booties

[skybytch 259]

"You'll love the control" everyone said.
"You'll be able to track so much better" everyone said.
So after 800 jumps without them, I now have 20 jumps on my new suit with booties - and I hate them.
I'm not a hard core 4 way or 8 way competition RW jumper - I like to do bigger stuff where centerpoint turns aren't a part of my job on the dive. I track just fine - flatter and farther than many other people - without them. They've affected my big way flying negatively - when I put my legs out I pop up and over (bad place to be).
I'm so frustrated with them that I'm seriously considering having them cut off. But before I do that, I thought I'd ask if anyone has any tips on learning to fly with booties...
pull & flare,
lisa

[kallend 1,623]

<<anyone has any tips on learning to fly with booties...>>>
Practice. You've built up a lot of muscle memory that you have to overcome.
How big are the booties?

[skybytch 259]

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Practice. You've built up a lot of muscle memory that you have to overcome.

Argh. Okay... any tips on explaining my flailing to those I'm jumping with while I'm practicing? And how long is this going to take?

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How big are the booties?

It's a FireFly RW suit - so whatever size they made them... (like that explains anything...)
pull & flare,
lisa

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

This might sound at little obvious, so I'm sorry about this. On my Rw suit, i just roll the booties up into the bottom part of the leg. I would save cutting them off before you get used to them (if you're doing some more-serious RW in the meantime).
When you participate in sporting events, its not whether you win or loose, its how drunk you get.

[skybytch 259]

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On my Rw suit, i just roll the booties up into the bottom part of the leg.

Did that on the last three jumps I made, but if I'm going to do that on every jump I might as well cut them off. Besides, going back and forth between booties and not can't be good for the learning curve...
pull & flare,
lisa

[Jumperpaula 0]

I was initially going to say "give it time" but at your skill level, even with the layoff, in 20 jumps, you should know if you're going to be able to adjust and like them.
Hey, as I've been told , alot of variables are just mental. If you think you fly better without them, you know better than anyone and you probably do, for whatever reason . If you want them off, take them off.
Sew a zipper on em. Incase you change your mind later!
Fly Your Slot !

[quade 3]

Among the issues are making sure the booties actually fit properly. I know you know that, but since you've never worn booties before, maybe you don't exactly know what you should be looking for.
Have Shirley Pelland take a look at you wearing the jumpsuit with your rig on. As I'm certain you're aware, she's a wizard.
quade
http://futurecam.com

[Jumperpaula 0]

Agreed. I've only owned two jumpsuits and I have enjoyed jumping with booties in both suits.
But, Im sure I would NOT have known on the first - or even the second suit - if the booties were off. Maybe, just maybe, I'd have a clue now..maybe not though.
Jumpsuits are so very very personal.
Fly Your Slot !

[steve1 5]

Lisa,
I'd give them a few more jumps. I love mine and wouldn't want to go back to none. But what do I know. You are the one I turn to to answer all my newbie questions. P.S. I got my slow sleeves from Shirley. Maybe it would be good to have her take a look at your booties. Steve

[skybytch 259]

Hoping Shirley's at the dz tomorrow... I was planning to have her do the suit surgery anyway; maybe she can do something to it to make me like the booties more. pull & flare,
lisa

[Lindsey 0]

I've wondered about that too.....I have a little more than 700 jumps without them, and I'm thinking about getting them with my next jumpsuit....and since I'm needing a pink jumpsuit (but that's another story)..... I'm afraid that I'd really not like them.... but I'm feeling like such a hick :)
Peace~
Lscribble scribble
Eve was framed!
http://home.earthlink.net/~linzwalley

[skybytch 259]

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and since I'm needing a pink jumpsuit (but that's another story).....

You doin' JFTC? pull & flare,
lisa

[Remster 24]

lisa: they will in deed make you pop up at first....
probably because you put your legs out too much: you are used to have to extend them, say, 75% for a goog forward motion, and with booties, 25 to 50% would be sudfficient (the numbers I used are just for illustration.. my bootie % indicator has not been functioning fore the last few jumps )
they do add to your lift, so it will be a case of re-learning.
even in big way, they can help (see above mention of adding lift, which can be usefull if you go low.. alledgedly lol)
Remster
Muff 914

[kallend 1,623]

<<>>
I had about 350 jumps before I got booties. The first time I went to drive in to dock when wearing them, I pretty much zoomed right through the formation and out the other side.
Your tracking should improve - that's why tracking contests usually have separate classes for booties vs. no-booties.

