Big way stuff

[billvon 2,400]

This is being posted for the people on the DZ.com record attempt in Perris, but it's probably applicable to other people doing big ways:

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PREPARATION

Or, what you have to know before you get there. We're always learning new things on every jump, and a big way is no exception. However, there are basic skills you need before you can safely try one; these have to be learned _before_ the jump itself.

The first skills are RW skills. You have to be able to exit in a stable position whether you're a floater or diver. You have to be able to cover long distances in freefall both horizontally and vertically; this is something you can't really learn just doing 4-ways. You have to be able to drive forward and backwards, be able to sideslide, and be able to adjust your fallrate over a wide range. You also have to be able to fly your body in that range while picking up grips. This can be a problem for very light people - they can get there, but to stay with it they have to keep their arms up and back, and as soon as they take grips they float like crazy and lift up that side of the formation. Weight can help here. You also have to be able to track well, which means flat and far. A head down dive is _not_ a good track. This is critical as bad tracking skills are one of the main things that will get you cut from a lower-experienced bigway. Not because the organizer doesn't like steep tracks, but because a lot of vertical separation without much horizontal separation is dangerous to everyone else on the dive.

The second skills are memory and perception skills. You have to be able to remember colors of more than one person and apply that in freefall. You also have to have the awareness to realize what's happening on the dive even after you're docked. If you feel tension in your grips, it's probably your fault; you can't fix it unless you're aware of the tension in the first place.

The last skills are canopy skills. You have to be able to fly back in a pack of X other people (usually 20 and above) and join the pattern for landing. This means that you have to be able to land downwind if the first person lands downwind - it's more dangerous to have people landing in both directions than have people landing downwind. Sometimes you can land a bit out and still land into the wind, but as dives get bigger, that's less and less an option. Also, you have to keep your head on a swivel both during deployment and afterwards. You're not allowed to ignore the big picture while you fuss with your slider, booties, helmet etc - if you are going to do that stuff do it without looking away from the air around you.

DIRT DIVE

The dirt dive is where you get the info you need to do the dive. Being on time goes a long way towards getting asked on _more_ bigways - there's nothing more frustrating to an organizer than making 19 people stand in the sun while the 20th is eating lunch. Most dirt dives are at least going to use jumpsuits so people can begin to see the 'big picture.'

The dirt dive is also the place to decide where you're comfortable. Most people are more comfortable in one place or another, whether that place is in the base, a floater, a close diver, a far diver etc. It's easy to rearrange a dive early on to accomodate someone who is uncomfortable floating, but it gets much harder once everyone starts rehearsing grips. Speak up early if you are uncomfortable where you are.

While in the dirt dive take a look around. It's usually not enough to just look at the person you're docking on. Take the time to look at the base and determine where you will be in relationship to it during the dive. If you fly to your grip you may end up in the wrong place if the person you're docking on screws up, and then you're wrong as well. If you fly to the slot you're supposed to be in, then you're right and he's wrong. Use at least three points of reference - people in the base as well as people you are docking on.

Also, find your opposite. He's going to be across the formation from you, generally in your mirror-image slot (at least on symmetric dives.) You'll be using him as a guide for fall rate and positioning. By looking at him it also means you're looking through the base, and this is critical. Your job may be to match the fallrate of the base, to match the fallrate of your opposite, or perhaps something in between.

Usually there will be one run-through with full gear. Make sure you do this realistically - really do the jam-up in the door, and make sure you have enough room to get into position. Also note rig colors, helmet colors, and (if you are taking a piece out) note where you can and can't take grips on people.

Also, you may do an exit frame or two, especially if you're doing a formation load. Exit frames are what the dive looks like a few seconds after exit, and will show you where to look for the base and who might be in your way.

Finally, you'll probably do a backout and rebuild. Everyone will back up X paces depending on where they're docking, then slowly walk back in. Use this time to figure out your radial (where you should line up on the base) and what the sequence is (i.e. who you have to wait for.) It does no good to get there early if the person you're docking on isn't there yet, and you can really hose the dive if you block them.


IN THE PLANE

In the plane keep an eye on what's going on. Generally, once you're near altitude and the plane is pointed at the DZ, be ready to climb out on a few seconds notice. That means booties on, gear checks complete, helmet either on or ready to go on, etc. It's easy to get distracted on a big way and forget that you don't always get full altitude, or that the extra 2000 feet you got on the last dive isn't going to happen this time.

LINEUP AND EXIT

On larger dives in Otters one or both benches generally comes up around 1-2 minutes before exit. Get off the bench, let them bring it up, then squat on the floor. Moving around a lot can make you hypoxic.

Exit sequencing will be determined by the dive. One one plane dives or in the lead plane, the organizer will usually use the standard spotting technique (i.e. manual spotting or just waiting for the light.) As always, at least one person (front float usually) must check for traffic before exiting. On trail planes, there will be a signal for opening the door, climbing out, and exiting - usually it's lights, with the exit keyed by the floaters seeing a superfloater or the base leave the lead plane.

