I am a floater

[pccoder 0]

I always have trouble staying down with the group on an RW jump. I have to arch like hell just to stay with them. Also, I am not very flexible and have always tended to have my legs closer together than most jumpers who have them spread out more. I really don't want to wear additional weight to speed up, i just wish I would fall faster (or they would fall slower) I am 5'11 and weigh only 160, so what do I do? I guess I could start eating more

PcCoder.net

[catfishhunter 2]

Tighter jump suit? Get with a coach and learn better body position? I am 250ish out the door and I can fly with just about anyone now.

I had Bev Suits make me a suit for RW that has helped tremendously. If they can make one that slows my fat ass down I am sure they make one to speed your slow ass up.

Learning to fly your body is still going to be the best for you. Get a with a coach, it will be cheaper then eating in the long run

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[Staso 0]

go to gym, lift some weights and take some heavy weight gainers. you'll be stronger, bigger, look better and you will fall faster. problem solved :)

stan

--
it's not about defying gravity; it's how hard you can abuse it. speed skydiving it is ...
Speed Skydiving Forum

[brits17 0]

If you have to concentrate on arching like hell to even stay with your group, unfortunately your flying will be hindered. Tighter jumpsuit (don't know what you have now) and coaching techniques will help, but more than likely you will have to put on weights at one point or another. I don't know many stick figures that can fall with the heavier Joe's very easily. I obviously wear weight on 95% of RW jumps (I'm a wee 105 lbs). It sure beats bending in half with my hands behind my rig just to stay with the group.

Do you have a Pro-track? Whats your average fall rate?

_______________________
aerialkinetics.com

[pccoder 0]

No, I don't have a Pro Track but plan to purchase one soon.

The working out thing might not work either. I eat alot of food which should cause a normal person to gain weight (lots of carbs). I do work out, not at a gym (at home) but still work out enough to stay in shape. I am tone, just real thin, always have been.

I think the tight jumpsuit might be very helpful. I mostly do a lot of freeflying, so I can certainly count on falling slower than RW folks in my freefly suit. I have tried using the dropzones RW suits, but they of course are not designed to fit me perfectly. Must get one of these soon too. Any suggestions for RW suit? I want a nice one, and don't want to wait for months to get it.

PcCoder.net

[kellysalt77 0]

at least the first 50 times i tried any group dives, they turned into solos with me being above watching everyone else get together-- so i know exactly how you feel. i used to hard arch constantly-- sometimes it worked, sometimes not. but when i'd do this for 4 or 5 jumps a day my body was always sore the next day, so i knew i needed to try other things. let me first say, i'm not a coach or even close to being one-- i'll just tell you what's helped me. i always tried to get to everyone elses level first and then tried the forward motion over to them(closing vertical gap first, then closing horizontal gap). i was later told to close the horizontal gap first and then the vertical (go into a track right out the door and once i'm above the group, drop down to them)-- that's worked great for me. and the way i was now told to increase my fall rate is tuck my arms in front of my chest while touching my heels to my ass. i was a little unstable the first few times i tried but now it works great for me.

[freeflybella 0]

I too, am a small person who has had difficulties with floating.

A tight(er) jumpsuit - also in nylon vs. cotton helps. I got a 'pit special' from Tonysuits that was great. It fit tight without being restrictive, and the nylon sliced through the air as opposed to cotton, which grabs.

As Brit17 said, having to bend in half not only hurts but also hinders your performance. If you're already at the edge of your flying range - you have no flexibility. Weights may be necessary. Sure, they suck in the plane - so does a nylon jumpsuit on hot days but if you're looking for maximum freefall performance, you might have to suck it up!

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[headoverheels 333]

Weights are the answer. Get a belt, not a vest. You will be amazed how much difference 6 or 8 pounds will make. Start with that, then tune from there. Borrow a weight belt from someone for a few jumps to try out.

This assumes that you already have a tight fitting jumpsuit. If it has booties, make sure that the total length along the front of the suit (neck, down chest, down front of legs to toes) is not restricting your ability to arch. If so, fixing that with weights will center your fall rate, but you will have less range.

[bmcd308 0]

>>i was later told to close the horizontal gap first and then the vertical (go into a track right out the door and once i'm above the group, drop down to them)-- that's worked great for me. <<

Be very careful with this - if someone in the group has a premature, you are in danger of causing a double fatality. Try to stairstep down, closing the vertical and horizontal together toward a target six feet or so outside the formation. Once you are on level, dock on the formation. A formation can absorb a hard dock on level a whole lot better than it can absorb a hard dock from above.

----------------------------------
www.jumpelvis.com

[kellysalt77 0]

when coming in to a formation from above, i'm always sure to flare out of my tuck early so i don't slam into the formation. but i see what you mean about trying to avoid coming in from directly above at all. thanks so much for the advice. premature deployment is something i don't take in to consideration enough. next time i'll try flaring out of my track a little sooner than usual, then drop down to the same level, and then if i still need to i'll forward motion to the group. hopefully after doing that several times it will become 1 smooth step instead of 3 separate ones.

[velvetjo 0]

Kelly, let me know if you want to practice this sometime, sounds like a good workout for both of us. I'm planning to be at the DZ this weekend - hopefully see ya there.

To everybody who's trying to speed up, thanks from a fast faller. It's nice to know you're making an effort too!

