matching fall rates / lazy arch

[mangledspoon 0]

I've been doing some coach jumps lately, and at the moment as I'm not the best skydiver, my instructors have been matching their fall rate to mine to make the objectives of the dive easier for me, and then when they get down they complain that I fly too flat...
I know if they arched harder, I would arch harder to match them as that's what I'm supposed to do... but they just keep matching me and then complaining!
I feel like by them matching my rate I'm getting into the bad habit of a lazy arch... I don't know if I should just arch like crazy and then end up lower, continue flying relative, or what??
Should I just ask them to stop doing this, I don't feel like I'm learning properly. I would rather they just arch like crazy to FORCE me to do the same.
I don't know what I'm posting this for, I guess opinions?

[koppel 3]

so arch harder and wait for them to catch up

I like my canopy...


...it lets me down.

[popsjumper 2]

Teach your instructor about fall-rate practice dives.

Inst speeds up - student follows
Inst slows down - student follows

or,

Get a different instructor.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[jojo69 0]

I spent a great deal of time (and money) working with a coach. You must be very clear in what you want to accomplish on each jump.

You seem to have the opposite problem from me (I fall like a stone in water). I spent my first 10 jumps and about 15 minutes of tunnel time learning how to control my fall rate. These were boring jumps because all we did was get small then get large over and over again but I feel that it was worth it.

If your have a tunnel near you, you may want to invest in going there. You can practice for minutes at a time in stead of seconds.

Are you working on several things during the jumps?
Do you have specific goals you want to accomplish? Have you shared them with your coach?
Remember, you are working on your skills. Your coach is there to help and direct you with feedback. If your goal for a jump is not the same as your coaches, then neither of you going to be happy with the jump and both of you are wasting your time.

[billvon 2,476]

>I don't know if I should just arch like crazy and then end up lower . . .

If he's matching fallrate that won't happen.

>I would rather they just arch like crazy to FORCE me to do the same.

You could ask for them to do that, but be prepared to spend some frustrating skydives where you can't stay relative to him. Most coaches match fallrate instinctively because more learning can occur when the student has only one or two things to work on; having to match fallrate at the same time makes it more difficult. OTOH if all you want to work on is fallrate, then ask him for that.

BTW there's a lot more to fallrate than arch; it's your overall body position.

[Orange1 0]

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Most coaches match fallrate instinctively because more learning can occur when the student has only one or two things to work on;

This is something I've noticed; I think they even instinctively do it on jumps when it is supposed to be all up to the student to match the fall rate. While coaching is obviously invaluable, I've personally learnt a lot more about managing fall rate (both faster and slower) and having to fly my body when jumping with other lower time jumpers.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[Reginald 0]

If the objective was something else like docking, or center point turns then the coach was dong the right thing. You can’t learn to dock if you guys are on different levels. There is nothing wrong with him in a debrief talking about other thing you can work on to improve your skydiving beyond the learning objectives, such as basic body position.

If the objective of the dive WAS fall rate control then the coach should not have been matching your fall rate obviously. He should have been changing his and making you learn to adjust.

What was the objective of these jumps?

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[Guest]

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so arch harder and wait for them to catch up

That's what I would do!

Actually, if there's a tunnel around you, try to book some time in it and just work on fall rate control. If you have 10 minutes of nothing but fall rate, you'll start to get the hang of it pretty quickly. That's what I did. During and and when I was right off AFF, I spent a lot of time in the tunnel and it greatly paid off! I get to do way more fun stuff at my low jump numbers that I thought.

However, if you don't have access to a tunnel. Talk to your coach before doing the dive. But also, on the other hand, if your coaches are complaining about your slow fall rate, I'd maybe look for another coach because they aren't really helping increase your skills...

I dunno, just my 2 cents. Cheers and good luck!

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