The floaters should get out as quickly as possible, and prepare to leave as a group. The people inside the door have the most work to do, since they have to jam themselves into a small space very quickly. The later divers will usually line up behind them. The keys to packing divers in tightly is 1) make sure your back is straight and that you're not bent over, 2) alternate either left-right or feet in-out. In some planes the last 4 or so people will stay by the pilot until the count starts for weight and balance.

On exit the floaters leave as a group. Front launches hard away and up, rear just drops off, everyone in between splits the difference. The near divers should also try to leave as one chunk. This means that you push hard against the floaters if you're in the first line. You can do this because they will be gone as soon as you even begin to move. People are often hesitant to do this because they're afraid they will 'knock someone off' or something. Don't be afraid of doing this! If you do manage to knock someone off you've just done them a favor - they're late.

The people behind _them_ should try to exit on their backs. The closer you get to the person in front of them, the tighter the exit will be and the less likely you are to get kicked in the face. Also, make sure, if you're a close diver, you exit as close to the front of the door as possible. If you aim for the rear of the door you'll smash the rear diver into the doorjamb as you leave.

As soon as you get out, turn to locate the base. Sometimes it's right there (floaters or early divers) sometimes it's far away (late divers) and sometimes it's even off to the side (trail plane.) You can't start your approach until you know where you're going!

APPROACH

Your approach will depend on where you are in the dive. If you are a floater, generally you will float up until you're on level then start in. Close divers will increase their fallrate until they are on level, then approach. Late divers will have to radically increase their fallrate (by going headdown or a very steep delta) to get to the base.

Once you are on level, start the approach. At this point you should be in the right 'radial' with respect to the base. Use the colors you memorized in the dirt dive to orient yourself. Don't overamp at this point. You should be moving in _slowly._ If you see the formation getting visibly bigger, it's time to start putting on the brakes. You want to be able to come to a stop 20-30 feet outside the formation; if you can't do that, don't even try to approach it. Turn left or right, pass it, then come to a stop and fly back to your radial well outside the traffic pattern. Using the base to "stop yourself" is a big no-no.

There's a concept you may hear called the 'red zone.' This is a zone that extends outwards 20-30 feet from a smaller big-way formation. (This just happens to be the area a cameraman will also pick up in the video.) In that zone, you have to be on-level, in your radial, and approaching the base slowly. If you're sliding around that close to the base you're not only going to take someone else out, but you'll also show up on video.

As you get closer and closer, remember the picture you saw on the ground, and be sure you're following the right people. It doesn't help to get there faster than the people you're docking on, and if you get there first and block them, you may just hose the dive.

DOCKING

OK, so you're twenty feet out, on level or slightly above the base, behind the guy you're going to dock on, ready to come in. At this point you have three things to think about: level, slot, grips. Do them in that order. On level? You should be on level or slightly _below_ the base; it's easier to reach up slightly for grips than to reach down, and it helps with fall rate. Use your eyes to confirm this. You should be seeing sides or bellies of people. If you see backpacks you're too high.

Avoid the temptation to get high on it. People with fallrate troubles often like to come in 5 feet above the formation to give them a buffer against going low. You can do this 20 feet away, but as you get closer you have to be on level. Reaching down for grips is one of the more common ways to funnel a formation.

In slot? You should put your body where it belongs before you pick up any grips. You do this by remembering the picture you saw on the ground. Remember that your body continues past your shoulders; if you have to turn your body 45 degrees from your radial do it _before_ you pick up grips.

Grips? If you did the above correctly, your hands should now be inches from their grips. If the guy you're docking on is a bit out of position, then move a little to get to him. If he's way out, it's often better to just wait in your slot for him to realize and come back to you. Don't become part of the problem if he's in the wrong place. If he's not there, just hover in your slot and wait for him to reappear. Even if he never does come back it's good practice and looks good on video.

GOING LOW

Occasionally someone goes low. Dense big-ways fall more slowly than normal bigways, and some people can't adjust to the lower fall rate. If you are coming in and you feel like the base is falling too slow, go to max drag position. This is NOT a knees-down arched position! It is a flat, on your face, dead spider position. On the ground, practice this by lying flat against the ground, and raising your hips off the ground with just your toes and fingertips. You won't be able to do it but those are the muscles you need to use and the position you should be in. I can't count the number of times I've seen people go sailing past the formation, knees down, back arched.

If you do end up beneath the formation, turn sideways to it. Looking up at a formation just gives you a better arch and makes you fall faster. Instead, turn sideways and drop your head to look sideways at it. Do NOT get under the base! Back away from the base and stay 50 feet out as you recover. Once you're back on level come back in.

If you can't get back, stay with the formation. Do not track off at 7000 feet. Keep trying to get back up, then break off with the rest of the formation. That way people can see and avoid you.

