Getting stable after diving exit

[KNewman 0]

Hello to all, I had a good weekend jumping. I did a 15 second delay from a cessna 182 with a diving exit and was able to get stable rather quickly, no tumbling or flipping. Graduated to the Otter (first time). Went to 12000 feet and did another diving exit with my instructor. It seems to me that it took a lot longer to get stable. After leaving the plane I arched hard and it seemed to take forever to get belly to earth. I was able to do all my manuvers, Left 360, right 360 and a left barrel roll (FUN) before 5000; AGL. My question is how long (on average) should it take to get stable ?

Blue Skies and Stand-up Landings!!!!!!

[skybytch 259]

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it seemed to take forever to get belly to earth.

The relative wind doesn't come from the ground at first; it comes from the plane. So for the first few seconds after exit you aren't "belly to earth" reagrdless of how good your exit was.

The transition from relative wind out the door (ie coming from the plane) to relative wind from the ground is called "the hill" and it's way fun to fly on.

[mattjw916 2]

You can leave the plane "stable" if you present your chest to the relative wind properly on exit. Like was said before, the relative wind is coming from the front of the plane, not below. You can use that wind to fly in until you accelerate to terminal (it takes about 10-12 seconds). Just because you aren't belly-to-earth, doesn't mean you aren't stable during that time. Cheers.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[shropshire 0]

Keep your arms our straight in front of you and you feet tucked up to your bum... Stops you going over the top..... if that's your stability problem.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[flyangel2 2]

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You can leave the plane "stable" if you present your chest to the relative wind properly on exit.

I like to tell my students: Zipper to the wind.

You can have your chest to the wind and still not have your hips into the wind.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[rwieder 0]

ARCH fixes everything.

-Richard-
"You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall"

[Hooknswoop 19]

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ARCH fixes everything.

Exactly. And like Mary says, the arch is from the hips, not the chest.

Derek

[billvon 2,426]

>My question is how long (on average) should it take to get stable ?

Zero time. You will eventually be able to exit and stay stable the entire time. During bigway exits, people pile out of planes in big chunks, and 90% of the time they remain stable even though they are exiting in odd positions and in clumps of people who are nudging them and taking their air.

The key is presentation. Keep in mind that when you're doing a clear and pull from the strut, you are stable the entire time, even though you're initially head-high. You are stable because you have presented your chest (or more accurately the front of your pelvis) to the relative wind, and kept an arch.

You could do the same kind of exit upside down. If you hung from your feet off the strut and let go, with the same sort of arch, you would stay stable and gradually get belly-to-earth as the relative wind changed from horizontal to vertical. Your picture would be all different, because you start out head-down, but the transition is the same.

When you dive out there's an additional complication; you leave spinning. You have to rotate your body as you exit so the wind hits your chest and not your butt. To do this, you rotate your head down and your legs up as you go out the door. The problem with this is that if you keep that rotation, you'll continue and go right over onto your back. That's why putting your arms out in front of you and bringing your feet onto your butt can help you. That will tend to get your head up and your legs down, which counteracts the rotation you left the plane with. Note that you only have to do this for a second after exit; once your rotation has stopped you can go back into a normal body position.

[Broke 0]

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Exactly. And like Mary says, the arch is from the hips, not the chest.

Derek

As my AFF instructor said, "Dick to Dirt." Fuck Gravity... lol

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[Avion 0]

One of the statements that I came across that help with mental side of this is that you retain stablity through the whole exit from plane to terminal velocity. In this fashion you lack the need to ever get stable, that is regain stability, because you've kept it all along. So, I suppose your question might better be: How do I 'keep stable' during my exit, rather than how do I 'get stable' durning my exit?.

It just takes practice, and a few pointers maybe :)

[cocker 0]

Once I clear the aircraft, I turn into a bag of laundry in freefall for the first 10 secs until the air catches me at terminal and my arch starts to work with the wind. I reckon it's one of the most fun part of all my dives :-)

[Remster 24]

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Once I clear the aircraft, I turn into a bag of laundry in freefall for the first 10 secs until the air catches me at terminal and my arch starts to work with the wind. I reckon it's one of the most fun part of all my dives :-)

I realize it may be fun, and you may be doing it intentionaly, but, If you're not, I'd urge you to learn how to get stable upon exit. In the event of an aircraft emergency, you may not have 10 seconds and deploying stable, while lower on the priority then making sure you pull, is still preferable to pulling in a tumble.

You always have wind (well, unless you are jumping for a stationary aircraft). You need to realize where its comming from and ride that relative wind.

Remster

[cocker 0]

I do it for fun

[artistcalledian 0]

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You always have wind

i know... its all the beans i eat

________________________________________
drive it like you stole it and f*ck the police

[KNewman 0]

Hello to all

First off thanks for all of the info, (Which I used). I have the problem all figured out now. I think it was a case of first time jitters. Did four more exits this weekend and all of them were right on the money!!!!
Good enough in fact to be cleared for self supervision!!!!

Thanks everyone

Kevin

Blue Skies and Stand-up Landings!!!!!!

[popsjumper 2]

WoooooooooooHoooooooooo!

Congrats!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239