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southpaw31

Tracking Dives

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I am new to the sport (34 jumps), but was curious what it takes to get into the tracking discipline? Wasn't sure if that fell into freely or what to ask there, so mods feel free to move as desired. Just curious what I need to work on/towards to get into the discipline of the sport.

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So first of all I will tell you this...

Tracking doesn't really build any skills. People who mainly flat-track generally aren't great overall skydivers.

That being said, if you want to do tracking specific jumps, start with 2 ways with a qualified leader. have them show you what to do, where to do, the different concepts you need to understand while tracking (route/direction/other groups/safety/breakoff)

Once you have a good handle on it, start doing 3 ways (again with qualified jumpers), then keep going...

good luck. :)

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Torch690


Tracking doesn't really build any skills. People who mainly flat-track generally aren't great overall skydivers.

GOOD flat tracking IS a skill, and I see too many who don't track very well. I work very hard at tracking as flat as I can on every breakoff. There are many who will agree with you that I'm not a great overall skydiver, though. [:/]:D

Tracking jumps are not the place to learn a great, maximum efficiency flat track. You'll soon outpace the rabbit if you do.

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That being said, if you want to do tracking specific jumps, start with 2 ways with a qualified leader. have them show you what to do, where to do, the different concepts you need to understand while tracking (route/direction/other groups/safety/breakoff)

Once you have a good handle on it, start doing 3 ways (again with qualified jumpers), then keep going...

Very good advice there. I've seen too many tracking dives that were total zoo loads. Never forget that on tracking dives you're building up a fair amount of speed. What would be a minor conflict on a regular belly jump can be a life threatening collision on a tracking dive.

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southpaw31

I am new to the sport (34 jumps), but was curious what it takes to get into the tracking discipline? Wasn't sure if that fell into freely or what to ask there, so mods feel free to move as desired. Just curious what I need to work on/towards to get into the discipline of the sport.



It depends on the definition of "tracking" dive. One definition is being in basically a tracking body position and flying in proximity of others, much like airplanes can fly in formation. In skydiving this means adjusting speed AND fall rate. The body position used by some of the jumpers might be more of a "delta" position to adjust position and fall rate.

If this is what you want, just start small and add people as everyone gets skilled enough to stay close. Of course, plan your flight paths and breakoffs well. You will need to get some local help with this, especially the local flight paths. There may be some tutorial articles somewhere on tracking dives.

(However, if what you are wanting to do is to build tracking skills related to moving away from a formation before pulling, then someone else may have better advice.)

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This answer might not fit well with your question.

I started skydiving so that I could fly wingsuits. As a licensed jumper I got a Flysight GPS device that gave feedback on my flying performance and also recorded a GPS track that I could study later. I learned a lot about using the Flysight. I learned some performance tricks related to tracking. I could practice my belly flying fall rate control even on solo jumps because I had audible feedback. Most important to me, I learned how to navigate over the ground which is important to me as a wingsuit pilot.

I did a lot of early jumps at a small DZ, often filling in a tandem/camera load which meant I would jump solo. Many could argue with validity that I didn't learn a lot able being a good skydiver on those type jumps. But I was working toward my goal and enjoying the sport within the limits of where I was at.

Someone already stated that group tracking is something that should be carefully worked toward. There have been a number of accidents in group track dives. But solo tracking where you have a good grasp of where the jump run is/was, how to stay away from it, and how to properly navigate relative to it, that is a skill that is something that I have always enjoyed working on. Without a GPS recorder, it would be harder to learn.

Note that beginning jumpers, even jumpers with 100 jumps, can cause real concern to the DZ manager and other jumper if you say, "I am doing a solo tracking dive". One way or another you should plan to prove yourself to the management and instructors that you are not putting others at risk. You MUST always be aware of where other jumpers are, where you are, and keep more than a reasonable separation distance between you. Trust for that must be earned, so plan to work with people and let them help you. You might not like some restrictions. The DZ that I visit most often wants solo trackers to talk to the DZ manager before planning such a jump. That allows him to do his job, trying to keep everyone safe. If he don't know you or your skills, you need to get acquainted.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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Appreciate the replies everyone! Sorry, the ambiguity there, but yes, tracking dives as a "plane formation" is what I was curious about. Facing each while moving away from the jump run. I understand 100% that safety is huge with the added complexity of this and was just curious where to begin and how.

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Read this: http://www.dropzone.com/safety/General_Safety/Implications_of_Recent_Tracking_Tracing_and_Wingsuit_Incidents_938.html

This, too. This is policy at (one of?) the largest DZs in the world: http://www.skydiveaz.com/docs/default-source/safety-documents/tracking-or-angle-flying-jumps.pdf?sfvrsn=0
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Some of the advice is applicable and some not.Again depends on what type of tracking you are looking to do. I disagree with an earlier post that flat trackers are not good skydivers. I am pretty good and can more than hold my own in 4 wy or any RW for that matter and jump with a big-ish way group once a month and im known in the group as having an awesome track and yes its flat and fast.

