How much lead?

[Yossarian 0]

i have a problem with FS in that i float alot, i was once clocked at 105mph with a protrack with a mammoth arch on and skintight jumpsuit (with the material best for those in my position). with a hard arch on i can just keep up with others, but theyre in max slowfall and its hard for me to manouvre without floating up. i know alot of this has to do with my body position, im only new and i need to improve it obviously, but weight would help and has been suggested to me by just about everyone ive jumped with. im 11st, 6'4" and lanky as hell. i tried weight once and it really helped. anyway, my question... were i to purchase a weight belt, how do you estimate how much you need? or is it just trial and error? a friend of mine has just bought one he says i can borrow so i suppose i could work it out now but any help here is appreciated.

[BIGUN 1,053]

6'4" and 154lbs? You don't need a weight belt, you need a friggin meal.

I'm not one to give advice in this area, so it'll be best to let those who use a weight belt - weigh-in

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

[ladyskydiver 0]

The weight belt that I bought came with 12 lbs. of lead in it. When I started wearing it, I started with 6 lbs. which gave me just enough extra weight to maintain the fall rate and not work "quite" so hard. Now that I've gained a bit more experience, I use between 4-6 lbs. depending on who I'm jumping with.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[TrickyDicky 0]

My friend has a similar problem.
Although not quite as tall, he is lanky and wears 20lb of lead.
I think he needs to work on body pos though cos he can float a bit wearing all that too

UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs.

[Icon134 0]

I've done 4-way with some heavy guys. i.e. relatively similar in height maybe a few inches taller but much bigger 30-40lbs heavier then I am... and found that depending on which people were in the dive I would generally wear between 6lbs when I'm with the "smaller" guys and up to 12 lbs when I'm with the "bigger" guys.

And btw I "can" fly with heavier people with out the weight belt but it required less work and I was more comfortable with the weight belt on...

oh... and GIYF, a search of google w/"weight belt skydiving" resulted in this as one of the top returns...
http://parachuteshop.com/leadbelly_weight_belts.htm

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[Yossarian 0]

well since i started uni and money became pretty equally split between beer and jumping, food tends to be a kebab on the way home from the former, which usually comes after the latter, need more pies! how much weight can you get in a belt then? whats the normal amount? and how about cost? need to work out how many pints i need to sacrifice..

[TheDonMan 0]

It really depends on the people that you are jumping with... you may need to adjust the weight on different jumps depending on your company in the air. As for me, I do a lot of AFF and i have to dress for the people that i jump with. i.e. if i have someone that is 230 @ 6ft i will wear about 10-12 lbs. but if im doing an 8 way and I'm a diver i may not wear any weight at all because i know the base will be moving much slower. It comes down to experience and your comfort level.

As for price, i bought a the ankel weights that people use for running, put them togeter and you have a cheap weight belt. it usually comes with ten pounds of weight. lead costs about a buck a pound. I have a total of 20 lbs. if needed. (sometimes i have to jump with bowling balls)

hope this helps,

Don

The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.

[Yossarian 0]

thats a cracking idea, just tried on my mums aerobics weights with a rig, perfect fit, adjustable sand weights up to 10lbs, perfect! now to get them to spain without the exceeding the baggage allowance, was suggested i just wear them so they're not weighed, but if i get stopped at the x-ray machine i realised what it would look like - id probably be shot on the spot! would that count as a skydiving fatality?

edit; grammar

[wmw999 2,123]

Actually, wearing them is better than having them in your carry-on, at least in my close personal experience. They see them (make sure they're VERY visible), you tell them that they're skydiving weights, they search. No biggie.

But if they find something like that in your bag, they go all apeshit and begin to get excited because they found something so cool. It took a whole lot longer to deal with that. They had to dust each pocket individually

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Yossarian 0]

but then theres the issue of cheating the airline and doing it quite blatantly, blatantly enough to be caught almost... and ryanair charge a fortune for excess baggage. going with 35 other people though so i suppose i could distribute the individual weights

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

i bought a the ankel weights that people use for running, put them togeter and you have a cheap weight belt.

Yes, a good idea. I did this for awhile with great success. (5'10" and at the time was only 135 lbs).

My suggestion, however, is to make sure you wear these weights -inside- your jumpsuit. Those little straps that hold the weights together are thin and eventually wear through. This happened to me on a skydive and I'm sure glad that my ankle weights (weight belt) -was- inside my jumpsuit when the strap went. Can you imagine the damage 10# of lead could do if it came crashing down from the sky on its own?!

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[FrEaK_aCcIdEnT 0]

During AFF i wore 12lbs. and right now im wearing 14lbs. Im doing coached jumps on RW stuff. it helps alot!

I purchased my weight vest off of a person from these forums. Great service by the way.

The gear shop at the DZ also offers weight belts, but i got the vest before i knew they had belts. i like my vest. Good luck on getting up to speed. I was in the same boat.

I went with trial and error.

im 5'7" and 120lbs at most!

ExPeCt ThE uNeXpEcTeD!
DoNt MiNd ThE tYpOs, Im LaZy On CoRrEcTiOnS!

[nicknitro71 0]

Forget about RW, buy a WS, you might set some records!

Memento Audere Semper

903

[bodypilot1 0]

I agree with Nick. Get about 150 more jumps in and learn to fly a wingsuit.
A bright yellow one like this!



Be safe
Ed

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[bob.dino 0]

Quote

now to get them to spain without the exceeding the baggage allowance, was suggested i just wear them so they're not weighed, but if i get stopped at the x-ray machine i realised what it would look like - id probably be shot on the spot! would that count as a skydiving fatality?

It might be worth contacting the place you're going to jump at and asking them if they have a belt you can borrow - it'd save you transporting it by air.

[yarpos 4]

Quote

thats a cracking idea, just tried on my mums aerobics weights with a rig, perfect fit, adjustable sand weights up to 10lbs, perfect! now to get them to spain without the exceeding the baggage allowance, was suggested i just wear them so they're not weighed, but if i get stopped at the x-ray machine i realised what it would look like - id probably be shot on the spot! would that count as a skydiving fatality?


edit; grammar

re the baggage....cant they be taken empty? or dont they have sand in Spain ?

regards, Steve
the older I get...the better I was

[Eule 0]

Here are some random observations and ideas:

- According to posts in the WT forum, people could bring their weight belts or vests empty, and fill
them with lead shot available on site. Of course, the event was hosted by the Royal Thai Air Force,
and you would sort of expect that the military could easily get lead shot. Depending on the country
you're going to, it might not be that easy for civilans. I think there was a suggestion that putting
the shot into small sealable plastic bags made it easier to deal with.

- This might get expensive internationally, but maybe you could mail your (full) weight belt to the DZ
far enough in advance that it would be there when you get there. It would probably be a good idea
to give the DZ a heads-up about this. Also, if you're going to another country, you have to work
out how to ship it back with postage valid in that country.

- All you really need is a relatively dense material that is cheap and easy to find at your destination.
"Alternative" sources of lead include SCUBA diving shops and possibly electronics shops for solder
in wire form. Solder is expensive, though, and it's not in a particularly usable form. Lead is also sold
in long, skinny bars for industrial processes and formerly for auto body shops (panel beaters), but
this is probably hard to find. Sand has been mentioned - putting this in plastic bags would probably
make it less messy. Steel is is not too hard to find and is reasonably dense - by volume, you need
about 1.5 times as much steel as you do lead.

Finally, I remember hearing that "a pint's a pound the world around". Clearly, then, if you need six
pounds of weight, you should drink six pints of something before you jump, and you'll be set. :)

Eule

PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.