Poll: Your Average Fallrate

[AggieDave 6]

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For "Speed" skydiving competitions TAS is used on a leg mount.

Not any more they're not, its still TAS, but its mounted on the container. Some people were cheating by kicking their legs during speed meets, giving them a higher speed.

As for me, my average RW speed is around 130mph. I can go down to around 118mph and I've gone 165mph on my belly before (not diving, just sitting there).

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[quade 3]

Got a reference URL for that?

I see http://www.speedskydiving.net/2002/ISST-RULES-2002.PDF. But it doesn't mention HOW the ProTracks attach to the rigs.

I don't really see how kicking the legs could have made a significant difference, but I guess it did.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[AggieDave 6]

It was talked about by one of the guys that posts here who competes. I read something about it on the speekskydiving.net site, but I can't find it now.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[kallend 1,621]

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Got a reference URL for that?

I see http://www.speedskydiving.net/2002/ISST-RULES-2002.PDF. But it doesn't mention HOW the ProTracks attach to the rigs.

I don't really see how kicking the legs could have made a significant difference, but I guess it did.

Craig Poxon wtote something about it, IIRC.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kallend 1,621]

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For "Speed" skydiving competitions TAS is used on a leg mount.

Not any more they're not, its still TAS, but its mounted on the container. Some people were cheating by kicking their legs during speed meets, giving them a higher speed.

As for me, my average RW speed is around 130mph. I can go down to around 118mph and I've gone 165mph on my belly before (not diving, just sitting there).

Doesn't it get boring only jumping with fat dudes?

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[courage 0]

Hi Kallend. You don't have to be fat to be competitive in Speed Skydiving. Mike Brooke is about 170 lbs and he won the World Cup last year.

Anyway, maybe there should be a Speed Skydiving forum on this site?

I would be happy to answer questions about the discipline and post news from the 2003 World Cup. I've actually heard some serious rumours about a few americans who plan to compete in the series this year. Who knows, maybe there will be a meet or two in the US this year, or next year?

[kallend 1,621]

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Hi Kallend. You don't have to be fat to be competitive in Speed Skydiving. Mike Brooke is about 170 lbs and he won the World Cup last year.

I was referring to his 130mph RW average.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[AggieDave 6]

130 isn't too bad. I routinely fly at 120, but if I'm just relaxed and falling, then I'll average out around 130. The doomed life of a weight lifter who also likes to drink beer.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[quade 3]

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Doesn't it get boring only jumping with fat dudes?

I'd like to think that skydiving enjoys skys large enough to encompass all forms.

I know one gear store owner that has been practicing speed skydiving lately.

Definitely not fat. Definitely not a dude.

She holds several world records in several different aspects of skydiving. It wouldn't surprise me at all if she sets one doing this as well.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[courage 0]

Agreed. There is room for us all. And I've seen the graphs from her practice jumps at Perris. Nice! She's one of the two I know about. Stan Snigir is the other. I bet he will do some impressive stuff in the series aswell, if he decides to compete.
http://www.hangout.no

[kallend 1,621]

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Doesn't it get boring only jumping with fat dudes?

I'd like to think that skydiving enjoys skys large enough to encompass all forms.

I know one gear store owner that has been practicing speed skydiving lately.

Definitely not fat. Definitely not a dude.

She holds several world records in several different aspects of skydiving. It wouldn't surprise me at all if she sets one doing this as well.

Is there a speed record for RW? I was referring to his 130mph average speed for RW.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[AggieDave 6]

120 is an average speed for STUDENTS. What's the average speed for teams? Higher then 130. What about guys who are putting together hot-shit RW jumps? I promise it's closer to 130 then 120.

I'm not saying I'm some sort of RW god, hell, I really suck at it, but my fall rate isn't that far off of everyone elses. I'm still able to go do some fun jumps without much effert. Hell, there's been some jumps lately where I had to work to go faster.

Personally, I like the flexibility I have with my fall rate. I can slow down to under 120, but I can also do over 160 without having to leave my belly or dive. That gives me a wide range of fall rate ability, to catch people or slow down for people.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[quade 3]

Clearly I was confused, but go back through the threads and see if it isn't a bit confusing!

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Stacy 0]

um, I don't think that 130 is "average" for teams and RW. I'm going ot quote Quade here:

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Slow 4-way in my experience is maybe 118ish, average 4-way is about 120ish and fast 4-way maybe 125ish. It seems to me that the better teams also prefer slightly faster fall rates. I've shot 4-way teams as fast as 135, fat boys though.

