drill dives

[superstu 0]

do you guys have drill dives that involve no contact? what kind of training do you guys do?

Slip Stream Air Sports
Do not go softly, do not go quietly, never back down

[CRWCheryl 0]

Here's a good dive I use when working with newbies. It gives them a chance to see the relativity of using different controls.

Trainer goes out, lays base. Newby exits second, figures out what they need to do to get back to base and then sets up off the side, about level. Sometimes trainer moves to get in position.

Trainer front risers for a couple of seconds, stops. After trainer stops, newby front risers and stops.

Reset so that you are side to side and level.

Trainer hits rear risers gently. Stops. Newby hits rear risers. Stops. Reset again if necessary.

Trainer pulls brakes. Stops. Newby pulls brakes. Stops. Reset.

Trainer performs outside spiral. Stops. Newby performs outside spiral. Trainer resets near newby who usually goes very low in the spiral.

This last one is to reinforce that spirals put you behind and below. Best use of it is exiting out of chase planes on large formations. Otherwise it is generally best not to use this.

It is fun to end the dive with a dock or bumping end cells. But the point is to let the newby see what the controls do relative to another person.

[remko 0]

As a follow up, It's a good idea to teach them the rest of the toolbox in an early stage, like Warping, Snapping, Whipping and Sashaying. All these are no contact.

Warping: one toggle, one front riser. Use it to get or keep yourself down, or slow down. If you think brakes, use this (in stead of the common newbie error to pull both toggles and float up behind or even into a formation). Also a good exercise for a solo jump. Start with smooth inputs, concentrate to stay on heading. See how far you can pull the controls before you become unstable. This requires some extra coordination, since the toggle will be down much deeper than the frontriser. Practice metering the input. Practice small turns while in Warp. Make sure you learn it both ways. Next step is to practice more vigorous inputs, and also letting it up quickly while staying nicely on heading. Last stage is quick switching between deep front riser, Warp and toggle Do this while looking down, not up at the controls. (Now all you need to know is how to take a leg grip and you are ready for your first top dock ;-)

Snapping: Deep front riser, build up some speed and just let go. Use it to bleed off some energy. Note the difference between this and letting the trim up smoothly.

Whipping: whipping the tail. Pull down the toggles as fast and as hard as you can, and let them right back up. Has the same effect as the Snap. Also good in combination with the Snap to augment the effect.

Sashay: Basically a left right turn combination. Mostly used to move back and down. Can be performed in many different ways, using a combination of rear riser, toggle and front riser. For example, one often used in rotation is first toggle to move a little up, aft and out, then deep frontriser to move back in, down and forward. One that is often used to dock a diamond is (I'm not saying this is the best way to do it, on the contrary...) while hanging besides a formation. Medium frontriser to get behind and below with some extra speed, then toggle or rear riser to turn back onto heading and float back up. One you can use to move back and up is gentle weaving with rear riser. One for getting down without getting to tired is using more prolonged toggle turns. If you find yourself doing short Sashays consider using Warp in stead.

While we're at it, see if the newbie can reach up and pull a B-line, to make a B-line turn. Always nice to experiment with and be aware of. Note the effectiveness. Little flatter, less onset rate, but much less tiring than a front riser turn.

Enjoy!

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Everything you know is wrong. But some of it is a useful first approximation.