Is belly flying still viable?

[Airviking 0]

Getting back in the scene after 22 years (2 jumps last month) is like taking a ride in a time machine. I'm trying to get my head around where skydiving is nowadays.

The local airport has a "drop zone". I use quotes because I never considered it to be anything but a tandem ride factory. But they advertized a boogy this past Saturday, so I figured what better time to see what they are about.

There was pretty good activity there. I asked the manifest girl if there was a regular group of belly fliers at the DZ. She said something like,"Well you can always go out with some green A-license folks. Belly flying is all they do, because it's all they know."

She really gave me the impression that belly flying is just a stepping stone on the way to free flying, which is where everybody ultimately wants to be.

So, what I got from the exchange is:

a) There are no, or very few experienced "fun jumpers" who engage primarily in belly flying nowadays.
-or-
b) The chick is talking out of her *ss.
-or-
c) She is speaking specifically about the culture at that particular DZ.

What's the deal here? Belly flying is what I know and love, and I haven't yet gotten my head around the free flying thing. I want to know what kind of difficulties I'm going to have come spring when I get active.

Any thoughts?

I believe you have my stapler.

[jumpwally 0]

I'd say its that DZ,,,belly is by no means even close to dead.....

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[wmw999 2,461]

What he said. Plenty of belly flyers down my neck of the woods. And, frankly, it could even be that it's just that particular employee. You could always make a post saying "wanting to do RW at The Ranch" and see how many answers you get

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[JALUV2 0]

I would say a combination of both B. And C.
Go out, meet some people and do what you love, I am sure you will meet some great people that will help you out and get you back into the groove!

Blue skies and happy flying (at least on your belly anyway,LOL) JK

[Airviking 0]

Thanks! That's encouraging.
Cuz I wanna fly like Peter Pan, NOT like Tinkerbell. (At least not yet...)

I believe you have my stapler.

[Hvance 0]

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Thanks! That's encouraging.
Cuz I wanna fly like Peter Pan, NOT like Tinkerbell. (At least not yet...)

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Belly flying is alive and well!

At the 2010 USPA National championships there were 93 teams competing in the various belly flying events, and there were 22 teams competing in the various freeflying events (VFS, Freeflying & freestyle).

The manifest girl is stunningly clueless.

Here is a relevant joke:

Q: What is the difference between a skydiving whore and a skydiving slut?
A: A skydiving whore will only jump with those who pay him/her. A skydiving slut will jump with anyone!

Being a skydiving slut is a good thing!

Come visit Skydive Dallas and the belly flyers will keep you VERY busy!!!!!!!

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[Airviking 0]

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...A skydiving slut will jump with anyone!

Being a skydiving slut is a good thing!

Come visit Skydive Dallas and the belly flyers will keep you VERY busy!!!!!!!

Well, it's official then: I'm a slut! (It's a little disturbing how naturally those words roll off my tongue...)

I believe you have my stapler.

[skymama 37]

Geez, you could throw a rock and hit a belly flyer at my dz (DeLand). Throw 2 rocks and you'll hit a POPS member.

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

[theonlyski 8]

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Geez, you could throw a rock and hit a belly flyer at my dz (DeLand). Throw 2 rocks and you'll hit a POPS member.

Just make sure they're small rocks... don't wanna knock the old timers out.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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a) There are no, or very few experienced "fun jumpers" who engage primarily in belly flying nowadays.

No.

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or very few experienced "fun jumpers" who engage primarily in belly flying nowadays.

There are more flat RW teams than you can shake a stick at. There are fewer just-for-fun flat fliers but you should still be able to make 4-8 way jumps. And the fun jumpers might be Parachutists Over Phorty.

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c) She is speaking specifically about the culture at that particular DZ.

Mostly.

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What's the deal here? Belly flying is what I know and love, and I haven't yet gotten my head around the free flying thing. I want to know what kind of difficulties I'm going to have come spring when I get active.

It used to be that apart from a few style and accuracy guys everybody did flat Rw. Then freak flying begat sit flying which begat freefly and lots of people were doing that because it was cool and fewer people got all stressed out like competitive flat RW people. As the century dawned we got wing suits, which anyone can fly (no one on my first successful 4-way freefly formation had fewer than 500 junps) and give you minutes of freefall.

So the same number of skdyivers (USPA has been about 30,000 people forever) are split across variants of 3 major disciplines.

[rehmwa 2]

I wouldn't worry about some ignorant and one dimensional girl at some DZ. She probably only does one discipline and sucks at it.

But I would recommend you consider learning a bit of freeflying. Most of my jumping is 4-way and 8-way belly, but I love to freefly too. (and other disciplines in the sport)

A multi-discipline skydiver just has more options and has more fun. It's all just pushing air around anyway. One discipline wonders just tend to be annoying and close minded about the sport anyway. It doesn't matter which discipline.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[TiaDanger 0]

I only do RW now, and I love love love it! I really want to excel (or should I say improve) at RW before I start freeflying.
It kinda makes me sad that many friends around my age (young-ish) go strait to freeflying or wingsuiting because it's 'cooler'.

