Getting into freeflying. Any suggestions on what to wear?

[aresye 0]

Well, since I just got my license, I'm obviously interested in learning my first discipline. I'm still working on my belly work, as it's a valuable skill, but never, and still don't have much interest in RW, and competition.

I was the first off a very small load, with only a few tandems after me. Knowing this, I knew I had a relatively safe zone to play around. My rig I took to the riggers and made freefly friendly, and since I don't own a suit of any kind yet, I wore my flight suit (military).

First I tried working on getting myself into an atmo position, as I've been pretty interested in what it may be like. Well, I definitely got myself into the right position, because I was soaring across the sky pretty fast, away from the jump run. Definitely different than your basic track. After a couple thousand feet, I switched and attempted for the first time to get into a sit (probably should have started with back). I couldn't manage it at all.

Now, obviously it's going to be hard to get into a good sit, and I will be taking a few coach jumps to work on it, but I'm wondering if my flight suit had a major part in my overall instability. It doesn't cuff the ankles. It's very loose around the feet. I'm thinking that because of the position, air is getting cupped in the legs of the suit, and flipping me around.

If I have air entering my flight suit at the bottom of the legs, is it going to be near impossible to manage a sit? If so, what would you recommend as a suitable thing to wear that will allow me to practice? Take into consideration I cannot afford anything more than a couple jumps a weekend, let alone an actual freefly suit. My car I just found out (2001 Honda Civic), is having its transmission go out at 95,000 due to a damaged torque converter, and will likely be $2500 to fix. So much for a reliable Honda, huh?

So if I can't afford a freefly suit, what would you guys recommend to wear, in order to get some practice in?

Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours.

[virgin-burner 1]

if you worry about clothing, go naked!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[jakee 1,254]

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If I have air entering my flight suit at the bottom of the legs, is it going to be near impossible to manage a sit?

Near impossible? No. More difficult? Yes, definitely.

Best solution is always going to be to get an FF suit or FF pants. Then again, if you're not at all fashion conscious you could get away with tucking your cuffs into your socks and going over it with duct tape.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[skymama 35]

It takes most people quite a few tries to hold a stable sit, so it's probably not all about the clothes. I started out with cargo pants that tied at my ankle. I bought them off a clearance rack at Target for about $5. Worked for me!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[LIEBRICH401 0]

yeah go naked, hahaha

[EXTremeWade 0]

Well, Try this, and bounce it off with others, for I am no master at the Freefly game as well.

For now, you will not really see a HUGE difference in clothing assisting or bettering your flying abilities..not just yet at least. You are still learning to be stable in the sit, and like the lady said above, it takes ANYONE a little bit to get that down..just use this for an ideal method as to what you need..

Look at the proficient Freeflyers at the DZ. We all come in many different shapes and sizes, and then you will see that more and more, the taller and skinnier Freeflyers tend to use tighter suits, that have less drag. At a proficient level, a skinny suit has a wide range of control so as long as you can always get wide and be comfortable getting really flexible. At the same time, you may see some heavier Freeflyers using slightly baggier suits so they don't have to ALWAYS fly so big and open to slow down, and that little bit of more drag will help them out..

So, just pay attention to your body type, and match it as best as you can with a proficient flyer, and ask him or her if that works. But for now, and with a few more hundred jumps or so when you really are comfortable around more people in the air, and within your own abilities, then the suit will play more of a role once people start to complain saying that you fall to slow, or fast..lol..

Hope that helps..

Wade

[pilot-one 0]

When you're first learning jump in shorts and a baggy sweatshirt. It's much easier with no drag on your legs and alot on your arms.
$2500 for a transmission?
Dude. Buy one at a junk yard for $1000 and do it yourself.

[skymama 35]

Quote

When you're first learning jump in shorts and a baggy sweatshirt.

And make sure that baggy sweatshirt won't come up over your handles.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[aresye 0]

Thanks for the advice everybody. As for the car repair, I pretty much know nothing about car engines. Kind of funny, because I know how to service, maintain, and preflight the main transmission for the SH-60 Seahawk helicopter that I fly in as an aircrewman.

Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours.

[freefal 0]

What to wear? Well let's see, I prefer something with a pattern... And everyone knows vertical stripes are "slimming". But with all the talk about the environment this year, earth tones are really big and I hear that khaki is the new black! Fabulous!!!


Actually a suit will mainly help you maintain a comfortable fall rate with other flyers as someone mentioned above. If you're at the beginning stages of skydiving and are currently doing solos, you should worry more about your body position and getting comfortable with the higher airspeeds associated with head down and sit flying positions. Jumping in shorts and a t-shirt really helps you feel how the air is hitting your body. Once your freeflying skills progress and you start flying with others, then you'll see how your body type will impact your jumpsuit choice and you'll have a better idea of what to get. (You'll also have more time to save up some cash for a decent suit.)

As a side note (and I'm sure you've heard this before but...) don't dismiss RW altogether. Good 4-way and/or bigway attemps are alot of fun and there are some important skill sets to learn. I'm on a VRW team and we use a lot of the ideas developed in 4-way RW. I was also on a large hybrid a while back and it was surprising how poorly some of the freeflyers did because the first part of the skydive was essentially a big-way RW jump.

"Ignorance is bliss" and "Patience is a virtue"... So if you're stupid and don't mind waiting around for a while, I guess you can have a pretty good life!

[Flying_Squirrel 0]

I startet FF yust like u after AFF, in a RW suit and by now, Back - and Sitflying goes very well. I didn´t bother to tuck the end of the trousers into my socks at all - and it worked.
So what im trying to say is that if you can do that with a normal (military) fligth suit you can do it with evry other type of clothing.

[horwichg 0]

I do my sit flying in either shorts and a sweater, or I wrap the bottom of my pant legs in duct tape, and wear a sweater. Seems to work great.

[FreeflyIndian 0]

Duct tape is overboard, rather use rubber bands/bungees

[keithbar 1]

I find that wearing just shorts and a tshirt. and falling on my belly works just fine. wanna f/f at 158 to 163? ymmv. richmond 08

i have on occasion been accused of pulling low . My response. Naw I wasn't low I'm just such a big guy I look closer than I really am .