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dthames

New to flocking, post exit tumble risk

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I am posting this for the new birds and those that hope to soon start. Maybe it will avoid a collision.

I made a good number of WS flights and made sure I was in control of my flight before I started trying to flock with anyone. I am very cautious and in control when I am flying toward anyone. I was very sure I would not hit anyone or even come close. One if the first times I was with a group larger than 5, I was exiting from inside an Otter with 5 or 6 birds out before me. My exit was good and about 4 seconds into the flight, I was busy looking at where everyone was, and where I needed to go. I was looking back and down to the left when I basically stalled and went into a yaw rotation. I rotated about 200 degrees and then fell. Below me was another WS. I was close to opposing his line of flight. I was headed toward the same space as he was. Below and behind him were two other which might also be at risk if I manage to miss the first guy. I managed to get turned back in the direction of the flight and slipped past him but only by a few inches. I apologized and learned from my mistake. That was a few months ago.

Last Saturday I saw almost the same thing happen with a junior bird on a similar exit. Talking about it after the flight, another WS pilot said he had let the same thing happen, similar to what I described above. There seems to be a pattern here that the priority of flight control does not always come first. I think my main problem was I was eager start moving toward my slot and not paying enough attention to what I was doing at the moment.

I am not sure of any advice that might help, other than to slow down, calm down, and focus on flying. And “Don’t give up”. I knew for sure I was going to hit my buddy. But by the grace of God, I missed him right at the last split second. I don’t even know what I did, but I happily missed him.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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This can be a big problem on tailgates even for people who know how to fly but don't understand physics. I can't count the number of times I'm doing a 5-10 way with very experienced pilots, and they want to do a group exit where some of us exit head high (i.e. a vanilla tailgate exit) and others do a gainer. Even after I explain why this is such a bad idea, there usually remains at least one very skilled flyer who doesn't understand.

This is not RW. Even on the hill, everyone must be pointed in the same direction. If the guy in front of you is flying "up" the hill, and you are flying "down" the hill, you're only asking for bad shit to happen.
www.WingsuitPhotos.com

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with this in mind, what are some good exit orders that are safe for both the tailgate situation and also the side exit planes?

new bird here and I have had a couple tumbles going out in the past while I have been trying to keep sight/up with the leader.

Also, I have been on smaller flocks (2-3 birds) where the leader exits in a different order....I am still trying to wrap my brain around this if anyone has advice on where to put the leader on the exit

thanks

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having everyone in the group exit in the same fashion eliminates a lot of problems. When you start mixing "poop", backfly, and belly, things can get weird.
When you mix gainers and non-gainers, whether tailgate or not, it will usually create problems, just as Matt mentioned.

If you *have* to mix gainers, non-gainers, then the gainers need to go first, as they'll be flying away from the aircraft. Be sure there is separation between the gainer group and the non-gainer group. Flatly stated, it's asking for trouble to mix the two exits types.

As far as where base (leader) exits, if you have a three way, the base can exit last, or second. He can also exit first, but that generally means the other two are chasing. If all people are newbs, that means you have two people chasing a likely non-steady guy, so putting the base as second or third in the group will at least provide the opportunity to temper speed and direction.

All that said, the exit order isn't relevant to tumbles. I'd suggest you get your exits solid before jumping with groups. Looking up at the aircraft is the fastest way I can suggest you stabilize your exits. Get someone to shoot your exits either from inside or outside the aircraft, post the video. Many of us can likely help.

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