And for the record: the appropriate ranking of cool modes of transportation is jet pack, hover board, transporter, Batmobile, and THEN giant ant.
D.S. #8.8

[heavydude 0]

Perris Valley which probably is one of the more active DZs in the US has a huge RW scene. Those big ways look scary to me !

[kallend 2,032]

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Geez, you could throw a rock and hit a belly flyer at my dz (DeLand). Throw 2 rocks and you'll hit a POPS member.

I'll be there in 16 days for the POPS record.

...

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

[SStewart 13]

I am C-16486 and I am still here

It is still RW in my book, I use my whole body not just my "Belly"

"Belly" is meant to be an insult by asshat punks

Fuck you asshat punks!

Onward and Upward!

[skymama 37]

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I'll be there in 16 days for the POPS record.

I promise I won't throw a rock at you.

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

[VanillaSkyGirl 6]

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What's the deal here? Belly flying is what I know and love, and I haven't yet gotten my head around the free flying thing. I want to know what kind of difficulties I'm going to have come spring when I get active.

Any thoughts?

It doesn't matter what everyone else does. If you love to fly on your belly, then do it! I learned how to freefly in the tunnel, but I really love and prefer to spend my jump money on exceptional belly flying because I enjoy it so much. I just returned yesterday from flying at the 2 point 200-way event in Eloy, Arizona with some of the best RW belly flyers in the world, and let me tell you that "belly flying" is alive and well!

In all honesty, as someone else had mentioned, many of the RW or belly flyers, whom I know on the west side (Perris or Eloy), are quite goal oriented. They are often either on teams or record bigway attempts. Therefore, it sometimes seems that free flyers are more often the jumpers who do "fun jumps". Of course, there are also goal-oriented freeflyers on VRW teams and bigway attempts, as well. They have a similar mindset as the belly goal-oriented flyers; only their flying discipline/orientation is different.
Personally, I would recommend that you get a little coaching to get back into the swing of things on your belly. I've heard that belly flying has changed a bit over the years, but you will not know how it's changed (mantis, leg turns, fast recoveries, soft docks, tracking techniques, latest in bigway skills/terminology, etc.), until you spend a little time with a coach or skilled friend, who can help you to improve/update your skills.

Plus, there are DZs out there, which encourage newer jumpers or jumpers looking to update their RW (belly) progression with free "skill-building camps", such as SD Elsinore's Excel Camp run by Melanie Curtis and friends. I've seen Facebook updates from other DZs with similar events for jumpers, as well. This may seem incredibly silly, but joining Facebook might be a way to find other jumpers with whom to fly with at your DZ. It seems like many jumpers and many top organizers update jumpers on events, etc. in this way.

I hope to jump with you, someday, and welcome back into the sky!

[ChrisL 2]

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Any thoughts?

Yep. Belly flying is far from dead :)

__

My mighty steed

[Butters 0]

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A multi-discipline skydiver just has more options and has more fun. It's all just pushing air around anyway. One discipline wonders just tend to be annoying and close minded about the sport anyway. It doesn't matter which discipline.

Wow, that's a very close minded statement about one discipline wonders ... I agree though, one discipline wonders are annoying and don't have as much fun.

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[Butters 0]

Belly flying is more alive than free flying at my dropzone.

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[Airviking 0]

I just caught myself spinning out of control: "Is anyone gonna want to jump with me? Are the people who I jump with gonna be good enough? Will I be good enough? Maybe I need to buy some tunnel time? Yadda yadda..." This is how my mind is going.

I'm breaking my #1 skydiving rule: HAVE FUN! Because that's what it's all about.

Cheers!

I believe you have my stapler.

[rehmwa 2]

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Wow, that's a very close minded statement about one discipline wonders ... I agree though, one discipline wonders are annoying and don't have as much fun.

nonsense, you're annoying for other reasons than the number of jumpsuit flavors you own.....no matter how bright and cheerily colored they are

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[pinkfairy 0]

Belly flying is still alive and kicking!

It just depends on where you are and if there's an organizer at your DZ. It's more popular some places, less other places.

And one thing hasn't changed: you have to make an effort to find people to jump with, it doesn't just happen by itself. I changed my home DZ to find a place where there were more belly jumpers. I got coaching and tunnel time to build skills so I could be on formations.

So belly flying is still popular, now go make some jumps.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[erdnarob 1]

Belly Flying has some basic requirements (B license, having some experience with a safe approach, being able to dock horizontally with no momentum, being able to track properly...etc). In other words, some discipline ! A lot of new jumpers do not want to follow that process and believe wrongly they can be good faster by doing freeflying. The best freeflyers in the world are positive : Get good in belly flying first then join the freeflying.

Now, the DZO has a very important role to play. This is by showing the example or making sure to promote such and such discipline like belly flying for instance. But often, they are too busy making money with tandem. If a DZO hired load organizers for belly flying, you can be sure the word will be spread and FS will become healthy at this DZ.
There is also big organized boogies like the Summerfest at Skydive Chicago or at a smaller scale Skydive New England where there is load organizers for FS. If you are over 40 there is the POPS society and the SOS for 60 years old or more. Those two organizations are dedicated primarily on FS or belly flying. I am myself in the same situation and travel to fulfill my needs. This the best opportunity for me to meet a lot of different and interesting people.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.