freeflying = unlearning rw skills?

[Newbie 0]

ok - wasn't sure which forum should go, so im trying a few....
I want to buy an RW suit so i asked on the local uk.rec site, and mentioned i didn't want anything too fancy because i wanted to learn some basic RW skills to prep me for freefly. I want to get my FS1 basically, before i even think about trying to sit. Now someone replied and said "why waste time learning RW if you want to get into freefly - you will have to unlearn everything that RW/flat flying teaches you"

Is this a valid point - obviously it seems like it, but i have done a fair bit of research and most top free flyers seem to agree its good to have RW skills, at least to FS1 level before you learn ff, just so you have an idea of how you movement affects your relationship with others in the air, which seems like another valid point. What do you guys suggest - RW or not RW? Really, i have no interest in RW at all - i mean, i think doing 10 or 20 jumps of it would be fun, espeically if i had a few mates up there with me, but i have no interest in turning points at all, so im approaching it as "something fun to, but with the emphasis being on acquiring skills that will be useful for what i really want to get into".

ANy advice from people who flat AND ff (or did flat and NOW FF) out there will be really appreciated.
Thanks

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[PhreeZone 20]

I usedto be a die hard Freeflier, then I started playing with my camera on my belly some. Next thing I know I got a camera suit to film with, now I'm on a 4 way team. I had no intrest in "turning points" or any of that before I got down and dirty to the formations then tried RW and filmed them. Now I could care less on what type of jump I'm doing... RW, Freefly, Camera. They are all fun in their own way. I still get grumpy if I don't get to go vertical at least once a weekend, but its a lot of fun to crank out 12 points only to see on the video that with a slight improvement here you can make it 15 on the next jump.

For refrence.. Olav was the super floater on the last 300 way attempts, before that he was a 4 way jumper. You name any of the top Freaks... and they can turn points on their bellies like any other jumper out there.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[geanky 0]

"Freeflying" is being able to fly in different positions and with different body surfaces. Also it is helpful to learn things at slower speeds first then progress into faster speeds. RW will teach you awareness and will help you become enviromentally relaxed during your skydive. You don't necessarily have to become an RW guru and be able to do 25 point 2-ways but it is good to have these skills. Also with the increasing popularity of hybrid dives you have to be able to fly any position to be part of them.

If you know that ultimately you want to freefly then get a freefly suit from the beginning and that way you won't have to be investing money in different suits, but remember that just because you have a freefly suit doesn't mean that you can't flat fly.

[wlie 0]

Every freeflier I've come across are excellent belly fliers, and I've been told that all skydives end with belly flying. So there.

My other ride is the relative wind.

[AndyMan 7]

Quote

Every freeflier I've come across are excellent belly fliers, and I've been told that all skydives end with belly flying.

It's important to remember the causality here. Just because someone is a good freeflyier doesn't mean they're even remotely stable on their belly.

I saw this this last weekend. An absoluately AMAZING freeflyer offered to do video on an RW group, and he wasn't even stable never mind able to shoot the video.

Being competent at RW takes practice, just like everything else.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.