I think you will find most RW teams at the fast end going about 125. RW big ways will slow to 110 at times. I fall at a pretty steady 120 without adjusting physically, and I'm not floating out of anything, which would be the case if the "average" was 130. If anything in most cases I have to think about dearching almost on individual moves and late diving to avoid going low.

My back would really hurt if the dives I did were all at 130. yikes.

[RozeAY 0]

My team falls at about 113. I know several teams that fall in the 110-120 range. The average is probably closer to 120-125 like a few people have said though. Most of the teams around here don't really have any big guys on them. But definitely not 130 mph. Thats fast!

[kallend 1,621]

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120 is an average speed for STUDENTS. What's the average speed for teams? Higher then 130. What about guys who are putting together hot-shit RW jumps? I promise it's closer to 130 then 120.

Looking back in my logbook, I did a RW jump with the combined GK gold and black teams last year - average fallrate 118, 1st half 125mph TAS (that included my swoop). I don't think they slowed down for my benefit. A 4-way jump I did with an Airspeed coach was slower (120mph first half).

The 40-way tryouts at Z-Hills for the 120 way RW sequential record were falling at 113 - 118 mph average TAS by my ProTrak.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[quade 3]

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I did a RW jump with the combined GK gold and black teams last year - average fallrate 118, 1st half 125mph TAS (that included my swoop). I don't think they slowed down for my benefit.

What kind of RW was that? 4-way? 8-way? 10-way?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[AggieDave 6]

It was my understanding that many of the hot-shit RW teams were averaging over 130, closer to 140 sometimes.

*shrug* learn something new everyday.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[quade 3]

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averaging over 130, closer to 140 sometimes.

Nawww. That's a bit too fast.

I've kept detailed records of fallrates for the last several years and I've had the opportunity to jump with a pretty wide range of folks from flailers to gold medal open class team members.

Stacy has correctly quoted my observations at Perris.

It's possible that JK has slightly different numbers due to slightly higher air density at his DZ.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kallend 1,621]

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I did a RW jump with the combined GK gold and black teams last year - average fallrate 118, 1st half 125mph TAS (that included my swoop). I don't think they slowed down for my benefit.

What kind of RW was that? 4-way? 8-way? 10-way?

16-way

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[quade 3]

16-way?!?!

Yeah, of course that's going to fall a bit slower than a fast 4-way team turning points.

I don't think that 118 would be out of line in that situation.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kallend 1,621]

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16-way?!?!

Yeah, of course that's going to fall a bit slower than a fast 4-way team turning points.

I don't think that 118 would be out of line in that situation.

I'm sure they'll be pleased to know that you approve

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[BikerBabe 0]

I think you should fall the fall rate that your team is comfortable with....

...However, a question. If 3 out of four members on a team are comfortable with the fall rate and one wishes it were faster (so she didn't have to fall super-flat and practically knee-fly on cat grips and generally think about fall rate all the time), should the rest of the team pick it up, or should the one who's an anvil slow down?

er...can you guess who the anvil is here? Without weights my average fall rate is around 120-122, comfortably. Seems like almost every de-brief ends with the words, "can we please pick up the fall rate?" Am I asking too much? Should I just suck it up, get a looser suit, and drive on?

At least I'm tail and usually on the low side of verticals...

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[RozeAY 0]

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If 3 out of four members on a team are comfortable with the fall rate and one wishes it were faster (so she didn't have to fall super-flat and practically knee-fly on cat grips and generally think about fall rate all the time), should the rest of the team pick it up, or should the one who's an anvil slow down?

The team needs to go as fast as its fastest faller. Granted, there are things the fall-rate setter can do to slow it down (material on front of jumpsuit, etc.) But taking those things into consideration, the team will fly better if everyone is falling at a comfortable rate. If one person has to change the way she flies and spend all her energy trying to cup air, her performance is going to suffer. It is a lot easier for 3 people to add a few pounds and still fly than it is for 1 person to completely adjust flying style.

[Watcher 0]

You might try getting a suit with a slower fall rate front. Our teammate wore supplex (or Polycotton), and the other 3 wore nylon. You might also try working out and toning your muscles while loosing fat. Healthy diets that trim the fat and replace with muscle mass. Our Heaviest teammate has really trimmed down and gotten a lot stronger. He is more on top of his game now, quicker, and his endurance has gone up significantly. He now wears a nylon front. Last year allison wore 17 lbs at one point, now she wears 8. There are things you can do that will help you stay up on fall rate, and make you a stronger flyer.

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Jonathan Bartlett
D-24876
AFF-I