Lance

[kellysalt77 0]

hey lance!

i will be there this weekend and i definitely want to practice more. i'm looking forward to it

[pccoder 0]

Quote

hey lance!

i will be there this weekend and i definitely want to practice more. i'm looking forward to it

ok, well you all have fun

PcCoder.net

[dgskydive 0]

Stadium pictures when docking on big ways. You will get cut from most good loads if you don't do that.

It is safer and helps others to know where they should be as well. If you get right over the top and drop straight dwon you may cut off someone heading for there slot. They won't be looking up, they will be looking down and won't see you. They can get right under you and take both of you out. You should be level with it and the last 4 or 5 feet should be a straight in level approach.

IF you ever attend one of the big way camps they will teach this to you along with how to find your quadrant and how to come in on a radial. This reduces traffic and makes for a smooth build for the formation.

Dom

[dgskydive 0]

Must use weights! I know it sucks, but by arching as hard as you can you will not be able to fly like you want and as soon as you try and take grips you will float and stand a good chance of taking out the whole formation.

You have to find a comfortable body position that allows for you to fall at the middle of your fall rate. This requires the right mix of body position, jump suit and weights for most people.

Or the easy thing is to eat and lay around till you get nice and fat.

I am 185 lbs and 6 ft 1in. and sometimes I have to wear weights when in the base of a big way. Helps keep the fall rate up for the outside people as they get on. See what the fall rates are from you bigways you have tried. If you have a lot of people wearing baggy suits and botties in the base it will not fall that fast and you will get hosed.

That is one of the things to look for in the dirt dive.

What is everyone in the base wearing? If you see big baggy jumpsuits then youknow the thing is gonna be slow. If everyone is wearing tight suits and no booties it shoudl fall a bit faster. In a big way the whole group needs to be thinking about there neighbor. Everyone needs to wrok together to make sure that the fall rate works for everybody.

Dom

[JYorkster 0]

I'm gonna break from the herd a little here on my answer and say there is no reason you should need weights. I'm 5'11 165 and never have a problem falling too slow. If you are using your freefly suit to jump RW, then that is your problem. Get a jumpsuit that fits, and learn how to fly with it. The right jumpsuit will definitely give you the range you are looking for. We're about the same size, and I sometimes worry about going low...never can I not go fast enough (unless it's a tumbling student I'm chasing).

Don't get me wrong...weights have their place. Larger jumpers seem to always expect smaller ones to wear weights. I just don't think they're required in your case.

just my 2 cents,
Rock

[kellysalt77 0]

hey-- i did reply to you first before i highjacked the thread (actually lance did) although my words of wisdom turned out to be not too wise. but i do stand by the fall rate adjustment technique i was taught. you may want to do a solo jump and just practice tucking your arms while bending your legs, then flare out of it, then tuck your arms and bend your legs, then flare out of it, etc. etc. as often as your altitude will allow. you can even the hear the wind sound change each time as your speed increases and then again when it decreases-- it's pretty cool!

[skybill 22]

Hi PC,
At 5'11" and 160# with your rig add 20 or so #'s you should do ok. At 99 jumps you are just getting into the swing of things so onward and upward. One thing that will definitely help is a slick tight suit. Try a leap in a spandex workout suit and you'll probably leave a contrail!!! Also, people always talk about arching hard to go faster or some other hard, tight, tuck or whatever. Try just the opposite, go limp, like a wet dish rag!! Get flat on the air and
R-E-L-A-X!!!! Let the air hold your arms and legs like wet spaghetti!! You want to move? Just push in the direction you want to go!! There's no hard and fast rules here, just some ideas to work with. Hope it helps.

SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

[dippymoo 0]

Your neutral body position needs to be right in the middle of your rnidde of your fall rate range, so that you are not having to overexert yourself to stay with the gourp then as you dock on different formations thay have inherently slower or faster fallrates (ie a compressed accordian invitable floats, a cat tends to sink) you will not have a problem making the adjustment to stay with the group. I don't like to recommend peopla wear weights that are not comfortable with them. Its actually one of my pet peeves to see small girls stacking on the lead cos their buddy (who 200" said they need it) and then flying a bad body position to compensate for it. But at the same time its sometimes necessary. I weigh 120 but can pretty much hang with anyone from the 95 pound students who like to fly flat to the 224.5 pound students who arch with judicious application of weight. Don't get me wrong i can still get caught out every jump is a learning expereince but i try and begin the jump as prepared as possible wearing what i think will be the relavant amount of weight to put me in the middle of my range to hang with this particular person
hope this helps! remember lead can be your friend!


would also recommend you strech before you jump so you can arch better and wear a correctly fitting suit

[DancingFlame 0]

Try jumping with lighter people. Jumping with little cute gurls might help
Seriously, wear some weight. It's not bad! When I had ~70 jumps I had the same problem (falling to slow). I've got a tighter RW suit but that didn't help. I started to wear weights... during my jumps with weights (~20-25) I got used to the relaxation during the jump and when I put the weight out I felt I could fly without weight as well! And I did!
Weight will let you to fall relaxed (without hard arching that actually may not help you because you have all your muscles hard).

[pccoder 0]

Thank you all for your advice. It is greatly appreciated. I look forward to my next trip to the DZ where I can practice all these new tips. Thanks again.

PcCoder.net