Skill building solo dives

[Pammi 0]

Well, now that I'm officially off student status I'm trying to build my skills more by doing solo dives and practicing different things. I have a lot of ideas that I've gotten from others', but would love to hear more too. What are some things you know of that you can try as a pretty new skydiver that will be fun AND teach you? Are there some really cool exits you can do from a C-182 (by yourself of course) that I can try as a newbie? (nothing too crazy just yet!)
One of the things that Merrick tried yesterday that he got a kick out of and I think I will try next is doing a track, then front flip in the middle of it, then back into a track. Sounds fun and skill building! I spent my time trying to find/catch him which was cool in itself because I haven't had enough freefall time yet to be bored with checking out my surroundings and getting used to finding others' in the air. I've always gone alone or exited in grips with a coach so he was right there in front of me...not too hard to find. :)
Pammi
"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live."
http://trak.to/skydivechick

[Shark 0]

Pammi,
If you can jump with others, do more 2 ways. Work on forward pressure (avoid backsliding), fall rate, and center point turns. It's best to do this with a point of reference (another skydiver), rather than a solo skydive. Other than that, have you done many linked exits?

[jake69 0]

Now its time to get vertical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A really cool exit on a 182 is to hang from the strut backwards, look at the wing, let go and go into a backtrack into the relative wind. If you do it right, you will actually stay with the plane for a few seconds and watching it fall away, (well, you are doing the falling!)but try to trip your mind out into thinking the plane is falling, not you. Then you just do a barrel roll and WOW, ground. It's alot of fun and it builds you backtracking and barrel roll skills, both are helpful on skydiving. I incorporate barrel rolls almost every time I track away from a formation just to check the air above. Hope this helps!!
Blue Skies and Fly Free..............Jake

[mattb 0]

Pammi,
I enjoy the relaxation of a solo dive and not having to plan anything but for skill building it helps to have another person as a point of reference. It's really hard to tell if you are backsliding, etc. if you are the only one around. That being said get goofy - I rather unsuccessfully tried to do jumping jacks on one dive.
-mob

[Greg 0]

Hey Pammi, firstly, congrats on achieving solo status, thats great. If you feel anywhere near as good as I did when I got there, you must be on top of the world right now!!
Solos can be a bit more intimidating, as you no longer have the "security blanket" that was your JM. A big part of the skills you will need are the ability to let/make yourself RELAX. I found that keeping a good, happy tune in my head helped to relax me on my first few solos jumps as well as (this may sound silly) breathing. Breathing before exit, and during freefall is an extremely helpful skill/habbit to work on. Keeping in mind, you will not have a JM to concentrate on during freefall, IMO the following things will be good to work on:
I would certainly work on any "issues" your JM may have indicated that may need improvement (I had to work on leg position, I had a bit of work to do because I tended to backslide). Not having specific tasks to work on frees your mind up to notice different sensations in freefall. I payed special attention to how the wind feels on my legs when I felt they were in the correct position.
Next, I would concentrate on skills you will need to begin jumping with others, such as stable exits, heading awareness, line of flight awareness, and a good hard stable boxman. These things can be easily "lost" without your JM flying relative with you.
Solo exits can be the most fun. Typically, at least at my dz, solos get to exit last (before tandems and AFF students), and this gives you a little "room" to practice things in freefall. I found that working on breakoff (turn 90 and track) was a good skill to work on, as well as "recovery" from unstable body positions (barrel rolls, hard arches).
I found that I never really took a good hard look at the ground in freefall during student status (usually concentrated on my alti and JM) but try to locate the landing area (keeping an eye on your alti), paying special attention to how the ground looks at different altitudes.
Practice finding your handles in freefall.
Short of that, dont forget to have FUN!!!
Sorry for the long post.
Greg A-37958

[Dutchboy 0]

Congrats, Pammi!
I would try to do some 2-ways if you can. If not, then working on flips can be fun, tracking is also fun. You can work on turns somewhat without another person, but it really helps to have somebody else there (hopefully more experienced) to use as a reference.
A real challenge is to dive out after another new jumper and try to link up. Then do some really simply turns or something. You might not even hook up on a couple jumps, but it is fun and educational to try.
I've seen guys with 13 jumps doing solo sitflying. Personally, I felt more comfortable trying that after I had my license and was confident in my belly flying.

