Conquering the hill

[Vallerina 2]

My friends at the dz (like any good mentors would do) try to give me different goals and things to try out in my skydives. Since I'm still new to the sport, most of my jumps have been attempts (and a few successes) of docking on a ~ 4-way or so. Unless it's bigger than 6 (or the jumps with my Purdue freeflying friends), it's usually not launched. Sunday, I did a 3-way. We decided to launch a compressed accordian (with me in the rear-float position) out of the King Air. Despite the fact I didn't hear/see a count, our exit rocked and I actually turned a point on the hill for the very first time! Woo hoo!!! Next time, I'm gonna try for two! (I was so amazed by the first point, I was paralyzed for a second or two!) The rest of the skydive also went well (many points) even though I smacked one of the guys in the face (he probably deserved it anyways.) I love RW!
"You could never even think of something as crazy as what I've already done" Jim Abercrombie

[hottamaly 1]

Good for you.....the hill can be a challenge as well as quite the visual. Have fun with it and watch the presentation and timing out the door. It more or less makes or breaks what you end up doing on the hill. Enjoy and keep loving RW.
SKYDIVING GAVE ME A REASON TO LIVE....

[Jumperpaula 0]

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out of the King Air. Despite the fact I didn't hear/see a count, our exit rocked and I actually turned a point on the hill for the very first time!

Sweet. Im working on exit's right now too. I got some really good advice. You have to actually visualize and dirt dive the exit just as much, if not more, than the skydive. Wheres my body to the Relative wind..etc. ** Then think ahead...OK, if it comes off and we key on the hill, my next move is....and my body postion would be.....
Another thing I picked up at a Seminar last weekend (that I only got sit in for half of, and Im bummed) but, when you practice the climbout, pay VERY SPECIAL ATTENTION. Don't just climb out. Every foot, every hand should have an exact position that you can count....like Hand-one, Foot-two, Hand-three, Foot-four....or whatever the climbout may be.
Pay special attention to your grips and footing and it will help your concentration on the count, you will be less likely to leave late and (most of the time) will have better body position on exit.
I have a lot of work to do, but every little tiny piece of advice add's up.

Fly Your Slot !

[tigra 0]

RW rocks. Its so cool when things start to click. Like nailing the exit or turning points on the slide! Or just flying in for a smooth dock.
Congrats!! and thanks for sharing.......

[billvon 3,070]

>Despite the fact I didn't hear/see a count, our exit rocked . . .
I find that there are people I can jump with who "telegraph" the count very well, and others where you can look right at the guy giving the count and still be suprised when he suddenly leaves. A good RW team can read each other, and keep their exit timing very tight.
>and I actually turned a point on the hill for the very first time! Woo hoo!!! Next time, I'm gonna try for two!
Cool! I find that one of the hardest things to get people to see on exits is that you should _not_ be face to earth right out the door. It's easy to say, and easy to understand, but hard to be up there and let yourself get presented sideways.
-bill von

[quade 4]

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I find that there are people I can jump with who "telegraph" the count very well, and others where you can look right at the guy giving the count and still be suprised when he suddenly leaves.

And from the camera flyer's perspective . . .
At the very highest levels of competition, it -may- be a slight advantage to "hide" the count from the judges, but until then, if the team doesn't give a clearly visible count -- readable by the camera flyer -- they're only screwing themselves.
As you may be able to tell, this is one of my pet peeves because the camera flyer is ALWAYS the one that's going to get blamed for the "NJ" on a mis-timed count.
quade
http://futurecam.com