mdrejhon 8 #1 May 19, 2008 Hello, When I started skydiving, I weighted only about 160lbs and I often fell slow more often than I fell fast, struggling to keep up with a fast-falling base. I still look skinny but now I am 170lbs, so my extra weight is compactly added to my frame. I can fall comfortably in a base of anvils without adding a weight belt, if I arch hard. Some people keep asking me to wear a weight belt, which I do fine if I am in the base, but as soon as I get outside of the base, I have to go in a slowfall posture of feet/legs wide apart and out in the airstream, something I never needed to do as much before... At Perris P3, Dan BC gave me 10lbs of weightbelt, but I fell low a few times with it, once I was outside the base, so I jettisoned it after the first day -- did much better without it. Last weekend, during a dusk skydive that had a rushed dirt dive that contained people from previous jumps going on back-to-back loads (no-propeller-cut!) -- I did something silly: I docked on the opposite end of a symmetric 8-way formation! Realizing the error, I undocked, slid a 180 degree arc, and docked again. In the process, I fell 2 foot slow, but successfully levelled and docked. We saved the formation. (Duh) I was the good-natured laughingstock in the video debrief, as it was just a fun jump... (Excuse #47 out of my alibi book: All dark jumpsuits look the same on a post-sunset dusk jump, especially after a rushed dirt dive! LOL) I am constantly looking for new techniques to help me fall slow while still manoevering. I'm getting much better at dealing with my built-in weight belt now, but the fact remains: I still have an extra 10 pounds of weight... My current methods of falling slower: - PUSH your head down into the airstream!!! Guy Wright gave me a remarkably successful tip two years ago at Canada Big Way 2006. When low, never look upwards at the formation, because if you look up, your head goes out of the airstream and you suddenly fall like a rock. Always keep your head down: You can still see the formation if you're 90 degrees and looking at the formation from the side, while keeping your head down in the airstream. Another reason why 90 degree turns to the side is important when recovering from a low situation. (This REALLY helped me recover from some low situations back in 2006 - I could fall a whole 5-10mph slower than a built-up 20 way, back in that day before my weight belt - once I got Guy's tip that weekend, I miraculously always made my slot that weekend no matter how low I fell, even from an accidental 2-second-early exit...But this is harder now that I have 10lbs extra built-in...) - Cup, cup, cup, with all extremities spread out, head kept down in airstream while keeping eyes on base, legs apart, and booties spread as much as I can sideways for maximum cross-section to the terminal wind. I also know the mantis method of falling slow, but I tend to revert to this method when I slowfall because I seem to fall slower better that way... - Always go to the bathroom before the jump. Get rid of a pound or two. I did that a lot at Perris P3! Every pound counts when you're an outer weed whacker... - For a critical bigway jump like my successful 47-way and 49-way jumps as an outer weed whacker anchor, I did not keep my blackberry in my jumpsuit pocket (for emergencies in out landings), I get rid of a few ounces that way... Stadium was fine but was still getting a little shallow near the end, I was desparate to jettison as much weight as I could, as I really wanted to succeed! - Practice, practice, practice... Some future methods of falling slow, that I am thinking of: - Buy new "slow" jumpsuit. My jumpsuit is mixed fabric cotton(body)-spandex(arms)-cordura(butt/leg reinforcement). - LOSE WEIGHT! If I want to save the money from buying a new slower/looser jumpsuit, I better hit the elliptical hard at the gym during my lunch break... I only have 10lbs to lose, though, though if I bodybuild it back to muscle, I might be back to square one (pun intended) - Or buy some gators(?) which are those sweatshirt sleeves that I can pull onto my arms... - Practice more slow-air in the windtunnel. Tell the tunnel operator to crank it slow, near the bottom of my fallrate range, so I can learn to fly even slower while still controlling, and still be able to move around (turns,slides,fallrate changes). It's much more strenous and challenging because I actually have to push against the air rather than a relaxed arch, AND also simultaneously be able to still have that extra margin to do manoevers. But this practice will help me learn to stay in a slowfall while doing manoevers, and experiment with new slowfall body position adjustments that work better. - Get a lighter helmet. My current one is known to be big and heavy model of a helmet, and I need to replace it anyway for other reasons. Z1 and Oxygen feel noticeably lighter. - More practice, practice, practice. There's still room with my current weight and gear. I'd love to hear more opinions of fall-slow methods from other pros too. Get me ready for my next big way camp! