How slow can you go? (Tracking Question)

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Hey,

Did my first tracking jump this weekend with a friend. I was pretty surprised with it. I felt great on the jump. I dove out after my friend, turned and started tracking.

I ended up getting 65 seconds from 11k, after dumping at 3 grand.

Average freefall: 91mph
Min Freefall: 89 mph

Is this good, or is it about average?

Please post your best results....no wingsuits.

FYI:
I weigh 120 lbs and am 5'8" and I was jumping with booties.

Thanks!

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[Blink 0]

The best I've had was 93 mph average, not sure what my min was.

I am 175 lbs, 5' 9", and don't own a suit with booties , so it was done in a regular FF suit.

I love tracking, but I'm so floaty and slow falling, I can only go with certain people. (I could go with other people, but I like to max track, not belly fly with my legs out ).

[drudchen 0]

Hey,

I can easily average in the low 80s - high 70s. Did a 13.5 tracking jumps with a total time of 92 sec :) My altitrack once showed a minimum speed of 62, but i dont think i can trust that reading. I'm around ~110lbs, and 5'10". Can't wait until i get to try the wingsuit.

[sirenoremac 0]

best average on a tracking jump was 76 mph. long sleeve shirt and jeans. 10k to 2.5k. 63 secs. solo jump. When you're with other people tracking, you will rarely crank out speeds like that, but you should try doing some on your own and trying to find that sweet spot.

[BIGUN 1,053]

I'm 6'6" 260#
I can regularly get to 89MPH on a track.
Fortunately, with a long torso & legs have a considerable amount of surface area, but there is still a factor of weight.
When I get down to my best flying weight of 235#, I can hang better with the shorter lighter trackers.
Just as with any dive - when there are disparate sized jumpers on the dive, do my best to dress for success, but will occasionally drift below the formation from that factor of weight. If it's all Anvils, dive is usually on level and successful.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[gemini 0]

Actually your speeds are not bad and are probably in the lower middle range for trackers.

As some of the others have said however, you need to get into the 80's and work on the forward speed as well. I have hit 83 and am 5'6" and 190 out the door. I don't remember the exact protrac times but 127 seconds rings a bell and the distance covered was 2.35-2.5 miles.

Blue skies,

Jim

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Hey,

Thanks for the posts everyone. It's amazing to see some of the numbers... I think I will also strap my GPS to my shoulder or something and measure distance as well...

I'm sure I can get down in the high 70's. That was my first attempt and it felt pretty good.

I'll post some graphs when I get it nice and low.

Thanks again!

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[psipike02 0]

Quote

I'm 6'6" 260#
I can regularly get to 89MPH on a track.
Fortunately, with a long torso & legs have a considerable amount of surface area, but there is still a factor of weight.
When I get down to my best flying weight of 235#, I can hang better with the shorter lighter trackers.
Just as with any dive - when there are disparate sized jumpers on the dive, do my best to dress for success, but will occasionally drift below the formation from that factor of weight. If it's all Anvils, dive is usually on level and successful.

I have the same problem, but its getting better.....

And we're about the same size. I'm an inch shorter and 20 lbs lighter..

Puttin' some stank on it.

----Hellfish #707----

[BIGUN 1,053]

Not to mention the air density factor where you jump _may_ preclude you from reaching the lower vertical speeds ... but, even if that's the case - it would be all relative with your fellow jumpers,
My best to Brad & Derek V. at the Tunnel.
If I ever get more than connecting flights thru Denver and can get to the DZ, we'll have to put together an Anvil Brothers tracking dive.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[jakee 1,254]

Quote

I have hit 83 and am 5'6" and 190 out the door. I don't remember the exact protrac times but 127 seconds rings a bell and the distance covered was 2.35-2.5 miles.

Assuming an exit altitude of around 13k, 127 secs would require an ave fall rate of around 60ish which I would find pretty hard to believe (without a PF tracking suit or similar). Maybe you were thinking of 1 minute and 27?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[gemini 0]

Hey I'm an old guy! Give me a break....

Besides the bell I heard ringing was probably just the ringing in my ears that I hear all the time.

Seriously, you're probably right a minute, 27 seconds makes more sense. I have had one tracking jump with 107 seconds though. My protrac at the time was broken and did not record the speeds.

I know a very small, woman jumper who consistently tracks in the 60 mph range in a freefly suit. We've always joked with her saying "Why don't you ump a wingsuit and you can land the damn thing!"

Blue skies,

Jim

[hackish 8]

Wish I could have gotten up on that load. I'd love to see how my amateur tracking skills compare to you guys. Best I've gotten was like 104mph using TAS. I need more jumps first and I'm using all I can to finish the RW portion of my "A".