There are a lot of tricks you can use on the ground to alleviate this problem. A floppy jumpsuit, a sweatshirt over your jumpsuit, sleeves, swoop cords etc are all useful to help slow yourself down.

FLYING THE FORMATION

Do not relax once you're docked. As soon as you dock you become part of the base. You have three jobs - hold your position, don't load the grips, and maintain fall rate. To hold your position look at the base and your opposite, and don't let people docking on you drag you our of position. Don't load the grips! If you dock and feel a lot of tension in the grips, it's almost a sure bet that it's your fault. Stick your legs out. If that doesn't help, and there's still a lot of tension, let go. If it wasn't your fault the guy you were docked on will move away from you. If _you_ slide away it was your fault; redock and get your legs further out.

Keep the fallrate up! The best way to do this is keep your legs out and your chest in. You should be seeing bellies not backpacks at this point; "prairie dogging" to see what's going on slows a formation down. A good big-way flyer generally can't see what's going on in the rest of the formation, because he's exactly on level (or slightly below.)

BREAKOFF

Follow directions for breakoff. It may be staged or it may not be. It's important to track from the _center_ of the formation - don't just turn 180 from where you were and start tracking. You want a fast and flat track, the flatter the better. If you feel like you're about to go unstable from dearching, you're probably doing it right. Make sure you follow directions for what altitude to track to; an early pull can be dangerous to the people around you.

As you wave off, look to both sides and above. A barrel roll can help you clear airspace but don't do it unless you can do that and keep your track going at the same time. Pull and get your hands on your risers right away, so you can turn suddenly if someone opens 20 feet in front of you. Once open, don't look away from your airspace as you collapse your slider, fix your booties etc. There will be a lot of people around you.

LANDING

Remember that the dive's not over until your feet are on the ground. After opening look all over. Keep your head moving as you set up your landing pattern. Fly normally; don't try to sink it in, and don't do S-turns to lose altitude. Land the same direction as everyone else, or land far away. After you land, keep an eye out for other people landing; people in a big way tend to land in a big clump, and it can get crowded for a few moments.

[skymick 0]

That was a great read Bill! thanx for the post

[darkwing 4]

Good stuff, except you forgot to add..."let darkwing go wherever he wants in the exit."

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[JoHawley 0]

Posts like this are sooo useful. I am just starting to think about this sort of stuff and such advice is invaluable - so cheers!

[EDYDO 0]

This needs to be brought back to the top.

Ed

[elightle 8]

Bill,

I've enjoyed everything you've written about skydiving. If you wrote the stuff in this post, great job! I wrote something similar for Parachutist in May of 2003 but this post does an even better job. I just wish I could afford a big-way camp or record attempt. Tell my old buddy, Dan B.C., that I said hi.

Blues Forever!
Ed Lightle

[Rick 67]

thanks for taking the time to break this down for us

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[mjosparky 3]

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Good stuff, except you forgot to add..."let darkwing go wherever he wants in the exit."

Yea, right in front of Sparky.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[eeneR 1]

Quote

Quote

Good stuff, except you forgot to add..."let darkwing go wherever he wants in the exit."

Yea, right in front of Sparky.

Why? So you can rodeo him too?

Sorry had to....

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[mjosparky 3]

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Quote

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Good stuff, except you forgot to add..."let darkwing go wherever he wants in the exit."

Yea, right in front of Sparky.

Why? So you can rodeo him too?

Sorry had to....

You, anytime. Him, not on a bet.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[VanillaSkyGirl 6]

I'm bumping this up because this helped me prior to my Big Way Camp and 100-way camp. I did a search and read Billvon's prior bigway posts. This post in particular, I printed and read on the night prior to my first day of the camp. It helped me know what to expect, since I knew virtually nothing about bigways. Thank you, Billvon.

[mdrejhon 8]

This is a good one too. I had Kate Cooper's version of this printed before the Big Way camp.

One thing I do want to append to pre-bigway-camp training suggestion (tips that really didn't exist 5 years ago) to new big way jumpers, is that wind tunnels are now becoming widely acknowledged by major bigway organizers as a major asset (when balanced with good skydiving) to bigway "red zone" skills. I wrote a big post about this, linked in my signature. Without tunnel time, I would not have been in the Perris 100-way, or afforded the time and money necessary to skydive the extra number of times to compensate for lack of tunnel time.

There still seems to be a wide perception, especially in some countries, that one needs 1000 jumps to be in bigways like these. Low jump numberd bigway attendance, including myself, VanillaSkyGirl, and many others, have tunnel time.

Impressively, there was a 150+ jump russian who was safely part of the successful 100-way thanks to large amounts of tunnel time combined lots of RW jumping with World Team members that vouched for him, and jumped at the Perris 50-way camp immediately prior to the 100ways before being invited to the 100-way camp. (I did not have that headstart advantage, so I was subject to the listed 250-jump requirement of the camp)