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jsaxton 0 #2 May 20, 2008 Gators cost about $25, you'll spend a LOT more in the tunnel to get the same effect ;) Slow suit, good idea, dosen't have the stigma attached to it that a sweatshirt does and it's cooler in the summer. Don't think the helmet will get you much for the $$. Skills help too, in another couple thousand jumps the suit won't matter as much Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #3 May 20, 2008 Quote- LOSE WEIGHT! ...get a smaller rig with smaller canopiesscissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #4 May 20, 2008 One thing I see when people try to slow fall from the mantis (the hands go forward much more than out) is that they let thewind lift their arms - kind of like doing the 'wave' at a stadium event.... Important to get them forward and keep the pressure on by pressing down. And BIG hands. I am NOT a fan of your big "get the extremities out", I have ridiculously more range with the mantis because it leverages the booties more. However, not everyone has booties, and different techniques work for different people. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #5 May 20, 2008 Agreed... "Cupping" is not the most efficient way to max out your surface area: you get past a point of diminishing returns. Really maxing out your surface area, and using the side of the booties can help alot. John: tunnel is a great tool as you said. But make sure you get a coach who understands the slow fall techniques for RW.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scrumpot 1 #6 May 20, 2008 QuoteI am NOT a fan of your big "get the extremities out", I have ridiculously more range with the mantis because it leverages the booties more. Agreed. You have just as much surface area "into the wind" with your arms either straight out at your sides, or straight out in front of you. Neither is as effective IMHO once you have 1st "dialed in your range" with a proper mantis position - as instead simply using your de-arch (body position) and getting your elbows OUT at 180' from each other (flat) and your hands/palms BIG and "pushing down" in front of you. If you can correct your fall-rate and match BEFORE you go too low, it is all about staying AHEAD of the game. The turning 90' (body position) technique, and head-down, to-the-side - - - is only good once you have FALLEN OUT, entirely. Best advice... Just don't "go there" in the 1st place! Just another .02 Hope it helps. Blues Skies, -Grantcoitus non circum - Moab Stone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #7 May 20, 2008 All good stuff. It's a challenge to experiment with various kinds of slow-fall positions, especially with limited sky freefall time. Time to adjust some of my Cessna jumps to add some more sky fallrate practice. A few more hours in the tunnel (mainly 4-ways but including one-on-one with an RW experienced tunnel coach) and I'll definitely be much more used to mantis, I just now have to apply it more often in the sky. I do indeed automatically lift my arms sometimes during slow fall (and hurt myself), as I doubled my total tunnel time in the last 6 months alone and I am still at the stage where my different learned skills (boxman, mantis) conflict/mesh/merge with each other and I'm still experimenting with extending the bottom range of my slowfall even further...! The slowfall will help me brake better at the end of my dive to a bigway, and to keep a good stadium on an increasingly slow bigway... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #8 May 20, 2008 Quote Quote - LOSE WEIGHT! ... get a smaller rig with smaller canopies Funny advice, obviously.... But on that subject, the 150 is on hold a bit longer as I'm now redirecting funds to bigway camps this year. If I get a new rig, I think I will not be going less than a PD Optmium 143 in my next rig as the reserve (which is safer than a Raven Micro 150 anyway - an incentive for a new rig already.) For standardized containers, this probably limits how small my main will go, more or less. It is entirely possible I won't ever be going less than a approximately a 143 reserve in my lifetime unless I win the lottery and later decide to become a competition swooper (not likely, but I know some of you say never say never)... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jsaxton 0 #9 May 20, 2008 if you're gonna be on the outside, there is no replacement for having the right suit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