For the GPS idea I've ordered a garmin SDK and with a small micro and MAP sensor I believe I may be able to log horizontal and vertical speed. I've only got a big honkin old school GPS that wouldn't work.

-Michael

[BETO74 0]

I believe that I had done 80ihs tracking just with my regular FF suit.

http://web.mac.com/ac057a/iWeb/AC057A/H0M3.html

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Hey Mike,

Well my friend Jim was on the jump with me and he dropped out pretty quick. I'm a light assed bastard and with my booties, I was gone. He had time to watch me tracking away from him and then deploy, after he deployed. I probably tracked for another 10 seconds after his deployment. He also went out poised, I dove out then turned and tracked sort of above him for the first second or 2, then veered off to the right in case something went bad.

I took a look at Google maps, and based on our exit point and my deployment point...I figure just shy of 2km. I even had my Garmin Etrex Legend in the car too....dammnit. I'm definitely gonna try that again...with the GPS. Also want to take a wingsuit for a burn and see what kinda time I get. Right now I'm just hoping for my new canopy....wingsuit can be next year or something like that. Lotsa time for that!

Anyone know how well a GPS holds a signal in a Cessna?

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[moto89 0]

What do you mean "hold a signal"? Cessnas use GPS for navigation all the time just like any other airplane. Unless I'm not following you here......

Less talking, more flying.

[kallend 1,623]

Quote

What do you mean "hold a signal"? Cessnas use GPS for navigation all the time just like any other airplane. Unless I'm not following you here......

I suspect he means the GPS he has with him, not the one the pilot is using in the Cessna. Inside the plane his GPS antenna is shielded from the UHF satellite signal so signal loss is a potential problem. The unit the pilot uses will have its antenna on the glareshield or on the cabin roof so it can "see" the sky.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Exactly...

So as I'm climbing out and under the wing...my gps will lose signal....

If I get lucky, it may hold signal long enough for me to climb out and it to start logging...


Only one wasy to find out...sure glad it's friday tomorrow...

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[hackish 8]

Neil the diver driver has a non-aviation GPS on the jump plane and he finds that it "lags". I suppose this is because it is not able to get a clear enough signal of the sky to pick up enough satellites. The real question then is how long it will take for your GPS to re-aquire while you're in freefall if it's not able to pick up satellites during the flight.

-Michael

[jumper410 0]

Quote

Hey I'm an old guy! Give me a break....

Besides the bell I heard ringing was probably just the ringing in my ears that I hear all the time.

Seriously, you're probably right a minute, 27 seconds makes more sense. I have had one tracking jump with 107 seconds though. My protrac at the time was broken and did not record the speeds.

I know a very small, woman jumper who consistently tracks in the 60 mph range in a freefly suit. We've always joked with her saying "Why don't you ump a wingsuit and you can land the damn thing!"

wow, i dont's see how that is possible 107 seconds with no wingsuit and your size of 5'6" at 190 lbs. with a Firebird-R from 13.5 to 3.5 opening in that wingsuit i am gettting 121 seconds at best with avg fall rate 0f 53 and i am 5'11" and 175lbs, so taller and lighter and in a wingsuit.

i followed a whole bunch of trackers on a tracking dive the other day in my wingsuit and it looked like they just went straight down while i flew clear up the runway and past another half a runway distance, turned back 180 degress and flew all the back to the other end and opened in 120 seconds so i am really curios how some people are claiming these numbers. i have an alti-track.

[gemini 0]

Granted it may look straight down to you, but if you cover 2.5 miles from 13.5k isn't that more like a 45-60 degree drop? Wish I had one of the new gps' so we could get the right distance and speed.

The 107 sec track may also have been from a higher altitude than 13.5k. They tend to all run together in my mind after a little while.

Also remember that skydiving is a lot like fishing. Unless you were there and saw what happened the size of the fish is questionable. ;)

Blue skies,

Jim

[tonka 2]

I can hit 75mph and under on a track with a FF suit. 5ft 9in and 135 pounds makes me very floaty.

I can go about 100mph or less in just shorts and a tee shirt on a regular belly dive.

My problem is speeding up. Gotta wear some damned weights while filming some tandems and most AFF jumps.

I love tracking dives and wingsuit flying. Got a Tony Suit wingsuit down to 30mph. Cant seem to get my Bird Man Sky Flyer2 under 50mph. Im sure with more jumps on it ill find that sweet spot.

Ill try and see how slow i can go on the next tracking dive. Maybe it will be in the 60's hahaha. Ya right...i doubt i could go that slow.