Curing Zooming?

[Zennie 0]

I can get into and hold a head down, but I've got a bit of a zooming problem. From watching video, it looks like I've got my legs pushed too far back. That's fine, now I know what I need to work on, but what's the best way to go about it? What kinds of drills can I do, or what things can I look for on solo jumps to help cure the problem?
"Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

[ojf1982 0]

kinda stupid question to ask but what is zooming?
Skydiving is not a sport, it is a way of life!
Omar B-24801

[Zennie 0]

Basically forward or backsliding, in my case, forward sliding. But the slide is so hard that you're "zooming" across the sky.
In the video, mine is so hard you see the cameraman literally with his hands pushing on my chest as he gets off to the side. When he let go I was gone.
"Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

[freeflir29 0]

I'm with ya bro....but unfortunately I don't really have an answer except to do coaching jumps. I tend to zoom a little forward just after my sit to HD transition. The only way I have found to work on it is to have someone that you know is a stable target in front of you to use as a reference. It's nearly impossible to tell if you are driving slightly forward or backward on a solo dive.
Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster- Sun Tzu

[Kirils 1]

I've been working with my fiance' on sit flying. It was impossible to dock or even face off. Then (duh) someone mentioned we were chasing each other, each of us moving in response to the others movements. As soon as I focused on my ground position and tried to fall straight everything came together. Moral of the story: You don't know if you have the zoomies unless you have a fixed point of reference. We wasted quite a few jumps trying to use each other as a reference point.
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...

[rgoper 0]

Hey Zennie:
i know they make a sort of tennis birdie device, that will give you some motion detection reference. i'm not sure where one could be obtained. ive seen one employed by a freeflyer on the "crosswinds" video.
Richard
"Gravity Is My Friend"
congrats to all at SDSL for your recent accomplishments!

[Aviatrr 0]

Quote

i know they make a sort of tennis birdie device, that will give you some motion detection reference. i'm not sure where one could be obtained. ive seen one employed by a freeflyer on the "crosswinds" video.

A skyball should not be used by somebody that cannot catch the ball in any situation.. Since most people using 'em are just fine tuning their flying, they must have a competent ball master that would get it if the jumper fails to.. Remember....to get a tennis ball to fly 120mph or greater, you have to put weight in it.. Imagine a tennis ball, weighing half a pound or more, hitting a house(or even worse, a person) at 120mph..
Mike

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

Not really a good idea to let a spaceball go, then zoom off a few hundred meteres where you can't get it back. Might make a few people unhappy !! We're not even allowed to use 'em in the UK.
Throw me to the sky becuase I know I'm coming back - Red Hot Chili Peppers

[Aviatrr 0]

Quote

Not really a good idea to let a spaceball go, then zoom off a few hundred meteres where you can't get it back. Might make a few people unhappy !! We're not even allowed to use 'em in the UK.

That's the point I was making about having a competent ball master.. Skyballs are not allowed at most DZ's in the US, but a few do allow it - and their rules are pretty strict when using 'em, thankfully..
Mike

[skymedic 0]

funny thing is, I just got the movie cross wind...in it Olav is over the city of Sebastian flying with one...now that DZO has some confidence there...
Marc
Res Firma Mitescere Nescite

[Zennie 0]

Well with Olav or one of the many ADs that they have there ballmastering I don't think the risk is all that great (can an AD "A" ballmaster?). Then again I'm surethere are plenty of "dropped ball" stories out at SDA.
But yeah wouldn't we all like to have a skyball to work with.
"Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

[Aviatrr 0]

Quote

funny thing is, I just got the movie cross wind...in it Olav is over the city of Sebastian flying with one...now that DZO has some confidence there...

At Sebastian, I would call that a violation of 91.15.. I wonder if the pilot knew about it - and if so, what the hell was he thinking? I'm sure Olav can catch the thing without a problem.....but what if the "student" catches it, deploys with it(which they are supposed to do for an AD test), and loses it during deployment.....oops!
Mike

[skymedic 0]

At first I thought it was Skydive America till they had an over head shot of him playing around with this thing...it was definately the three triangles of Sebastian...
Marc
Res Firma Mitescere Nescite

[Geoff 0]

I'm not a coach, so this is just my opinion....
I recommend you start learning forward and backward movement. That'll give you much more control and help you find the neutral down-the-tube position in between. I find if I relax I backslide, and so I need a little input just to stay neutral.
If you're flying straddle ('Olav') position:
To go forwards - push back with the back of your calves, or push the palms of your hands backwards against the air (only works if you're flying with the backs of your hands into the wind).
To go backwards - I find it easiest just to push forward with one leg, though I guess you could use both legs or push forwards with your palms.
If you're flying daffy, just push back on your back leg to go forwards or forwards on you front leg to go backwards.
Of course, when you try any of this you'll find it harder to keep balance, so it will take some practice.
Hope that helps,
Geoff