Starting sit ...

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

OK ... I left the aircraft today and tried to go into a sit and just ended up doing backflips !! What is the best way to go from a box pos. into a sit?
You shouldn't put a knife in the toaster - but you're an adult now !!!

[AggieDave 6]

Don't leave in a box man, leave in a sit. Easy that way. Leave facing the tail of the aircraft, just swing out into a sit. You'll feel like you're on your back at first, but you'll ride the slide into a sit. Its also a cool feeling the first time you do it. "Wait...are you selling Penis Mighters?"

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

Trying sitting today was the first time I've actuall been able to do PROPER backflips !! It was great !! What happens if i mess this exit up and have to recover to a box - is there an easy way to get back into the sit?
You shouldn't put a knife in the toaster - but you're an adult now !!!

[AggieDave 6]

Do not, Do not, do not recover into a box! Eventually the sit-postion will become your "box-man" of FFing. What I was told when I was learning to sit was, if I lost control, to fall onto my back and keep the fall rate cooking. From your back you can sit up, push your feet down and get your arms out.
Get an experienced FFer from your DZ to help you out on the ground a little bit on your position.
Hey, more expereinced guys, help me out here if I'm not totally accurate. "Wait...are you selling Penis Mighters?"

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

That's the thing, there aren't really any experienced freeflyers there. I'm just trying to teach myself at the moment. I don't care that I'm messing it up cos I'm having a great time flailing about !! You shouldn't put a knife in the toaster - but you're an adult now !!!

[AggieDave 6]

That's how I started and I eventually had to unlearn some bad habits, but you'll get it. Download some FF videos from Dave's FTP server and watch them. Look at how those guys are flying in their sit and try memicing them. If you can, take a weeekend and go to another DZ in your area that has some FFers, get them to help. And, yeah, even if you are flipping around and not quite getting it, it *is* still fun, just remember to be safe and after a few jumps, you'll eventually get it. "That shit's gonna kill ya if the women don't get you first..."

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

Cheers Aggie. I'm sure I'll get it sometime !! You shouldn't put a knife in the toaster - but you're an adult now !!!

[msdeva 0]

The easiest thing for me to do was to learn to fly my arms first - then push down my legs.
So - do try to exit in a sit as AggieDave said. If you start to flail - bring your knees up to your chest - this will keep you Butt-To-Earth. Use your arms to gain balance - look at the horizon. Once you're stable in this position - push your legs down evenly. The goal is to go from flying on your butt to flying on your feet - you have to push hard - you may go into a stand - that's ok. Moving your legs up and down is great practice for fall rate control.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

[lummy 4]

This is basically what I was doing this last weekend. AS soon as I started to bring my legs up and in, I went right up into a sit.
I didn't have to really push very hard to get my legs down tho, is that an indicator or me not doing somethign right? It just seemed kinda natural to be honest. I did tend to spin to the left tho...
Make up your own ending,let me know just how you feel....

[AggieDave 6]

You might be directly over your feet, curled up a bit, leaning over your feet. Work on trying to get everything 90degs, and you'll start feeling pressure on your feet. "Give me one ping and one ping only..."

[lummy 4]

Hmmm.. guess it's possible although it is really hard for me to judge. Maybe it's time to do a coach jump or two to get some pointers before I start picking up bad habits
Make up your own ending,let me know just how you feel....

[skygeek 0]

there is a great artice on sit-flying on www.skydivemag.com covers all the basics. It helped me out a lot when i started. look in the articles section or do a search for head up flying.
Good luck....

[skygeek 0]

http://www.zct.co.uk/skydivemag/pages/articles/aug00/headupflying.htm
hope it works

[aufreefly 0]

I will start by saying that everyone will learn in their own way...but for me it was much easier to learn to stand first. Maybe because your legs are strait and together, therefore you have less to think about. You control it with your arms and body position. Then I learned to bring my feet up and then to bring my feet apart. Worked for me.
michael hunt (yes, that is my real name...and i've heard them all)

[MiataDRM 0]

Like everyone else, different people learn differently. Here is what worked for me...wearing a freefly suit helps A LOT! An alternative is to wear a baggy top & shorts (or spandex bottoms). Like Dave said, exit in a sit position facing the tail of the aircraft. Don't give up...regarless what happens...do not go to your belly (except for pull time! ) This is a habit that you need to develop so u lessen the likelyhood of corking when FF'ing w/ others. Should you find yourself unstable, you can ball up in a fetal position...which will maintain your fast fall rate...then go back to attempting to sit. AGAIN...DON'T GIVE UP on the sit during the dive. It took me aprox 10 jumps before I got it...and I'm still improving my turns & coming in closer to others. Someone told me this a while back & it helped me understand the sit position a little better....view the 90 degree bend in your legs (back of knees) is equal to an arch during RW....once I viewed the back of my legs as my arch, my sit got better. One last thing....RELAX! The more I stressed or tried to force the position, the more difficult it was to become stable. I hope this helps...let us know how things go.
**I'm a Pschydiver!
Majdi