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chasitie

I'm thinking about getting into skydiving!

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I was going to try to get as much advice as i can.
I will be probably going to Spaceland Dallas to get my license.
What are some things i should focus more on? I'm female and i've heard that women have a hard time landing.. is this true?
I would like any advice you would give to a newbie.
Please feel free to share your stories!

Thanks so much!
Newbs

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Hi and welcome!

chasitie

I was going to try to get as much advice as i can.
I will be probably going to Spaceland Dallas to get my license.
What are some things i should focus more on? I'm female and i've heard that women have a hard time landing.. is this true?



It is unfortunate that you have heard this myth before you've even started. I'm afraid I might oversimplify a complex question here, but I think the short answer is: it is a myth, but many people believe it. I recommend the following video on the topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8INJxZEo4Ww


Spaceland Dallas is a really really nice place (I've only been there a couple of times). As for advice: talk to your instructors. Many people will be happy to give you advice, but it will not always be good or appropriate for you, and in the beginning you may not be able to tell the difference. When in doubt ask your instructors.


Welcome again, and I hope you enjoy the sport!

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I jump at Dallas. There are many women jumpers and also some women instructors at Dallas. Come out and pay them a visit sometime. I am sure they will be happy to answer your questions if they are not tied up with students at the moment.

I think that if you really don't understand some key things about how the parachute flies and how it can flare for landing, you will have more trouble learning. The book "The Parachute And Its Pilot" https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-parachute-and-its-pilot-brian-germain/1110928061?ean=2940148573821&st=PLA&sid=NOK_DRS_NOOK+EBooks_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP75008&gclid=Cj0KCQjwm9vPBRCQARIsABAIQYcsVtZ-_uMzdHHNr3ZS8_tOfb14oqZc2ZUG-6QC4tSM5-syhaGjWWIaAlSJEALw_wcB will help you learn how the parachute works. Then when learning to fly and land it, the instruction will make more sense.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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chasitie

I'm female and i've heard that women have a hard time landing.. is this true?

When you land a modern square parachute, you need to pull down on both steering toggles to flare the parachute for a soft landing. Although not too difficult, I've seen people (almost always women) who seemed to lack the upper body strength to do it quickly and efficiently. A bit of weight training helps dramatically.

My wife and I have also observed, over the years, that most men seem to brush off hard landings as "that didn't really hurt", whereas many women we've known have quit the sport, not because of a hard landing or two, but because of the fear of having a hard landing someday..

Sorry if this all sounds sexist. It's what I've seen. :)

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JohnMitchell

*** I'm female and i've heard that women have a hard time landing.. is this true?

When you land a modern square parachute, you need to pull down on both steering toggles to flare the parachute for a soft landing. Although not too difficult, I've seen people (almost always women) who seemed to lack the upper body strength to do it quickly and efficiently. A bit of weight training helps dramatically.

My wife and I have also observed, over the years, that most men seem to brush off hard landings as "that didn't really hurt", whereas many women we've known have quit the sport, not because of a hard landing or two, but because of the fear of having a hard landing someday..

Sorry if this all sounds sexist. It's what I've seen. :)
I recently had surgery to repair my bicep tendon, where it attached near the elbow. I got back to jumping as soon as I could. My arm was not 100% and I had to also be careful to what angles and what forces I exerted. For the first time I was really aware of the force it took to flare, as it had always been largely unnoticed. Based on what I experienced, it might help someone (weak) to have a sort of trainer that would be used so a very real flare type force could be practiced on the ground. I wouldn't be surprised of those that have strength issue here are not too weak, but just not prepared to do real work to carry out the flare at the proper time. Not being ready to really push when needed, would cause a lot of timing problems. Like if you know the load is heavy, you lift in a different way.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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chasitie

I was going to try to get as much advice as i can.
I will be probably going to Spaceland Dallas to get my license.
What are some things i should focus more on? I'm female and i've heard that women have a hard time landing.. is this true?
I would like any advice you would give to a newbie.
Please feel free to share your stories!

Thanks so much!
Newbs



Up until recently (for some of us and certain values of recent) women had a huge disadvantage due to the equipment. It was very very heavy and in some ways took a lot of strength to use. Those days are over now, modern gear is too small and lightweight to hold you back and the truth has become apparent. Women are inherently better skydivers than men.

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JohnMitchell

*** I'm female and i've heard that women have a hard time landing.. is this true?

When you land a modern square parachute, you need to pull down on both steering toggles to flare the parachute for a soft landing. Although not too difficult, I've seen people (almost always women) who seemed to lack the upper body strength to do it quickly and efficiently. A bit of weight training helps dramatically.


THIS.

When you start out you will be on fairly large student canopies. My DZ uses 230s-270s. I started on the 270s and yeah, with an exit weight of 140 and a wingload of 0.5 I had a hell of a time flaring those beasts. I landed fine (except for one no winder and I didn't flare in time... but that wasn't about flare power) and safely even when I couldn't fully flare. Yes, there were buttslides and face plants, but on canopies that large, even without a full flare you will still land safely. Maybe not pretty/on your feet, but you'll be in one piece. And if in doubt, PLF.

With that said, shortly after I realized how frustrating it was to flare those damn giant canopies, I bought some resistance bands and used those to practice flaring at home and develop my arm strength at the same time. (the resistance bands with the handles work great at simulating a canopy flare) It didn't take long to build up the strength needed to fully flare. I was/am still floaty on those big canopies, but at least I can flare completely and land on my feet. (mostly... :P)

Good luck!

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