fall rates

[rmcvey 0]

im toooo slow.
i weigh maybe 135 naked and whoever i seem to jump with i just arch like a crazy person all the way down to breakoff and never seem to be able to keep up.
I have just got my hands on a weight vest, but as yet have not been able to use it.
Anyone else had this problem, or the opposite (too fast)
and any special tips to get past this.
(Ive heard most......Eat lots.......arch......dont let go of the exit......etc etc.)
Anything appreciated.

[Zennie 0]

If you're really floaty a tight fitting jumpsuit will help as well. The less drag he better.
"Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense."

[riggerrob 558]

rmcvey did not specify his/her weight.
The first step in learning to fall faster is to ask a coach to critique your body position in freefall, to confirm that you are really in a fast fall position. Ideally the de-brief will include video.
The second step is to borrow a sexy, skin tight Spandex jumpsuit with shiny fabric on the front.
Weight vests are the last resort. A good coach will deliberately "under weight" initially, forcing you to refine your body position even more. In the long run this you will have a wider range of fall rates than the fat boys you are jumping with.

[Albatross 0]

Welcome to the floaters club!!! It can suck in the begining but like Rob said you willhave much more range when you refine your position and normally only have to have 1 RW suit, where fat boys have to have 3-5. But other than that get a nylon frontted tight fitting jump suit with sapandex forarms and a spandex back.You might look like some Disco Freek, mine is royal blue with neon yellow tape, your jumps willbe much more fun.
God bless us and God Bless America
Albatross

[Zennie 0]

Quote

rmcvey did not specify his/her weight.

Ummmm... better go back & reread his post. Second thing he said was "i weigh maybe 135 naked".
"Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense."

[Zennie 0]

rob - I just sort of realized I might be oversensitive to what you were driving at. I took your statement as a response to me, so I was just pointing out that I was aware of his weight (and the fact that he was arching like crazy) when I posted my thoughts.
I agree with what you posted. So if I come across as snippy, it's probably because I have been lately. Sorry.
Merry Christmas everyone!
"Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense."

[Jabeln79 0]

Definitely "Pit Special"
I use one although i maybe shouldnt i weigh 180 and you can fall real fast in a pit specail jumpsuit.. Ive learned to control my fall rate so i stay with the formation most of the time i use to go low alot but after advice from some good skydivers ive learned a little control.. also have someone do a coached fall rate dive wouldnt hurt either..

[Watcher 0]

Merlin's Pro Competition Suit,
Designed for PD Blue
Has a better bootie design than anything Tony makes.
I wear one of David's Van Grueningen's old PD Blue suits when i fly RW and have found them supierior, course sometimes getting prompt service is very very hard as Christina seems to be very busy. In AFF i used to float alot, not i dont even arch and i fall with the Heaviest of heavies np.
Jonathan

[billvon 2,400]

Some tips -
1) Arch is first to learn. You should, with a hard arch, be able to stay down with anyone, although you may not be able to take grips in that position.
2) Jumpsuit. Nylon front and spandex arms is a minimum, and you may want small grippers and/or no inseam grips. I think the EFS grips were the best fast-falling design ever, but they are no more. It should fit like a glove.
3) Weights. If you're a woman, you probably want them up high, near chest or shoulders. If you're a man you may be able to wear them like a belt. Rigs with weight pockets on the front are available. If you jump near water make sure you can ditch the weights in the air, for obvious reasons.
4) Gear. I've known women who had big rigs who had a lot of problems with rig drag - the rig was wider than they were. Jump Shack seems to do the best job of fitting small women, although most rigs are available in a narrow format these days.
5) Tricks. Half a Nerf football under the chest of your jumpsuit will make you a bit more aerodynamic. Tennis balls work as well but are uncomfortable - and they look really bizarre, especially on women.
-bill von

[FallingMarc 0]

Hang in there... it gets better. I weigh about 140 and used to float like mad... was considering getting a big floppy jumpsuit to do CRW without having to deploy... Marc

[weid14 0]

got to throw this in.... and Bev Suits has an even better design than Merlin

• Quote

[Slowfaller 0]

As you can tell from my name i haven't figured it out yet
I've been free flying a lot so going into a stand to catch the base that is in a sit works for me, when I was doing RW i would just arch hard and would catch up pretty well. On the exit to catch the base i kind on went into a dive and then to a hard arch.
I'm 6ft and 135 naked so i have little mass and a lot of surface area.
CHris

[riggerrob 558]

Ooops!
Sorry!
Typo!
I meant to ask rmcvey how tall he is.
If you can picture how tall the person is in proportion to their weight, you can give more accurate advice.
It also helps to know if they have wide shoulders vz. narrow shoulders, high center of gravity vs. low center of gravity, etc.
It is really fun to visualize skydivers naked, especially the women. He! He!