[denaga 0]

Pammi, start learning FREEFLYING!!!!!
That is the best!!!!!!!

[Keys 0]

Fun Exits: Get out on the strut backwards, close your eyes and let go. Also if you have a cool pilot, do a couple Zero-G exits, but be sure to push hard on exit and spin around so you can see the plane (very cool).
Get a partner and start doing 2 ways. You'll be surprised at how fast you'll improve. I worked with an experienced RW coach then started jumping with people off student status. You develop real quick chasing people around the sky. Freeflying is cool but be careful and remember to flatten out for a while before you pull.

[Merrick 0]

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"doing a track, then front flip in the middle of it, then back into a track."

Yeah, that was a blast, & really helped me to nail my track, I finally felt that 'lift' on my max-track... it was bad-asssss!
"Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!"
Merrick

[skreamer 1]

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Are there some really cool exits you can do from a C-182

Hi Pammi
The backflip cannoball is LOADS of fun, but better suited to a Caravan than a C-182. You squat on the edge of the door facing into the plane with your arms stretched to the side holding the door edges. Then you do a quick in-out count and flip yourself out backwards. As you exit grab your legs behind your knees and keep yourself tucked into a spinning little ball until you reach terminal velocity, then just arch out of it. It is loads of fun. For an even bigger rush, do this with your eyes shut for about 10 seconds. V. scary but lots of fun./s

[Pammi 0]

Some great ideas guys! Thanks! I like the idea of the flip...flips are fun :) Hopefully I won't be sick from it..hehe.
I hope to be doing more RW soon, but as it stands, my coach wanted me to get some practice on turning, tracking, whatever, by doing solos and only doing RW with someone C-licensed or better. A commodity at our DZ! If they are that good, they usually are JM's or something and are kept busy. Or I will be filling a slot so there won't be room for someone else. That sort of thing. So I'll definately jump at any chance I get to go with someone who meets the qualifications until I get 'let go' to go with other newbies, but want to get as much practice as possible on things I can do alone for those times when I don't have anyone to play with Shouldn't be much longer tho I don't think...I pretty much can go where I want, even if not as quickly or precisely as someone more experienced, and can even track pretty well in a straight line!
Speaking of...someone asked me this weekend (a new AFF student) if I was getting bored now after having gotten 30 jumps...I told him he was outta his friggin mind! I was just starting to have fun!! Finally figured this silly flying thing out and don't look like a goober in the air so much...it's all good times now! Thank heavens this isn't a sport you can get bored with very easily...there's always something new to learn and do! Woohoo!
Pammi
(Oh, and I *do* intend on going to the 'dark side' eventually and trying that too. What can I say, I want to do it all at some time or other to see just what I like best! I definately want to try more CReW too!)
"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live."
http://trak.to/skydivechick

[Pammi 0]

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So I'll definately jump at any chance

Hehe...no pun intended...rofl! Just noticed that!
"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live."
http://trak.to/skydivechick

[lazerq3 0]

Hey pammi,, something I was told to try was to fly with just my legs. Turns, forward movement, backslide, with your legs only keeping your your arms in a normal stable position. One thing my caoch told me was "how do you think all these jumpers can move around with there arms all over the place and still stay stably?" "they all fly with there legs and compensate for any upper body movement". I tried it and man does it feel goofy. Try dipping one knee and then extend the opposite leg at the same time and see what happens. I dont know.. it makes for some interesting flyingjason

[PLFXpert 0]

