Falling too fast

[beej 0]

lmaoooooooo..

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If the shit fits - wear it (blues brothers)--

[jkotch 0]

I'm looking for bigger guys to jump with. At 6'6" and an exit weight of 295 lbs., I spend alot of time looking up at my fellow jumpers. Yes, I have the big clownsuit to wear.
So if you are going to be at Skydive Chicago this summer please let me know.

jkotch@yahoo.com

[sdgregory 0]

I am in a similar boat but I am no where near that lean. I am 5' 7.75" tall and weigh 210 pounds. During my AFF all my instructors wore weight belts, flew the mantis position and those with protracks had registered speeds between 154 and 146 MPH.

I have been told by all of them that I fall extremely fast. And no matter how hard I try to de-arch I slow very slightly and become very unstable.

I have three jumps with my buddy now who is 160 lbs and 6'2" and needless to say we have yet to dock because of the extreme differences in our fall rate.

Our 3rd jump together however was by far the best. He was able to increase his rate by flying mantis while I de-arched and we stayed farely level for the first time but were still unable to dock. His suit is so tight there is no slack and mine is a thick material with some lining and 4 in. wings as well as baggy as hell.

From everything I have been told, those of us who fly fast will set the pace more often than not. Realistically we can only slow our rate down so much and maintain stability. Those who fall slower will unfortunately need to wear weight belts and fall faster because it is easier to speed up than it is to slow down.

At least this is what I have been told. Anyone got any counter arguments I am open to suggestions because I am worried no one will jump with me if I cannot slow down either.

[atsaubrey 0]

I'm hoping some of the big boys will be at the mardi gras boogie next month. I'll be there looking to jump with people. (if i can get 13 more jumps in for my A)

"GOT LEAD?"

[Kris 0]

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I'm hoping some of the big boys will be at the mardi gras boogie next month. I'll be there looking to jump with people. (if i can get 13 more jumps in for my A)

5'8", 265 out the door. I'll be there.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[Blahr 0]

Following the advice of some folks in this thread I did a coached jump today to address that end of things too. It was very eye opening.
Before we left the ground he had me lie down on my belly and show him my "idea" of how to slow down and speed up. Turns out I was doing several things wrong and he gave me instruction on better body position.

We then went on up to 13k and did a 2 way where he flew base and I sat in front of him and we worked on slowing down and speeding up over and over till pull time.

The end result is that I did far better with the tips he gave me and was able to maintain control even while going as slowly as I could (which was still fairly fast )

I have a new jumpsuit on the way to help me slow down more. Between the jumpsuit and the coaching I
think I have it licked. Still need more practice, of course, but I'm feeling a LOT better and more confident after today.

The coaching was a great idea.

[Blahr 0]

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And no matter how hard I try to de-arch I slow very slightly and become very unstable.

The great stuff I learned today involved more of arms and legs. I flew fairly flat but not as flat as I had been
doing before. Using my arms and legs to slow down while still keeping a bit of an arch kept me stable and in control
unlike before where I was like a piece of plywood flapping and flopping around without any real control.

I never would have figured this stuff out without the coaching.

The way I look at it, if AggieDave weighs 285 lbs out the door and he can do 115 mph then so can I

[skydive4u2 0]

I will be at the Mardi Gras boogie. I will jump with you. 6ft 270lb. Fast Eddie

Let's have some FUN !!!

[benny 0]

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I will be at the Mardi Gras boogie. I will jump with you. 6ft 270lb. Fast Eddie

Is this Fast Eddie from ASC? If so I did my level II with you last Saturday! Hope ya have fun at Mardi Gras. My brother's in New Orleans, I've tried to get him jumping but he's a chicken. Oh well... Thanks for jumping with me if I've got the right fast Eddie!

Ben

Never go to a DZ strip show.

[sdgregory 0]

Guess I know what my next coaching jumps are going to be on. My new suit is a BevSuit. Can I get those shin pockets you got added on, Dave, or would I have to order a new suit?


PS You really fall at 115? Damn. I wanna do that.

[AggieDave 6]

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Can I get those shin pockets you got added on, Dave, or would I have to order a new suit?


PS You really fall at 115? Damn. I wanna do that.

You'd have to call them to ask about adding those. I couldn't answer that.

As for 115mph, well, I don't know if you personally can or not, but on the last RW dive I was on (a 3-way with a lowtimer) I averaged 115 the entire dive, max was something like 145mph when I dove the door, but the top half of the dive average was something like 117, overall was 115 and low end was 110, but that includes the track.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[chuckbrown 0]

Start checking out the CRW forum Seriously, though, I'm in the same boat as you & got very tired of everbody playing "chase the Chuck." RW's fun, but if you want to try CRW come over to Maytown (13 miles W of Lancaster, PA) & I'll put my Triathlon 175 on you & show you the Dark Side. Or ask Kruse take you up for a CRW jump; they don't come much more talented than him.

[Scrumpot 1]

Anybody remember "Big Pat"? ...Now there was a guy who weighed in at gotta be @ 300lb, yet he could jump with ANYBODY ...Even the lightest weight of girlie-girls, when I would instead be struggling to get back up to them! Bless his soul, he is no longer with us (BSBD Pat), but there's gotta be technique to keeping "up" with the slower fallers when you are that big of a guy. ...I've seen it. Figure it out. It CAN be done!

Blue Skies,
-Grant

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[Blahr 0]

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Or ask Kruse take you up for a CRW jump; they don't come much more talented than him.

Mark Kruse is the man for sure. He was the guy that did my coaching jump with me yesterday. VERY educational.

I'm not quite ready for CRW yet and I dont think I'm ready for a 1.4 wing loading either

[Stacy 0]

Actually, Kruse would probably take you on a CRW jump. He took me on my first one when I had around 50 jumps. He used a different rig to match my wing loading. I Believe my first one was on my old falcon, and I did a few more with my spectre.

Kruse is awesome. during the mild winter and early spring where it tends to be a bit cloudy, lots of H&Ps going on- that's the perfect time to ask him. Tell him florida stacy says hi.

__

[happythoughts 0]

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Anybody remember "Big Pat"?

I jumped with him on his last trip to WFFC. We also played with some of his toys. Put 6 4-inch tubes on a board and pulled it out to a field next to the swoop pond.
Pats suit (see post 16 of this thread) had a lot of wing and a panel. Our last jump was a rotating spider.

A good cook and part of the original 6-slot Muff compound.

[skydive4u2 0]

Yes, Ben. This is the Fast Eddie from ASC. Enjoyed doing the AFF with you. You did good!!!!

Let's have some FUN !!!

[Scrumpot 1]

Ahhh.... the Big Pat and Pyrotechnics memories!
Yes, indeed, one could go into an entirely different/new thread's worth there in that regard, for sure.

Thank you for having shared that with me Bill.

Thread "hijacking" mode now again [off]

Blue Skies,
-Grant

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[Blahr 0]

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I'm not real sure how much they help with general fall rate, but I know they help a lot if I get low and am trying to get back up. Since in my normal body position they don't really catch that much air, but if I have my legs out trying to pop up, they catch. They're pretty cool when tracking too.

Beyond that the suit is double lines on the torso, baggy arms, the right kind of material (slow, can't remember the actual material) and such.

Besides that, the biggest thing that really helped me was getting some good coaching.

Good luck and keep us informed of what you do and how it works.

OK followed both of your recommendations.
I got some coaching and my new RW suit arrived today

Need a few folks out at Cross Keys tomorrow so they will send up a few loads. I'll be out there HOPING to try out my new suit!!