Small, but good drill jumps for bigways?

[pinkfairy 0]

I'm a 100-way addict, and I'm having some serious abstinences here in Norway, no tracking teams, no getting to watch other people open, no formation loads. But I do get to the DZ when the weather isn't horrible, and for some reason people have started asking ME to help plan their jumps.

There is a norwegian record coming up in August, if everything goes as planned (let's all hope for Peace on Earth, we'll be using military aircraft).

What's your favourite drill jump for bigways that you can invite anyone on, and that lets you practice what you need to work on?

I like practicing exits, doing non gripped exits and practice timing on the key, spacing out the exit a lot, so I leave on "set" if I'm floating and leaving late if I'm diving. And even if the person I'm jumping with isn't so experienced, I can still instruct him to give a good exit count or keep speed and heading as a simulated base. There is one drill dive that I like a lot, this is a 2-way: I fly to a sidebody, fly vertically over my partner, and into a new sidebody on the other side, he does the same, and we do that till breakoff. It's good, because it is practice at handling levels, and doing a true no momentum dock. If the person I'm jumping with is a fresh A-licence holder, I can do the vertical transitions, but he'll do 360s instead, that way we'll both get to practice. The good old hook/cat dive is another favourite.

What about tracking teams? Could I maybe incorporate those, as in turning and tracking away from the jump run at, say, 5500, and then fanning out? This would probably be a better idea with experienced jumpers, but it should be good practice too, and fun.

Any good ones with 3 or more?

Obviously, with 10 or more we're getting closer to the real deal, we can build something that looks more like the center of a 20-way, or we can build a base with one whacker, but I doubt I'll organize anything that big this year.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[tetra316 0]

Do some tracking dives, they are lots of fun anyways! Also do some regular formation dives but try no contact/ specific slot flying for each point. That has helped me more than I can say.

[rehmwa 2]

Solo practice.

Exit - dive dive dive - wait a VERY LONG TIME doing nothing. Then move forward 5 feet and pretend to take grips. Now......wait a very long time doing nothing. Track for 3000 feet and open low.

repeat to proficiency

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[wmw999 2,544]

One fun way is to have the base be the only person outside the airplane, and there is no count -- they just leave and everyone follows. The key for making it bigway practice instead of 10-way practice (very different ) is that everyone has to wait outside their slot and take grips without bobbling the formation instead of hustling in.

Or they could come in in pairs, one sheepdogging the other.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[kallend 2,106]

Late diver practice: Have your buddy exit, then wait 5 seconds before exiting. Dive dive dive, brake brake brake, don't over-boogie, fly no contact.

Trail plane floater or super floater practice: You leave 1 second before the base. Base exits and flies normally. You fly up to it, fly no contact.

Track off together, try to out-track your buddy.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[pinkfairy 0]

Good stuff, it'll work as long as the other guy can keep up speed. Oh, the dishonor of going low in this 17 year old little floaty guy. There should be an 18 years age limit for that reason only!

wmw999: Aaaah, No key exits, fun, fun fun!

Looks like I have some plans, then

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[JohnDeere 0]

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Solo practice.

Exit - dive dive dive - wait a VERY LONG TIME doing nothing. Then move forward 5 feet and pretend to take grips. Now......wait a very long time doing nothing. Track for 3000 feet and open low.

repeat to proficiency

BRAVO!

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[pinkfairy 0]

Are you saying that us bigway skydivers are dirty low pullers?

[/shocked]

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[mdrejhon 8]

Big way training can also help people become better jumpers in other disciplines. Becoming a good tracker, helps you when you're interested in wingsuit flying -- something I've been thinking of.

Solo's aren't really good for big way practice. Go to a tunnel instead and do big way training techniques there instead with the same money.

Lots of good tips in this thread already. Delayed exits can be fun -- you're using your buddy as target practice Tracking jumps are fun, you get to learn how to adjust the speed and angle of your track, by tracking relative to other people at close range (when you get good enough, you can track close enough to touch them or dock on each other during a track). One of my favourite non-big-way-RW jumps was a 23-way tracking jump at Perris.

[mdrejhon 8]

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Track off together, try to out-track your buddy.

Once someone is experienced enough to be trusted to do this safely (coach/instructor with good big way experience) pairs can instead practice the tracking team even in a 2-way or 4-way before fanning out. In a tracking team stage of a big way, the goal is to track side by side, and not to out-track (but you already knew that) until after a few seconds, then you can turn it into a tracking race, but it has to be carefully preplanned, with the known tracking-jump safety techniques and big-way jump safety techniques especially since you're not tracking directly away from each other, but spreading out instead like a tiny radial section of a big way. Extra altitude is recommended. (i.e. tracking team at 6K, tracking spread-out race at 4.5K, and pull at 3K)

(For those dz.com readers reading this thread and not aware, modern 100 ways and bigger, use tracking teams to chunk out compact tracking groups that intentionally stay close together for a few seconds before fanning out. For massive big ways, this increases safety. This means the best trackers in the tracking team needs to relax their track and slow down for the rest of the team. Which means they have to resist the temptation to start tracking fast until the end of the tracking team stage of the breakoff.)

[AndreLapointe 0]

I use tandems for target practice. Flight characteristics are similar in that, it starts out fast then slows right up.
Choose customers that are not buying the video,
get everybody's ok.
You get to try different fall rates according to the size of customers...

[kallend 2,106]

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I use tandems for target practice. Flight characteristics are similar in that, it starts out fast then slows right up.
Choose customers that are not buying the video,
get everybody's ok.
You get to try different fall rates according to the size of customers...

Right - fastest 100 way I've docked on was going 133 when I docked (Tony Domenico/Dan BC in base, very open formation). Slowest was going 103 when I docked (Roger Ponce in base, very compact formation). If you're light you'll probably be slotted on the outside and then have to be ready for anything.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[pinkfairy 0]

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(Tony Domenico/Dan BC in base, very open formation). Slowest was going 103 when I docked (Roger Ponce in base, very compact formation). If you're light you'll probably be slotted on the outside and then have to be ready for anything.

You know, that's interesting: I attended the norwegian record qualifying event, organized by Pål Bergan and Lise Nansen, both look like light weighters on the ground, but the formation fell like a safe. this was just the base 48 and the beginning of some whackers of the 124-way that we will be building in August, the training jumps were 55-ways. 8-way base with 4-way and 3-way lines, basically a bunch of big holes strung together. So the shape and size of the formation says more about the fall rate than the size and shape of the people in the base.

The 6-way bases with full whackers that I did in Perris for the BWC and 100-ways were way slower. And those were with big strong men like Tony Domenico and Dan BC.

Yeah, I'm an "at the end of a whacker line" kind of girl. I think it's easier closer to the base, because then I can just fly in fast, stop and dock, far out, I have to make sure I don't pass the people I'll dock on, and I have to wait until it's built in front of me. But I'm built to slowfall and recover, so that's where I should be.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[elightle 8]

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...I think it's easier closer to the base, because then I can just fly in fast, stop and dock...

It is best to fly in smoothly then maintain fall rate and stay level before docking.

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...far out, I have to make sure I don't pass the people I'll dock on, and I have to wait until it's built in front of me...

That's probably the most important discipline required on big-ways.

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But I'm built to slowfall and recover, so that's where I should be.

But what if it's a fast-falling formation?

[pinkfairy 0]

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But what if it's a fast-falling formation?

It's not necessary to be underweighted to recover.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?