Hey Pammi,
I'm not saying you should or should not do solo jumps to improve. In my opinion, I don't think jumping solo will help you improve any more than jumping with others. If others can watch you and you have a point of reference then that is always good. Also, when I was learning how to track I jumped with a great tracker and just tried to follow him the whole skydive. He'd go left and then I'd follow and then he'd turn right and I'd follow. We were pretty much side by side and it helped a lot to learn where to put my legs to go faster/slower and how to dip my shoulders to turn left/right and it was easier to judge b/c I had someone as a point of reference who knew what he was doing and would be able to pay attention to where we were above the landing area, ext. That is something very important when tracking, that you know where you are and where to go in reference to the landing area. Also, 2-ways and 4-ways are AWESOME for learning RW b/c there are always jumpers who'd be willing to do just some basic points with you and then progress. When learning freeflying, it is also fun to jump with someone else, possibly a camera-flyer. Don't think you are wasting their time, they LOVE trying to keep up with you and follow you b/c it actually improves their skills as well while you're getting watched by an experienced person who can tell you what you need to improve on and possibly even have a video for you so you can see what you need to do as well.
All of this is in my opinion and I'm not a very experienced skydiver yet so I'm sure some will be all for solo dives and not agree with me but as someone nearer to your level, I can say that all of the above helped me get much better in fewer jumps so it is the best advice I can give. I am also very spoiled by my boyfriend who video's my every jump and teaches me freeflying and at my former home DZ, Skydive Daytona, there were also a billion RW'ers who were eager to take me on fresh off student status so I must say I am very lucky. Based on all that, the best advice I can give is JUMP WITH OTHERS!!! Also, again, the tunnel rat in me says that the tunnel is a great place to learn RW.
I hope to meet you sometime and would LOVE to jump with you!
Much love and blue skies,
Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

[Iflyme 0]

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A really cool exit on a 182 is to hang from the strut backwards, look at the wing, let go and go into a backtrack into the relative wind

I'll try that one real soon! Thanks, Jake... Pammi, I have a video of an exit I did that was kinda cool - 5 backloops off the step of the C-182. Nothing quite like spinning round and round and round and round and round...

[Kris 0]

Hola Pammi,
Solo's are good for enjoying the view and working on tracking. A fun thing that you can try that will help in the future is learning a good, hard, flat-track and then being able to kick a barrel-roll in the middle of it.
I use it to make sure my airspace is as clear as possible before I flare-out to deploy. If it's not clear then I just change direction or hold my track a bit longer.
Kriszilla

[huffermoose 0]

i.ve seen it done but how do you barrel roll????
cheeeers mooooooooooose

[Pammi 0]

Wow..lots of good ideas! I've heard once before of that 'flying with your legs' thing. That's something I could definately work on for a while before I'd get the hang of it I'm sure!
Kris, the rolling is done by pulling in one side, kinda like the 'roll out of bed' thing you do when you're flailing like a turtle on your back (I've NEVER done that..lol!) right? I'll have to try that!
I tried kinda what you said last weekend Carrie. I got out a little after Merrick and tried finding him so I could chase him down as he tracked. However, we hadn't really thought of how much faster he is then me (more experienced) so I spent the whole time looking and didn't find him 'til he was deploying way out in front of me! Of course, I'm still very conservative with my flying too...it's like "everyone just watch out for me and stay the hell away so I don't hurt you!" LOL! I've only flown with someone that I went out in grips with to start out so I'm still learning to get comfortable with others being in the air with me that aren't actually working with me!
It's all a lot of fun though! Even solos are a thrill for me still...I'm an air whore...anytime you can get me up, I'm there! Hop n' pops, solos, CReW...whatever! Plus I'll get to fly my new canopy soon, which will be whole new set of things to learn! Skydiving's the shit! I've also had a really sweet gal who used to competitive RW offer to take me out for some two-ways when she can. I'm sure she can teach me also!
I hope we do get to jump together someday Carrie! That'd be awesome! And I know we'll be jumping together soon Kris! Thanks for all the help and ideas guys!
Pammi
"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live."
http://trak.to/skydivechick

[Zennie 0]

One of the things I like to do on solos are spinning tracks.
I go into a standard track and then push one leg down & bring the other leg up. Then you corkscrew head down. Pretty cool. I'll have to ask someone what it looks like from the ground sometime!
------------
Blue Skies!
Zennie

[Kris 0]

Huffenmoose, Since I don't use full arm extension in a delta track I just kinda' "throw" myself into a roll by using my upper body and if I want to roll right I try to bring my right arm in as far as possible to my side.
Kris

[huffermoose 0]

cheers dude