What's terminal for a max load Tandem pair?

[Deuce 1]

Say you've got a short TM and a short passenger, and between them they are at the Gross Vehicle Weight for the gear.

What's their max speed without the drogue? What's their max speed with the drogue?

Thanks.

JP

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

What's the slowest speed for a tandem as well (assuming both lightweights)

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[AggieDave 6]

I've seen 190mph drogue-less and I've seen 130-ish mph with the drogue. "Seen" as in talked to the TM after the jumps (as I tend to do since I pack the tandems).

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

[Deuce 1]

My answer to my own question is my experience: 107 for a light pair and 127 for a heavy pair.

I ask because I had my fastest pair Saturday and had a hell of a time staying with them at first, then figured it out and got about 15 great seconds before pull time.

This came after struggling for the last couple of weeks to be floatey enough to stay up with a pair.

I drank a couple of cases of "Whinekin". It helps that some of the tandem masters are patient. But the other camera flyers at my DZ have 4-6 thousand jumps, so when I ask them how they handled this stuff they just can't remember. "Back when I sucked....don't remember."

"No Skydiving and no beer make David angry and sober"

[WmLauterbach 0]

two jumpers at the Military Freefall School doing tandem terminal with the passenger carrying a pro-track clocked 194... (these guys were big fellas)

two OTHER jumpers at the Military Freefall School (these guys were both feather merchants) under a 72 inch drouge failed to bust 100 mph as an avg speed... (the avg from the pro-track was 98)


I stayed with the fat... uhm I meant big guys in a sit for a few thousand feet, then had to go on my head to keep up....

The other pair was about as slow as I can fall... if I had taken my cars keys on the jump I would have gone low...

We also clocked a solo drougefall with the 72 inch drouge at an avg speed of 88MPH... When the guy set drouge, the video looked almost like he had dumped his main...


OK... that was my input on the topic....


thank you, drive thru

[Deuce 1]

Thanks. Only a hundred mile an hour range....

[Cajones 0]

I have shot video of a very light tandem pair with an average speed of 91mph. I was exhausted after the jump from straining against my swoop cords. I was jumping a huge Bev camera suit back then.
I have taken a tandem head down, with my pro-track failing to register the speeds. The camera guy was Ken Berg. He was maxed out head-down. His pro-track registered 269mph. He shot some sweet video. We exited, stable-face-to-earth; did a handles check; rotated head down, and zoomed down to a little dot. I tansitioned to belly, and waited for a few seconds, before deploying the drogue. The drogue was damaged, and the DZO was understandably mad about our stupidity. The camera man got a seriously mean track out of his dive, as the drogue appears far below him. He's watching back and below as we are deploying. 24 second freefall from the video - exit was 14k - to canopy. Not the smartest thing I've even done, and will soon be one of those "illegal" manuevers for tandem pairs under new USPA guidelines.

The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

[Deuce 1]

OMG.

Oh so fast.

[AggieDave 6]

Quote

will soon be one of those "illegal" manuevers for tandem pairs under new USPA guidelines.

The guidlines are needed, though. Could you imagine a premie at that speed? Wouldn't be pretty.

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

[diverds 0]

Plus your probably increasing the chances of a side spin when you transition back and forth.

Skydive Radio

[Cajones 0]

Actually, I think there is less chance of a side spin, flying head-down. The relative wind can't get in the lateral space of the pair. I find myself flying in a head-down or slight track with a fetal passenger. With my hands free, I can do a hip-tap and push their legs up between mine, then transition to get the drogue out.

The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

[diverds 0]

I have no doubt that it can be done. It just seems to me that any time you are in drougless freefall and not on your belly, you are increasing the chances of a side spin. Especially if your passenger is an actual student.

Skydive Radio

[freeflir29 0]

I chased a Head Down Tandem last weekend. Small Asian girl and a fairly light TM. The definately went fast. He didn't stay that long but I'm sure he would have left me if he had. I was totally tucked in and even towards the bottom of the hill I was starting to fall behind.

[EricTheRed 0]

Quote

I've seen 190mph drogue-less and I've seen 130-ish mph with the drogue. "Seen" as in talked to the TM after the jumps (as I tend to do since I pack the tandems).

I dug up this old thread on a search trying to see what the MAX speed for a tandem w/ drogue.

We had a BIG guy tandem last weekend I did vid for. I did manage to stay with the pair and recorded an AVG speed of 138 ! My back was definately feeling it from arching hard enough to keep up (down)
That was with a pretty quick drogue.

I'll try to post the vid when I get my tape back.

Red

illegible usually

[freefalle 0]

The slowest tandem video Ive shot was 118 the fastest was 134.

[ryoder 1,384]

Quote

What's their max speed without the drogue? What's their max speed with the drogue?

190 lb tandem master; 210 lb passenger; 400 lb total (plus gear).
DZ elevation 5052 MSL; Exit at ~12500 AGL / ~17500 MSL;
Pitched drogue at 20 seconds;
ProTrack registered max speed 203 mph (TAS).

http://www.dimensional.com/~ryoder/tandem-terminal.pdf

Edited to add: This was belly, not headdown.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[DanG 1]

I videod a tandem pair at over 140mph in drougefall one time. Big, tall male tandem master and big, short, female student. It didn't help that the drouge was old and worn out and the TM held it for longer than normal out the door. What really sped the pair up was when the student got scared and returned to the safety position with her arms across her chest. I could barely keep up. It's been a few years, but the number 143mph sticks in my head.

It sucked. The video was not so great, either, to be honest.

- Dan G

[GravityGirl 0]

Quote

But the other camera flyers at my DZ have 4-6 thousand jumps,

....

Nah. Mathias only has 1,000 more jumps than you. About 2,500 I think.

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Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[Zoter 0]

What do you tandem vid men do in that situation.....?
arch like a mo fo and its still getting away from you.....do you just go into a sit.....?

Whaddya do?

[DanG 1]

For the one listed above I arched like a mofo. One way to go realy fast on your belly is to fold your arms across your chest (like the tandem safety position) and put your feet on your ass. It takes some practice to still be able to fly like that, but you can go really fast. I have more control in that position than I do in a sit, which is something I need to work on more.

- Dan G

[linestretch 0]

fly on your back!

my pics & stuff!

[Zoter 0]

How do you keep your feet and legs out of the shot??
I tried that on other dives but they always drift in and out of the shot....
Do you fly so the Tandem pair is 'behind' you...ie you have to look 'behind' you to get the shot......?

[SkyPsycho 0]

It's been a few years, but the number 143mph sticks in my head.

It sucked. The video was not so great, either, to be honest.

- Dan G

[eUrNiCc 0]

I have recorded averages as low as 102 and as high as 137 or so on strong rigs. The slow ones are really a pain, and their videos come out for the most part sideways because I have to fly 90 degrees to them with my arms and legs straight out to slow up (in a FF suit w/o wings.)

Egad, A BASE life defiles a bad age.

[LouDiamond 1]

I had a tandem break over 150 on me this past weekend. I was on my head trying to stay with them and they kept going faster and faster. My Protrack logged 150 Max but I know they were probably a few mph faster than me. Strange feeling when a tandem is falling faster than a normal skydive. The passenger and tandem master were both fairly stout individuals.

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