freefly vs RW suits/jumpsuits in general

[i.a.w.i.a. 0]

ok -- i'm totally new to all this, so forgive the idiotic questions :)

What's the difference between freefly suits and RW suits, and why?

also, how necessary are jumpsuits to begin with? I see people jumping shirtless or in shorts and what have you -- so when does a jumpsuit become necessary?

[AggieDave 6]

A jumpsuit gives you more of a control range for jumping with other people, so you need to dress for success for what you're doing.

A FF suit has drag in the proper places for FF where as a RW suit has drag in the proper places for RW, never mind that it usually also has grippers and sometimes booties.

You need to figure out what type of flying you're going to do and buy a suit that fits that, but honestly, you'll probably end up buying atleast one suit of each for different flying (eventually).

IMHO, its a very good idea to spend some time on your belly really learning how to do RW, that will greatly help you if you want to learn how to FF.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[i.a.w.i.a. 0]

Quote

A FF suit has drag in the proper places for FF where as a RW suit has drag in the proper places for RW, never mind that it usually also has grippers and sometimes booties.

So what're the proper places to have drag for FF and RW, and why? :) also, how do booties help?

[AggieDave 6]

I'll try to explain, but it maybe something that is better understood in person.
Each type of flying presents a different part of your body to the relative wind. Freeflying, the torso doesn't do as much as the legs and arms, with RW, the torso provides the majority of the drag and the arms and legs give control. So they are designed to meet those needs.

Attatched are pics of me in my FF and RW suit to help you out.

Oh, booties, think of them as like the little pajamas that little kids where with the feet sewn in. They give you extra power for your legs when doing RW, that translates into forward movement, turns and fall rate control. Think of booties vs. non-booties as the difference between driving a Geo Tracker on a trail and driving a lifted CJ on a trail. Sure, both will get there, but the CJ will do better and be more efficient.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[i.a.w.i.a. 0]

Thanks! I'm going to start staring at everyone at the dz now and figure out how their jumpsuit relates to what they wanna do in the air :)

[AggieDave 6]

Alright, now here's another thing to look at. Look how bulky my RW suit is, baggier arms, thicker material, etc. You'll see some folks with suits like mine, you'll see others with spandex arms and similar material and you'll see some that are very tight that have nylon on the front of the suit. We use the different kinds of suits to make it easier to do different fallrates. For instance, I'm a big guy so I need the baggier suit so I can float with formations and such. Others need tight fast suits so they don't float out on formations. Some folks even wear weight belts or vests to get their fallrates higher to make it easier for them to stay with formations.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."