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pr3d4t0r

Speed skydiving - head down

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Greetings.

I'm training for a speed skydiving event. I've logged about 30 skydives (13K-5K) trying to fly head down, with mixed results. About 3 hours of iFly tunnel work.

I can stand upside down in the tunnel or use the corners (octagonal tunnel) to transition, have a very hard time transitioning to head down and maintaining that for more than 5 seconds without tumbling when flying in the real world. Not sure how to correct at this point. Instructor on tunnel has me modify head and hips position, but I don't "feel" my head and hips in the sky during a real skydive - I suspect that the container might throw me off in the sky.

Do you have any recommendations on drills to practice in the tunnel and/or in the sky over the next few days to learn the correct head/body position? Head down in the tunnel is hard on the neck after 10-15 minutes because once I drop I have to keep flying on the top of my head against the grate, legs straight, arms tight in the front, but I can maintain it. Instructor and I are trying to figure out how to improve, all recommendations welcome.

Planning on 40 minutes of tunnel (2*10 min session, two days), and between 15 and 25 skydives this coming week (more if time allows).

A million thanks in advance for your advise! :)

Background: 2,700 skydives; 105 skydives practicing for speed, ~30 of those trying to go head down (I had misread the rules and missed that they judge VERTICAL, not TOTAL speed). Several documented (FlySight + ColorAlti) tracking speeds of 280+ mi/h at a 45º to 70º angle. 1,900+ tracking skydives apart from the speed skydiving misfires, no free fly experience, so-so RW, about 125 CRW, 8 BASE.
Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

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What if you do a fast continuous corksrew, like a bullet? I wonder if it not only will improve stability, but reduce drag coefficient as well as the airflow behind you will be more "organized" in a tight spiral, vs. random burble swirls.
Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

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I'd like to see you try ;)
Since you're not actually shot out of the plane from a rifled Caravan door, you'll have to induce the spin after exit with control input - of which you want as little as possible.
Every square inch of control surface stuck into the wind will slow you down.
Think more of an arrow, not a bullet.

Also, how fast do you want to spin to create that effect?
Id really like so see someone do that, doing at least five or six revolutions per second before anything like spin stabilization takes place... you'd need to tape your arms and legs down, or they would be thrown outwards like on a rag doll by the centrifugal forces.

-edit for typos-

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// I'd like to see you try ;)

I like to sit on a couch and give other people crazy ideas to try.

To induce a spin, very little input should be necessary, just a twist in the upper body, perhaps? So, no sticking out extra control surfaces, just a twist.

As far as the how fast, the main idea was actually not stabilization from gyroscopic effect, but to see if coefficient of drag can be reduced by twisting the dirty airflow behind. Usually, the research of flying bodies in windtunnels is done on static objects; I don't remember reading anything about rotating (esp. non-symmetrical) objects and the effect on Cd. Could be something surprising...
Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

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Point taken, it definitely pays to sport crazy ideas from time to time.
The twist in the upper body would be a control surface already. You need to use the air pressure pushing on said twist to create the spin. That means friction and friction means slowing down, and you don't want that.
I can fly fast and stable already, but stable means I need to stabilize, while going fast is more like riding a razor's egde, only correcting if necessary.
I'm still too much of a rookie when it comes to speed skydiving to say what can and cannot be done, you'd better bring this idea to some of the cracks. Inducing a spin and hoping for it to stabilize at 500+ km/h is pretty scary on its own though, I gotta say.

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Greetings to all of y'all fast falling rascals.

Although I am no longer skydiving (last jump 4 years ago this month) I do l do know a bit about speed skydiving.

That said, others know more.
Hit 200 mph then you go for 250 mph and faster and faster.
275 mph is hauling ass then you start thinking about the 300 mph.

Just a note here, you best be jumping really good/maintained gear....a preemie deployment and you die......it's that simple.

Once I hit 300 mph...then it's a new world.
Won a Fastest Man Contest at the Old Skydive Houston at 320 mph.

The I had to go faster...at 343 mph I had a sharp pain in my sinuses....and blood bubbles started coming out of my nose.

That sure as shit was not good.....did a few more fast dives and gave it up!

So to go really fast.......heads down, roll your shoulders in, point your toes and flatten your arms against your body.

Just tickle the tube with your fingers and stay stable.....if you get asymmetrical......it's over for speed.

Hope this helps.
Adios,
Mad Max
See you at DeadManBoogie 11!

Don't go away mad....just go away!


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