Starting Freeflying

[cdunham 0]

Anyone have some good material on learning to freefly? There is a decent article on skyXtreme about doing head-down, but says to start with basic sit position. Feels like I came to the second day of class. Doh!
Ideally, I would want to have someone teach me, but aside from that, there must be some basic info out there to bone up on before the weekend.
Tanks!
Carl
--
Only five out of a hundred live according to what they think and believe in their minds. And four out of those five think and believe what others tell them to think and believe.
--Dr. William Mitchell

[denaga 0]

Hey dude, take some coachaing that really helps. Other than that, the best thing to do is:
-exit in sit if u tip over
-get on your back
-bring your knees up and push back your arms(as if you were to get up from a couch)
-when in sit have all your lower body at 90 degrees
-NEVER go belly-down :) It is easier to get in sit if you are on your back

[Kris 0]

Start with learning a solid sit, it is a survival skill just like tracking and altitude awareness. It's fun too. That's what several freeflyers at my DZ drilled into my head last year when I got serious with it. It is a relatively easy position to learn to hold (moving it is another matter :) for getting you used to flying other than on your belly.
Once you have a good, solid sit down and you've moved on to playing with it in regards to fall-rate, forwards / backwards movement, turns and basic transitions (cartwheels & loops) then move on to trying head-down.
This is where sit as a survival skill comes in. If you cork out of your head-down attempts, and you will, several times (Sometimes I think it will never end... ;) and other people are around you, your first instinct should be to go right into a sit, not to your belly.
If you go to your belly when you cork the deceleration can be pretty insane depending on your build and how you fly. If I'm flying head-down at 170-180 and someone below me corks and goes to their belly and does 120mph we now have a nice closing speed of 50+ MPH between us. Not a pretty picture. Going back into a sit helps keep your fall rate up and you have a better view of what is going on around and above you.
Try to stick with two-ways with an experienced freeflyer so that they can help you be aware of things you might not notice if you are by yourself such as not being able to stay in your own column of air (tracking forwards or backwards).
As always, your mileage may vary, talk to the experienced freeflyers at your DZ and check the net for other good info such as Pat Work's site at http://www.works-words.com/vrwhome.htm as this is the producer of "The Art of VRW" books & videos. There are also a few great links at http://www.ground-rush.com/freefly.htm under 'Tutorials'.
Good luck, be safe & have fun!

[Donna 0]

Here's another good link to check out.
Click here.
blue ones,
D

[cdunham 0]

I knew I could count on you guys, thanks!
Looks like step 0 is getting more accomodating gear. What I have now has too many exposed grabby parts and velcro. Oh, well. Like I need another excuse to buy new gear.

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[Iflyme 0]

Not too long ago, Ramon offered some good tips on progressing as a freeflyer... it might have been back on the old forum. I really nailed the sit the other day - way cool!!!

[skyhawk 2]

yer freeflyings fucken awsome. im doing stand at the moment pretty bloody fast did max speed 149 last week thats pretty fast seings as i wiegh about 136 with gear :-)
"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone."
Pablo Picasso.

[Kirils 1]

Check out "The Art of VRW" by Pat Works isbn 0-930438-04-3
Kirils
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...