[scottbre 0]

Maybe someone should organize a coed-naked skydiving boogie.... "Can't keep my mind from the circling sky. Tongue-tied & twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I."

[rmcvey 0]

im about 5''7.
please.....................stop laughing.
i have a reeeeaaaly tight michigan suit (spandex forearms, nylon front) infact its so tight ive not been brave enough to try the booties as when i put them on and get on a "dirt dive board with wheels" (sorry, forgot their nammme!) i cannot arch properly as it constricts my knee movement.
so i have just been tucking the booties up the front of the legs!!
I also find when i arch like crazy, i start to creep backwards, so i give some leg input to stay put, and i slow down!!!ARRRGH!!!!!!!
sod this.....im taking up tennis.
BS's

[TALONSKY 0]

You said your jumpsuit is really tight, how much room do you have in the crotch standing straight up and down. Standing straight I was told your jumpsuit should be about 2-3 inches below your crotch so when you arch the suit is up tight in the crotch which allows a good none restricted arch.
My first jumpsuit was too small and standing straight it was tight up against my crotch. When I arched I could really feel that I was pulling against the fabric. At a semiar on 8 way an exprieanced diver noticed and told me what I should get.
Hope that helps
Kirk

[RemiAndKaren 0]

Wear your wieghts.... a friend of mine use to jumps with 22 pounds on his 4 way team.... there's no shame in wearing them...
Remi
Muff 914

[freeflir29 0]

5'7" 135 LBS.......
"I got some beers....Let's Drink em!!!"
Clay

[rmcvey 0]

hey~!!!
go easy guys ...im still a young whippersnapper!! (19years young- 68 jumps Mirage- spectre- pd reserve cypres hey...life couldnt be better!!!!!)
B.skies

[Iflyme 0]

I'm 6'6" and weigh 185 without gear... tall and slender. My arch is poor, but getting a decent fast jumpsuit has realy helped me fall with others. Gotta keep improving the arch for sure!

[BikerBabe 0]

All of the above is really good advice. I'm 5'1" and I weigh around 115, and I had a huge problem, but I learned how to fall fast by necessity (I was jumping with a bunch of big guys).
I think the best advice I ever got (and it sounds cheesy) was to just relax. Not "lose your body position" relax, but don't strain yourself, either. The arch should come naturally, not so that you're sore after one jump because you're straining so hard to arch.
of course, now when I jump with new people they think because I'm small, I fall slow, and they don't try to crank it as much as they could...and I go low! :)

[QuickDraw 0]

You could always try rolling in some poison oak b4 you jump :)
the resulting swelling would (in theory) increase the drag on yer body

[QuickDraw 0]

durrr...how stupid am i?
that would not have the desired effect would it

[ealvord 0]

I am 5'7, 125 lbs and have no problems with fall rates whatsoever, but it has taken 700 jumps to get here. The secret to a wide fall rate span lies in your hips, and can be further expanded by different wearing suits and weights. I see many people that throw weights on thinking that this will solve their fall rate problems and then forget about the arching altogether.
If you get a chance (time and money...), a weekend in a windtunnel may be well spent. The controller can regulate the airspeed as you lay on the air column and it's fun to try to "max out" your belly fall rate! The Arizona Airspeed guys are great coaches and have several seminars.
Good luck & hips out!

[masher 1]

Quote

"dirt dive board with wheels"

creeper

.

Don't worry. I'm 6' and 65 kgs ( hows that for mixing my metaphors...) (143lb)

So far I've been using the jumpsuits at the DZ, but I just had a jump with our CI. Linked exit that sort of funnelled. Took about 1000' to get level. As soon as he released, he fell away (or I stayed up...)

The first thing he did when I got back to the hanger was put me on a set of scales :) He then told me to seriously consider getting my own jumpsuit, which I am in the process of organising.

--
Arching is overrated - Marlies