I went into a structured program for belly flying as soon as I got my license at my home dz put on by experienced 4 wy team to build the basics, for at least the first 250 jumps, its called EXCEL(then went on to be one of the coaches for EXCEL) camp put on by Elsinore, and one of the things that you get a good chance to practice is tracking. Video is also important when debriefed by some one with experience. At the end of the day we would usually do a tracking dive with those in the camp that were capable led by the coach in formation sorta slot specific. It is awesome to track in formation.

I wear a video camera most of the time so what I normally see is people either track steep"in a delta", or they track with an ARCH position and usually sink out but still moving forward a little.

Start with some one (experienced) tracking next to you and or get video after a RW jump. Your body in reality is always different than it feels to you. Once you are able to move forward with out potato chipping, and can hold your heading,start tweeking your body position with very subtle adjustments.Try to not bend your legs at the hips ie. keep your legs straight at the knees and pull your shins down towards the ground with your arms out a little bit for stability. As you get better at that more micro adjustments can be done with slightly tucking your chin, but dont bend at the waist.

Go to vimeo.com and search for randy forbes, then search for" looking up falling down". He is the video guy for the biggish way jumps I do once a month and at the end of the day on the last jump he wanted video of my track and it is at the end of the video looking up falling down. I was very aggressive getting into my track so I am not parallel with the ground when I first take off but watch my hips/shins as I start to move and notice how flat I end up being. Eventually I ended up parallel-ish after the initial take off but he stop shooting before that part of the track.

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Yes tracking does build skills, just a different set. It does not help you with not reaching for a grip, keeping eye contact with the formation or your piece partner, or how to turn on your center point, or fall rate, but it is a life saving skill to get separation from the other people on that jump with you to LESSON the possibility of colliding with some one during deployment.;)

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I think the negative attitude towards some trackers or tracking dives is simply that on some DZ's, a tracking dive is often a mess of people semi-randomly thrown together with little structure or training or rules or checks of skills.

Tracking dives can of course be done with more discipline, and somewhere people will be practicing them repeatedly with care. Still, I get the impression that doing tracking dives isn't something most people concentrate on as a real discipline -- it's more just something fun to do occasionally.

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pchapman

I think the negative attitude towards some trackers or tracking dives is simply that on some DZ's, a tracking dive is often a mess of people semi-randomly thrown together with little structure or training or rules or checks of skills.

Tracking dives can of course be done with more discipline, and somewhere people will be practicing them repeatedly with care. Still, I get the impression that doing tracking dives isn't something most people concentrate on as a real discipline -- it's more just something fun to do occasionally.



And that is the attitude that gets people killed in tracking dives :(...

Also when talking about tracking dives it's worth the effort to differentiate tracking dives from angle jumps, the former is quite flat and people with relatively low skills can join in one with the later being a really fast paced jump which requires a lot of thought put into safety and generally requires more skills...

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tikl68

what I normally see is people either track steep"in a delta", or they track with an ARCH position and usually sink out but still moving forward a little.

Too true. I see more people track like that than not.

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I was very aggressive getting into my track so I am not parallel with the ground when I first take off but watch my hips/shins as I start to move and notice how flat I end up being.

Every flying object has a angle of attack range in which it flies the best. When you first start to track, you have zero forward speed and need to be steep (relative to the horizon) to get at a decent AOA to accelerate forward. As your forward speed increases and your downward speed decreases, holding the proper AOA for a tracking human body will put it more parallel to the horizon, or as you call it, flattening out.

You're not really changing your angle of attack much. You're just holding the same AOA through the changes of the relative wind, similar to an airplane pulling out of a steep dive into a glide.

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JohnMitchell

Every flying object has a angle of attack range in which it flies the best. When you first start to track, you have zero forward speed and need to be steep (relative to the horizon) to get at a decent AOA to accelerate forward. As your forward speed increases and your downward speed decreases, holding the proper AOA for a tracking human body will put it more parallel to the horizon, or as you call it, flattening out.

You're not really changing your angle of attack much. You're just holding the same AOA through the changes of the relative wind, similar to an airplane pulling out of a steep dive into a glide.



John, I learned this trying to get the best glide ratio, working with the feedback feature of the Flysight. The best angle of attack for me was one that left my feet inside the wake that I was making. As the speed picked up and the relative wind angle changed, my feet would end up "outside" and start bouncing around and flapping about. A little adjustment and things would settle down, I would speed up some more, and need another adjustment. It was very interesting to try to keep everything quite and fast. It was surprisingly dynamic.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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Interesting. I go mostly by "feel" but I know that's not the best way. Maybe I'll have to invest in some electronics to really dial in my tracking. I do know that my position relative to the horizon changes as I accelerate forward. But I also knw there's a Vy speed (best angle of glide speed) for my body, and I feel I'm often below that speed, mushing more, flying less.

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