how do you do a swoop?

[Newbie 0]

im doing WARP and my next level is a swoop to formation thing, and was wondering how people do it? Also does anyone have any online resource of the WARP programme as i've noticed some inconsistency between different instructors.

Thanks

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[kallend 1,621]

Quote

im doing WARP and my next level is a swoop to formation thing, and was wondering how people do it? Also does anyone have any online resource of the WARP programme as i've noticed some inconsistency between different instructors.

Thanks

That's a skill you can't practice in the wind tunnel! I'd suggest you pick up some videos of big ways and watch to see how it's done by the experts.

...

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

[Tonto 1]

Swooping is a dying art... and as Kallend says, you can't practice in the tunnel. Tailgates and linked exits started killing it, but its easy to practice. Watch some video's and then start with a few freeflown exits or even some tracking dives. I let my AFF L6 and L7's get away for 2 or 3 secs on exit and then close the gap. Keep practicing.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Albatross 0]

Swooping is one of my favorite parts of a formation. The technique varies wildly depending on the ongle that you need to take to the formation. I think of it as a variation of a delta or a track. Some ore flat while others are almost head down. The critical part of the swoop is do pull out high. Remember that you have momentum that you need to stop in addition to your fall rate. For me that is the hardest part and the part that requires the most practice.

Chris

[wmw999 2,116]

The one thing I miss about the old big-wing jumpsuits is flaring after you swoop. With a small person, and good non-elastic swoop cords, I always felt like Rocky the flying squirrel hanging everything out to stop. Too cool. Now we have to plan ahead a lot more...

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[steve1 5]

I kind of miss the old days. Every jump you did some swooping unless you fell base. Coming out of the swoop is a critical time. Flare to late you may go too low. Flare too high, you may waist time getting down. This is also a dangerous time. Beware of other jumpers. Collisions can be fatal. Aim to one side of the formation and away from the other jumpers when coming down, just in case you flare too late. Listen to the experts for advice on this one. I'm no expert......Steve1

[GumbyGirl 0]

Remember that you're going a lot faster in a swoop. Put on the brakes a lot sooner.... better to stop a bit high and short, than to take out a formation, or hurt someone or yourself! Swooping is fun once you get the hang of it. My friends and I would do mini-speedstar dives just for fun.

[eddytheeagle 0]

I'm by no means a good swooper (working on it though), but the following tip helped me. When you stop your dive (well above the formation), go to a hard arch. In this way, you keep a reasonable fast speed, which is easier to control. Of course, still be aware you don't go low. When a big-way is building, it can slow down a lot in a short time . Good luck!

Don't underestimate your ability to screw up!

[Emma 0]

Hi Newbie,

WARP is a little outdated and now many UK coaches use a mixture of this and the US-developed Skydive University (Sky U) to provide a more modern and effective training programme post-Cat 8. This may be why you are finding there are some inconsistencies.

I don't believe there is an online WARP resource, however there is a WARP Manual (really aimed at coaches, not students) which Dave Emerson at Hinton may be able to give you...Personally however, I would give it a wide birth as it's pretty archaic in some of the techniques it advises.

I would recommend that if inconsistency is a problem, try to stick with the one coach. Different coaches may have different ideas about your skill level and areas you need to improve. You can smooth this problem over a little by showing past logbook write ups or videos to new coaches, or better, get them to speak to your past coaches too.

Choose someone you like, respect and trust, but also do make sure they are a current FS jumper themselves who has moved with the times in terms of coaching. The 'old and bold' may not always be the best; and remember that someone who does a lot of 4way may be more appropriate than someone who only ever does or films tandems. Ask (good) current FS jumpers how they learned and whose advice they found helpful. A good coach should also discuss safety issues and canopy control.

I understand that it's not always terribly easy to work with the same coach as they are often busy doing other things; however, your coach has a duty to you as a coach (if they are getting free jumps, after all!) and should be able to give you an idea of when s/he will be free so you can plan your jumps. They should also video every jump as a debriefing and learning aid.

Regarding your 'swoop to pin' - this is supposedly WARP 6, although the progression is not really intended to be fixed. To get cat 10 (FS1) you need to do a 4-point 4 way, to be precise; however, the skills you need to do this safely and well should be covered by the ascending progression in your WARP/ Sky U coaching. This includes forward movement, backwards movement, sideways movement, turns, upwards/ downwards movement and grip-taking. 'Start-coast-stop' is something you should have heard of, and in my opinion you should be encouraged to fly using both your upper and lower body (ie your knees as well as arms) in the 'lazy-boxman' position. The rigid, arms-by-your-ears box position is ineffecient, outdated and if you use it now you will only have to correct it if you want to progress in the sport. These various skills should enable you to do a 4point 4way but ideally you want to aim to do better than that - scraping a scrappy 4point dive is easy but pretty pointless; getting FS1 is just the first step in learning how to be a good skydiver, and the better your start, the easier things will be for you down the line. If you really want great coaching, it's worth doing a camp (tunnelcamps are fantastic for most personal flying skills but alas, not for swooping!) with a top team like Airspeed (www.tunnelcamp.com) or XL (www.sebastianxl.org). They are more expensive than WARP at Headcorn/ Hinton but you get what you pay for.

