Occasional problem with instability

[TheCaptain 2]

Quote

I won't disagree as I leg-wraped one student out of 1800. But the best advice I ever received was from a Golden Knight who said quit flying the student and fly your body when he saw I was having similar issues as this poster

I know we all have our "own" idea of how to fly tandems and that is fine. As you the best advise I have ever received is get out there find clean air and skydive. I will hardly ever mess with a students body position, I just find clean air and fly it. The other weekend I had a girl that stuck her left leg straight out and off to the left while dropping the other knee down. I found clean air offset to the right of her legs and corrected for it and had full control of directions. I asked the camera guy later what was up with her body position and we had to look at the video to tell, his words to me were"I really did not pay any attention as you appeared to have great control of it". Personally I do not care if their legs are inside/outside or offset, I just go skydiving and arch (none of this knees low crap). Oh and just to qualify my experience level I only have just over 2800 tandems and I know in some realms I am still a beginner as the guy who gave me the advice now has over 14000 tandems.

Kirk
He's dead Jim

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

irishrigger

this is what i say to all of potential tandem masters. the easiest thing about tandems is getting your tandem rating. you know whats going to happen,but once finished the training and taking live passangers, thats when the real fun begins.
and fair play for posting this and putting the video up, shows your still eager to learn! you never stop learning when doing tandems.

blue skies and safe jumping.

Rodger

Absolute TRUTH

[JohnMitchell 14]

My 2 cents?

Let the drogue determine your pitch angle. Sigmas fly you slightly head low ( and the old Vectors extremely so). Trying to push so hard with your arms to "sit up" more gives that rocking motion. Just relax and let your pitch angle fall where it may.
And start taking the big heavy guys so us old farts can relax and take the little girls. . .

BTW, nice slide landing. Good job.

[stayhigh 2]

I hate when they touch their legs around my leg like that video.

I like to fly with both of my legs between their leg, you'll have much more control with your knee and you don't take up so much air space that video guy hates you.

Yeah, having your leg and students legs together causes potato chipping as well. Their leg being not fluid transfers to your body flight.

To all the other experienced TI that seems to never get potato chips, "have you intentionally tried to create potato chip under drogue fall??"
cause I find it impossible to potato chip even if I tried.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[agentsmith413 0]

Hey everyone thanks again for all the advice. I really appreciate it and i'm always trying to learn and be as safe as possible. I'm always asking for advice around the DZ from the experienced TI's but its nice to hear other opinions.

I'll definitely be taking the advice here into consideration in the future and hope to have a fun safe experience doing tandems for a very long time.

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, all used up, and loudly proclaiming: Wow, what a ride!

[JohnMitchell 14]

agentsmith413

I'll definitely be taking the advice here into consideration in the future and hope to have a fun safe experience doing tandems for a very long time.

Does that mean you'll be taking the fat guys and letting me take the skinny girls?

[JackieEllis 0]

I just made my 101st tandem (got my rating in June of this year). I had a lot of trouble the first 30 or 40 tandems with instability (couldn't hold a heading and potatoe chipping). I finally figured out that it had a lot to do with how tight I got the side laterals. I'm female and while strong, I hadn't figured out the technique for getting them really tight. Because I wasn't getting them tight enough, students were sliding around underneath me.

Since I figured this out (yeah...I tighten the crap out of the side laterals now and make sure they are even), I have had almost zero problems with holding a heading and instability. When I do notice occasional instability now, I put a hand on the student's hip and hold them in position.

[Mickochet 0]

If you over tighten the laterals you can actually force your passenger to de arch.

If you never fall down you aren't trying hard enough.

[agentsmith413 0]

JohnMitchell

***
I'll definitely be taking the advice here into consideration in the future and hope to have a fun safe experience doing tandems for a very long time.

Does that mean you'll be taking the fat guys and letting me take the skinny girls?

Hell the bigger people i've taken have been the easiest in freefall so sure. as long as i get one or two skinny girls here and there.

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, all used up, and loudly proclaiming: Wow, what a ride!

[JohnMitchell 14]

agentsmith413

Hell the bigger people i've taken have been the easiest in freefall so sure. as long as i get one or two skinny girls here and there.

It's the hookin' 'em up, getting them to the door and getting the laterals loosened later that is all the work. Plus they're harder to stand up.