Jump with wind! Equipment for Large Breast!

[computerdoc 0]

I am new at this sport and was hoping to get my wife interested. She took her first jump and had a terrible experience. She has large breast and when she let go from the strut all her gear (radio and altimeter) went up into her face. Is there gear out there that addresses this problem? Also on her landing she came in with the wind (appr 7 mph) and slid face down for about 25 feet while the chute drug her. Thankfully she had a helment on. Question is does flaring help to slow her down are does the chute become more of a pull. She said at first she would never do it again. Now all she does is think about it and has decided to try once more.

[AggieDave 6]

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hankfully she had a helment on. Question is does flaring help to slow her down are does the chute become more of a pull.

That's something to really ask the instructors at your DZ.

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She has large breast and when she let go from the strut all her gear (radio and altimeter) went up into her face.

PM Amazon, she's well versed in the gear choices for women in such an instance.

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

[computerdoc 0]

At the time I did not know what really went wrong for I was getting it all on video. But after reviewing the video I saw the wind sock and the speed she was coming in and realized she was very fortunate to only end up with scrapes and bruises. I have not spoke with the instructor yet but will do so this weekend. Thanks

[Scoop 0]

If you mean it was a high wind day then the landing should have been slower. I take it you mean the windsock was hanging down without moving in which case yeah it can be a bit faster. I'd say definately talk it out with your (or rather get her to chat to her) instuctors, show them the video too

[Lindercles 0]

He means it was a downwind landing.

[computerdoc 0]

Windsock was small end to the north and she came in from the south. The windsock was more hanging at the time I paned past it but the dust blew north on her landing. Thanks for your response!

[billvon 2,383]

>Is there gear out there that addresses this problem?

Yes. Jump Shack in particular does a good job fitting unusual body sizes. However, for student training you have a limited selection; generally it's limited to what the school has on-hand.

At Brown we had one very small student rig (for 100 lb women) and one very large rig (for 260 lb men.) But everything else was your basic one-size-fits most Telesis student rig.




>Question is does flaring help to slow her down

Yes. Flaring slows you down even if you're flying downwind. You'll still land going a lot faster.

[riggerrob 558]

Two separate issues here.
First of all, her harness was adjusted too long. Sometimes student harnesses can be shortened - via buckles - to prevent students from "eating" their chest straps.
When it comes time for her to buy her first custom-made harness, she should definitely order from a manufacturer that has plenty of experience fitting large-breasted women.

The second problem relates to miss-reading the wind sock. That is training issue best discussed in a classroom with a local instructor.

[tomvailco 0]

I'll tell you what she should have done. She should have cut away her main breasts and pulled her reserves!

[DJL 232]

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That's something to really ask the instructors at your DZ.

Let me edit this. "That's something FOR HER to really ask the instructors at your DZ."

If she is interested in skydiving then she needs to learn it herself, not have your translations.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[computerdoc 0]

She has already implicated to me that she will confront him on the direction she came in. Thanks

[teason 0]

Hmm, confront is a very confontational word and implies that you think the instructor fucked up.

Just about every student I've seen land downwind has gone left when they were told right and vice versa. (I've yet to see the instructor forget his lefts and rights down low)

I've had very irrate people yell at me and accuse me of turning them downwind. Luckily, we video tape all our first jump students with radio commands coming over the tape. After we show them, they usually give a red faced apology (either that or start blaming the radio itself!) You can't survive in skydiving without taking personal resposability for your mistakes.

Getting overwelmed at landing time is very common. There is no shame in confusing left from right. At that point, the radio controller has to decide if there if sufficient alt to turn them around and they may be too low for a 180.
A 7 mph downwind landing is not a bad option with a full flare (did she get her toggles all the way down? the bottom half is generally where the drag is.) with a half flare she may have still turf surfed even when faced into the wind.

As for fiiting the harness, it's common for the main lift web to be stretched to accomidate larger upper bodies. Unfortunately, this causes the student to eat the radio. The MLW should be adjusted for height, not girth.(and that's a pet peeve of mine)

A handy tip for doing up the chest strap for your wife would be to grab the shoulder straps and push together and forward. This will allow the instructor to do up the chest strap without having to resort to lengthening the MLW.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[bodypilot1 0]

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She has already implicated to me that she will confront him on the direction she came in. Thanks

Sounds like she got a great debrief on her jump......
Directly after her jump she should know everything she did right, along with everything she did wrong and needs to improve on.


Ed

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[peregrinerose 0]

First, to jump or not needs to be her choice because she wants to do it for her, not because she knows you want her to do it. Don't ever try to convince her to jump. It's her choice. (My husband jumped for 2 years before I started. He never asked me to give it a whirl.. it was my choice alone)

As one with big knockers, I strongly recommend a sports bra for jumping. It helps keep the boobies contained a bit better and out of the way. She needs to talk with the instructors about the gear she is using now and getting adjusted for her body type.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[teason 0]

Some students just leave if something doesn't go right on the jump and they have a bad experience.

Don't know if that's what happened here though.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[computerdoc 0]

Confront is a little harsh, that was more my words than hers. She just wants to ask why. My wife was really disappointed in herself for having such a lousy landing, and blamed herself totally. You must also understand she stopped ten feet are less from hitting the pickup and trailer. She said all she could think about was hitting the trailer. In the video she did flare a little late and she is aware of this. Lessons learned and I am proud of her for saying she will try again.

[Scoop 0]

Just get her to speak to her instructor then jump right back on that horse, she'll have a blast. My landings suck so I'm going to try and seek some canopy advice myself.

[jojo69 0]

When your wife gets her gear on next time, you may suggest that she adjust her chest strap first and then her leg straps. She should bend over at the hip and pull her chest strap tight. I have found that this relieved the chest strap hickey I was getting before I started gearing up this way. The manual that came with my gear suggested this process and it works great for me.

[computerdoc 0]

Thanks for the tip. I will let her know!