[Lindsey 0]

I would LOVE to do JFTC, but honestly, I'm just plain scared.... The biggest formation I've done's been probably a 10 way 6 years ago! I'm pretty good at 4-way RW, but that's pretty much it for me..... jump out of the Caravan periodically in N. Ark, but we get at most 8 together at a time.... SO... no JFTC for me....
But I still like to get together with my FRIENDS!!!!
Peace~
Lscribblescribble
Eve was framed!
http://home.earthlink.net/~linzwalley

[Albatross 0]

OK Lisa I am going to give to the advice that your boss gave me, just in reverse. Tucking the booties will make you fall faster so you might just be fallign slower with the booties on. Since you have the experience you may be correcting with your arch but are popping when you move. Or the suit might just not be the right fit. The suit is much more forgiving in terms of fit without booties.
God bless us and God Bless America
Albatross

[ChromeBoy 0]

he he...Reread the entire thread and replace booties with boobies! Act like Lisa got implants and she can't fly the same with them. I got a laugh out of it!
Chromey

[E150 0]

I jumped without botties the other day and hated that!

[ltdiver 3]

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replace booties with boobies!

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I had about 350 jumps before I got "boobies". The first time I went to drive in to dock when wearing them, I pretty much zoomed right through the formation and out the other side.

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So after 800 jumps without them, I now have 20 jumps on my new suit with "boobies" - and I hate them.

LOL! Thanks Chromboy, I needed the laugh tonight, ;*)
ltdiver
____________________________________________
LightDiverCam

[TEB6363 0]

Lisa,
I'm no expert, but I got my first bootie (not boobie) suit last year after over 1K jumps without. I gave myself about 50 jumps to learn how to fly with them.
The best thing was that I went back and paid for some jumps with a RW coach. I don't know if you know Aldo? We worked, and re-worked my body position until my back was killing me.
Some basics, fly with the pelvis down a little more (like the mantis position), remember to bend a knee down a little more than sticking the opposite leg out, and remember to look before you start the move so you can compensate the fall rate a little sooner.
Just my thoughts and some experience.
:::OK, Canopy is Open, No Traffic Around, .. Why are these "Extra" Lines Draping Down??, Damn!

[Opie 0]

Lisa,
You may want to try a suit that fits your new boobies better. We would all hate to see you have them removed before everyone gets to see them! Also I think you'll find with the new boobies you will be able to close in on the formation much quicker (especially male formations, well maybe some females too but we won't get that started) When you find yourself floating with the new boobies just remember to acrh a little more to compensate for the power of the new boobies. Yes boobies are a powerful thing and require time to learn to control. Some never appreciate the power they have while others abuse the power and use them to make others who have yet to purchase them look bad. Which will you be? Hopefully you can reach a balance that will please all around you!
BOOBIES boobies BOOBIES Opie
If your not on the edge, you can't enjoy the view!

[rking12 0]

Almost all my RW and Camera jumps had been with booties. I Freefly a lot too so I had a freefly suit. I started doing weird exits on AFF videos and found my booties causing issues so I ordered a new Merlin camera suit and had her put freefly legs on a normal suit. This suit rocks! Big baggy legs with velcro cuffs. Makes it easier to sit, roll over and it is much easier to control forward and back movement. I like it so much I am changing the legs out on my other suit with booties! Both my boys have these "Hybrid" suits and fly great in them. The little bit of extra material on the legs also make you track like crazy! (Ask Skygeek)

[YahooLV 0]

Practice, Practice, Practice. I had trouble figuring them out also, BUT I did in a very short time. DOn't panic, just learn where your feet are.

[masher 1]

What do booties do? I take it they are the booosters that are referred to [url=http://www.tads.com.au/pdf/jumpsuitorder.pdf]here[/url]. While we're on the topic, what about the 'para-pac boosters'?

The reason I ask is that I'm going to be buying my first suit and I would like to know about all the bits and bobs that can go on it.

--
Arching is overrated - Marlies

[gojump 0]

No offense, but based on the picture you have posted here, you should do some coached jumps and/or hit the wind tunnel with a good coach. You can get rid of the "chicken wings", sit up and see the skydive, fly with your arms in a more usable position, and engage your legs so you can use those new booties and be more stable and agile in freefall than you ever imagined. This is how RW is done nowadays and it does not matter whether you are a 4-way, 8-way, or big-way flyer. It's just good body flight plain and simple.

I, too, never learned to fly my body properly until I had more than 2,000 skydives, mostly big-ways, and nearly 10 years in the sport. I felt confident in my flying and considered myself a good, experienced skydiver---right up until the first time I attended an Airspeed tunnel camp in 2001. Watching the pros at eye level brought me down to earth. I'm now hooked and counting the days until the first west coast tunnels open.

As for your track, it is an entirely different feeling with booties, but once you learn how to use them you'll understand what all of the fuss is about.