person went for his last grip it was full release on the shutter in hopes of getting the shot while trying to fly the background, keep Craig in the photo and frame the entire formation.
As soon as the guy touched his last grip, legs went a kicking and it was break off. Yahoo. Was it complete? Was anyone missing? Hard to say. Still, landing with hoots and hollers seemed like a reasonable response and I did so willingly. There is energy in the air as a big way comes to completion, sometimes it is very tangible. It’s been a long road for these guys and only the video would tell.
Once in the video room we watched over and over, slowed it down, zoomed in, and focused. It was quick. We did the math as best as possible. We came up with a 15th of a sec of completion to actually get the shot. Only one of us did. All of us were shooting at 640th of a second with shutters fully flying. In the video the formation was there for 2-3 single frames. Still, somehow, OB got the shot. And together, as a team, we completed our mission. The process was very exciting and rewarding.
The next jump the formation came together much quicker and held for just a couple of seconds and was much more symmetrical. Again, you could feel it in the air. Everyone was pumped. It’s been so long since I’ve been around that energy and it made the whole event a much different experience then it had been all week-long. The completion was closure to all the hard work and dedication by everyone involved.
Only making three jumps meant we were done early with enough time for a beer before the sunset went down and celebration over some of the best Sushi I’ve had in a long time.
A big thank you to Craig O’Brien, The entire P3 group and Skydive Perris valley for having me out for the event.
Do hope you have enjoyed this thread and the photos. Look forward to seeing you in the air sooner than later.
More photos to be tagged on The Harry Parker Fan Page Album, 9.12 P3 100-Way Camp Perris Valley
Next up : The “Da Bomb De-Brief System” at Skydive Perris
HP