Swoop to pin, as people have mentioned, is not really used in 4way (unless the exit has gone bad!). However as you do larger formations you will need to be able to do a safe, fast swoop to get to the formation quickly and without hurting yourself or others. Awareness of other people in the air, your place in the formation, your approach disciplines, quadrants, safe docking, flying the formation after docking, and safe break-off, are all part of the same WARP level, in my opinion, and your coach should discuss these with you too. If they don't, do not attempt anything bigger than a 4way, or where you have to swoop, without getting a proper brief from someone who does big formations. Andy Cliff who often jumps at Hinton (v. tall lanky bloke) is a good person to ask about safety on bigways. Or corner any of the girls who were on the Brit Chicks 50way last summer, where safety was paramount.

On your WARP jump you're unlikely to use a large target; it may just be your coach, or s/he may enlist one or 2 other Cat 10 jumpers to make it a more realistic target for your swoop. Your swoop starts from inside the plane, and your coach should explain how to stand in the door/the plane depending on the size of the formation you're targeting. On exit, you would normally go with the jumpers in front of you, rather than stand, poised to dive, at the door of the plane. Keep your eye on the formation (maybe just your instructor) you're targeting - this is really important. You should approach in as straight and predictable a line as possible - veering off and round the back of a formation to get to your slot is really dangerous as others won't know where you're going.

As long as your eye is on the target you should be able to adjust the angle of your dive as you approach. Out of the door, make sure you present to the relative wind and gradually bring your arms back to power your forward movement into a track position. Look at how far away your target is; do they look a lot lower, or is there more horizontal than vertical distance to cover? On exit your target will look lower down than it really is because you are still on the 'hill' of the exit.

You can make the track steeper by lifting your arms back behind you as this tips you slightly head down. However it will feel really steep and fast so be prepared! You will also build up a lot of speed so start to level out before you think you need to. Flatten back to a track and bring your arms forward again to 'wash off' more vertical and horizontal movement as you approach the target. Hold them forward if you're still going too fast (go BIG!), and you can also drop your knees a little tipping your body slightly upright and cupping maximum air in front of you if your horizontal speed is too great.

Often people go swooping past formations because they have misjudged their own speed and the distance they need to cover (and sometimes they then blame the 'floaty' base for their own errors, which is another story!). It is true that really really big formations do slow down, but it shouldn't cause you a problem if you have been cautious in your approach and you know how to bang out a mega-stop. There is no need to swoop past your target. Just be cautious. You should use a kind of 'stair-step' approach. Swoop down, wash off speed, check where you are and if you are still a way away, you need to swoop a bit more. If you are only a little bit above your target (and you always want to stop above and slightly out from the formation for your final, slower approach) you can fast-fall into it more precisely than swooping again.

For a first attemp at swoop to pin I would advise you to choose a good instructor, listen to their advice (above mine, or anyone else's on here, because they know you better!), keep your eye focussed on where you are heading and be mindful of slowing down a little before you think you need to. You can build up some hellish speeds doing this and it is really essential that you have covered all the safety aspects (of this WARP level, as well as those relevant to future dives where you will need to swoop) before jumping. At the end of the day, swooping takes practice, and you only really learn through making a few mistakes, as we all do ;)

Swooping is wicked fun, have a good jump and be safe :)

Emma
PM me if you have any qs I haven't covered on here.

[Remster 24]

Good lord Emma! You dont post often anumore, but when you do!!!!!

Remster

[Emma 0]

Yes well, I am back at work in an office - have to do something to ease the boredom! If that means an essay on swooping whereby i can relive something more exciting than cold-calling marketing toss-wits...well, bear with me eh Remster? ;)

[Emma 0]

But does it answer the QUESTION??? Hee hee

I have a bee in my bonnet over WARP...so damned old-fashioned...so do excuse me!

[eddytheeagle 0]

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But does it answer the QUESTION??? Hee hee

Well, I learned from it, so it served a purpose

Don't underestimate your ability to screw up!

[bwilling 0]

There's some good video of swoop to base techniques in Skydive U's video, "Basic Body Flight Theory". You can order the video off their website here.

It's not cheap, but then again, neither are training dives. And it is an excellent video...

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."