No Freefall

[tasmanianjumper 0]

Folks. I just was a Level 3 AFF Jump reject. I was told that my Arch was improper. I am enlarging my arch... taking my feet wider like the jumpmasters told me to... as I want to pass lvl 3. I need the Arch and what goes on in FF at a speak and spell level if someone has the time because I need to freefall to pass of course.

Is there something that will let me know ok... when in free fall.... that move in the air equals blank... so that way I can kinda take steps to adjust my body position if the need arises?

I am a AFF Level III retest. I did not have a very controlled freefall.... I get told to relax but trust me I am relaxed... I just need my body to arch right. I am sorry for asking such basic questions and thank you for your time and thought.

Taz

Taz

[jclalor 12]

The best thing you can do is just listen yo your affi and try and relax. With that being said, 15 or 20 minutes in a tunnell is a great way to learn body position and such. A quick trip to the bay area could cost a lot less than multiple failed aff levels.

[Chubba 0]

In this situation, talk directly with your instructors.

Don't think of it as a "reject" or "retest", have some confidence and get back in the plane , crank it out Taz.

[tombuch 0]

Humm, interesting and common problem. Hopefully your instructors have helped you understand how wide legs affect the arch, and hopefully you are arching from the pelvis rather than your chest or belly. Your instructors are the best source of information, but since you are sitting at home, let me offer a quick task that may help you grasp the distinction.

First, stand with your feet together and arch from the pelvis (down low, not from the chest or belly). It should be pretty easy and relaxed. Next, spread your legs really wide apart while trying to keep your pelvis pushed forward. Try the same exercise while arching on the ground (for the sake of this exercise you don’t need to worry about lifting your shoulders off the ground). You will probably find that as your legs spread apart your hips rotate a bit, and your butt necessarily pushes back into a de-arch. Typically this forces a student to arch with the belly or chest, and that forces the butt even further out. See if you can feel the rotation of your hips, and the point at which the hips force the de-arch. This is a part of our body we don't think about very often, but it sometimes helps to understand how those skeletal structures work.

You will probably also find it is much harder to remain relaxed and comfortable with your legs really wide apart.

When we are in freefall our legs should be sufficiently apart to provide a wider base of stability, but not so wide that the hips rotate, and it shouldn’t make you stiff. Thus, there is a “magical amount” of leg splitting. Too little and we are unstable, and too much forces a de-arch.

I hope that helps a bit, and that your instructors can better guide your body. Each of us moves in a slightly different way, and your arch needs to be structured around your own anatomy. Only your instructors can do that with you.

As for needing to repeat level three, don’t sweat it. Skydiving is tough, and we get very little time on each jump to figure it all out. Enjoy the experience!

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[BIGUN 1,053]

********TO BE DONE WITH YOUR INSTRUCTORS PRESENT************

Dick on the Door Drill

Stand about 18" from a door.
Feet a little more than shoulder width apart.
Raise up on your toes.
Slight bend in the knees.
Look at the ceiling with your arms in the "W"
Shift your pelvic forward so that your dick is the only thing touching the door.
Have Instructors modify your body position as they deem necessary.

Substitute veejayjay when appropriate.

EDIT: Note to S/L Instructors. This is an excellent tool for teaching those hanging from a 182 strut to "snap" both hands from the unequal hand position of the right hand being higher than the left. While they are on the door, place their hands in the 182 strut position and teach them the "go," release both hands at the exact same time and "snap" into the "W." It will reduce the number of students that are releasing right hand first to bring down equal with left before releasing left - which starts the right turn effect that is seen many times on strut-hanging S/L students.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[finch 0]

Best advice i got was to try and "stick your dick in the dirt while in freefall" helped me out a ton.

"Never go full retard"

[kawisixer01 0]

"push with the bush" Best done with slavic accent....

[OSOK 0]

I failed IAF lvl 5, 3 times. I know it doesn't help with your question directly, but you sound a bit frustrated, so don't be. It'll come, and when it does, it's like "duh! that's it!"