How much weight to wear ?

[kevinwhelan 0]

Hi I need a bit of advice on weights
I fall very slow, average about 105 mph even when trying to go fast my max speed in an arch so far is 121 mph. I have decided to try weights. There is no one at my small DZ who can give any advice so hopefully I can get some here.
I would like to average about 120 mph, about a 14% increase in speed, dose this mean I need a 14% increase in weight? I have an exit weight of 175 lbs. 25lbs seems a lot of weight. Or dose it not work like that?

"be honest with yourself. Why do I want to go smaller? It is not going to make my penis longer." ~Brian Germain, on downsizing

[hobbes4star 0]

I would try 5lbs and work up from there. i fall about 109 to 112 (according to neptune). i wear 7lbs and it works perfect for me. you don't want to start with to much. don't forget that added weight affects canopy flight to.

if fun were easy it wouldn't be worth having, right?

[dragonfyr 0]

First of all, do you have a jumpsuit that is designed specifically for you based on your size and weight? An exit weight of 175 is not light by any stretch, so I can't believe you would have trouble falling at a regular rate unless something else is at play (e.g. you are very very tall (bean pole effect of large surface area), or you have a baggy suit). If not, that would be your first place to start. Properly designed and fitted jumpsuits make a HUGE difference.

Second, have you done any coach jumps or jumps with video to get some feedback? Many people think they are arching when in fact the are flat as a board. Having video of your dives or someone jump with you to look at your form can identify other areas where your body position could improve.

Third, if you start to play with weight, start in small increments and slowly build up after experiments. Most people find small amounts of added weight make huge differences. I have seldom seen anyone jump with more than 10-15 pounds of weight unless in the base doing a very large formation (i.e. 100+ way).

Lastly, keep your safety in mind. Adding weight will affect your canopy wing loading and performance. Be prepared for that and be very cautious on approaches until you get used to flying the canopy with more weight under it.

Hope this helps.

Don

[kevinwhelan 0]

Thanks for your reply
first my suit is very tight fitting so I dont think thats the problem.
I havent have had any formal coaching jumps but the guys I jump with say my arch isnt too bad, I know it could be improved but it's not totaly flat
I suppose as the last poster said start with 5 lbs and see how it goes.
My wing loading is very low so I am happy to add weight on that score, I jump a pd 190 f111 canopy, a little extra weight would actualy help me under canopy

"be honest with yourself. Why do I want to go smaller? It is not going to make my penis longer." ~Brian Germain, on downsizing

[TheMannequin 0]

My exit weight is also just over 170 lbs. and when I first started with formation, my avg was also in the 105 -110mph range (according to Neptune).

After some jumps with about 20lbs of weight, i started to need less and less.... I just learned to fall faster, and alot of people have told me they started the same... you will get more range eventually.

Good luck

Blue skies!

[headoverheels 333]

I had a suit that was too tight down the front. It was a bootie suit, and it kept me from fully arching.

Increasing your fall rate by 14% would require more like 29% more weight, so you aren't going to solve it that way.

How tall are you? I am 5'10, with a similar exit weight. I usually wear 8 pounds or so. Optimal on 4-way would be more like 12 pounds, but that starts getting uncomfortable. I've seen small women carrying considerably more, but its a task.

[kevinwhelan 0]

I know it must be my arch that is the real problem. I am only 5' 7" and weigh about 150 lbs without my gear.
I jump at a small single cesna 182 DZ in Ireland's very bad weather. So we don't get to do a lot of jumps to work on problems like this. When I jump with someone they usually fall away too soon to be able to tell me exactly what is wrong.
I was hoping that weights would keep me with them long enough to get some good advice on what I am doing wrong.
Or is it a bad Idea to become dependent on weights?

"be honest with yourself. Why do I want to go smaller? It is not going to make my penis longer." ~Brian Germain, on downsizing

[kallend 2,026]

Quote

I know it must be my arch that is the real problem. I am only 5' 7" and weigh about 150 lbs without my gear.
I jump at a small single cesna 182 DZ in Ireland's very bad weather. So we don't get to do a lot of jumps to work on problems like this. When I jump with someone they usually fall away too soon to be able to tell me exactly what is wrong.
I was hoping that weights would keep me with them long enough to get some good advice on what I am doing wrong.
Or is it a bad Idea to become dependent on weights?

Well, it's still hard to say, but your stats. suggest you may have a body position problem.

As for being "dependent", well, somehow people of different builds need to be able to adjust to each others' fall rates, and weights are one way of doing that. I usually wear 8 - 9 pounds for RW.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.