Why 'fly'?

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Still a 'noob', but working my way to experience (by good judgment).
Just curious what got you all into freefly.
Why freefly?
Just freefly or any other disciplines?
What was your first freefly like? (No, not "Did you cork as much as I do?". More like "What did you think during and afterwards?")
-C.

[Vertifly 0]

My first solo was a stand-up. Not relative with anyone really close but it was fun.

I don't want to bash any flat-flyers or ambi-skydive flyers out here, but why do anything else? I don't know.

Just jump and innovate. Not much to do for innovation on a 2D plain. IMHO.

[ifics 0]

Before I started skydiving and during my training I watched all FF vidz. When I would see people in the videos doing absolutely amazing moves, looking so smooth and comfortable with the air is when I realized thats what I want to do. I couldn't help but imagine that was me in the videos, doing beautiful head down formations, beautiful carves around people and sooooooooo much more! My goal is to be that, to do that! I couldn't imagine anything else in the sky, thats why I am up there!

p.s I will keep tabs on my belly though, make sure I don't lose complete touch with it

[Zoter 0]

First FF = Sit fly attempt with an instructor holding onto me until I got stable...or too unstable !!
Didint think about too much other than...trying to get my damn legs down and wondering just how hard it was to do this AND getting my arms back too.
Even though it was a truly pants jump...i still enjoyed it.......I didnt get that kinda feeling when I messed up on a RW jump.

Im still new to all this.....and I love it...I keep promising myself I will go back and 'get better at RW'........sometime.....sometime

[Maxx 1]

I think freeflying is just the natural evolution of freefalling.. When you are a baby, you can only crawl on your belly (RW), but when you get older and more experienced you learn to standup and walk (freefly). 30 years ago nobody thought about flying his/her body in a 3D-environment, because it was already dangerous enough to fly stable in a belly to earth position. But the sport has evolved and now nearly everything is possible, so why don't do that then?

Freeflying intensifies my freefall much more and and it hast just a "magic" feeling when you fly relative to someone and carve around him... It reminds more on truly flying than RW does. RW is only 2-dimensional (when you are a beginner), of course for the more experienced flyers there are also 3d block moves. But freefly is 3d from the beginning on. Everything is possible, it's only limited by your imagination..

But nevertheless good RW skills are very helpful in freeflying, because with RW you learn the basics in freefall. I would say that you can't be a perfect relaxed freeflyer, if you haven't done some RW in advance.

Feet up! Max

[weegegirl 2]

I chose freeflying becaues I like to fly on all the axiseseses () of my body. Freeflying isn't just sitflying or flying on your head... it's learning to fly on any surface of your body in a controlled environment. It's more challenging for me, it's faster, more exciting, and to be honest... I can't stand belly fly suits.

I made a few attempts at sitfyling, but my first real freefly dive was a 4way out of our C182 at the beginning of the season a couple of years ago. It was with 3 of the very experienced freeflyers at our dz. They took me out and flew circles around me on their heads. The colors of their suits, the distant horizon, the sun... everything from that orientation just made me happy. My brain said bling, bling. And that was that.

[rocketdog 0]

BECAUSE YOU SPEND YOUR WHOLE STUDENT PROGRESSION ON YOUR BELLY.... gotta break away from the uniformity
~hollywood

see the world! http://gorocketdog.blogspot.com

[adamjenner 0]

freefly makes you cool!

[skybytch 259]

Quote

I don't want to bash any flat-flyers or ambi-skydive flyers out here, but why do anything else? I don't know.

Ummm...I don't want to bash any one trick ponies but maybe people want to do something in addition to freeflying because it's all fun? I can do RW, I can sit fly, I've known how to stand since 1991, I can fly a wingsuit, I've done CRW... It's all good. If freeflying is supposed to be about not limiting yourself.... then why limit yourself to only one discipline?

I did my first sit fly jump in 1997. It was a two way with a friend (Grafico). I thought it was so much fun I had to go up and do it again.

[sdgregory 0]

Quote

Ummm...I don't want to bash any one trick ponies but maybe people want to do something in addition to freeflying because it's all fun? I can do RW, I can sit fly, I've known how to stand since 1991, I can fly a wingsuit, I've done CRW... It's all good. If freeflying is supposed to be about not limiting yourself.... then why limit yourself to only one discipline?

Nice answer!

[apoil 0]

Quote

Ummm...I don't want to bash any one trick ponies but maybe people want to do something in addition to freeflying because it's all fun? I can do RW, I can sit fly, I've known how to stand since 1991, I can fly a wingsuit, I've done CRW... It's all good. If freeflying is supposed to be about not limiting yourself.... then why limit yourself to only one discipline?

Headdown is one discipline.
Sit is one discipline.

Freeflying encompasses all disciplines.
Without getting too new-agey - freeflying is ultimately flying any and every body position conceivable, with complete control.

To the true freeflyer there is no such thing as an "unstable" body position.

If you can fly head down, but you cannot fly RW, then you aren't done learning, and vice versa. In fact none of us are done learning. Freefly is about exploring what we can do in the air.