Dive and Dock

[sng2k 0]

Someone with a little experience give me some pointers on a dive and dock. I'm working on my A license and could use some hints. Do I really have to "dive" like a slow track or can I adjust fall rate, then move forward and dock? Thanks.

[Praetorian 1]

the advice I was given is to get into a slow track/tigth boxman position pointed at your target and then bend at the waist .. like a surface dive when your swimming, you will NOT go head down but you will "dive" at your target.. on the next dive I did what I was told and it worked one sentence of advice and on the next jump it worked so hopefuly it will work for you too .. ANYONE WITH MORE EXPERIENCE THEN ME, PROBABLY KNOWS BETTER but this advice came from a mentor of mine and worked for me

Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.

[mjosparky 4]

You would probably get a better response if you filled out your profile and let people know who you are and what your experience is.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[Frenchy68 0]

I am not experienced enough to give you advice, but something I always bear in mind: you can only go down. Don't go below your target.

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[Squeak 17]

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You would probably get a better response if you filled out your profile and let people know who you are and what your experience is.

Sparky

Why do some certain people keep saying that.
I for one very rarely check on someones profile before considering to reply to them

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[slotperfect 7]

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Why do some certain people keep saying that.

Having a completed profile provides a bit of personalization so we know a bit more about who you are.

There are people on this site who clutter up the boards by 1) posting questions they already know the answer to, eliciting a stream of replies (trolls); and 2) hide behind an anonymous username (no profile) so they can be overly opinionated. Having a complete profile can help us make sure that you're no one of those.

Also, if a poster has a complete profile, the members posting replies can fine tune their answers to fit that person's experience level. For example, advice about tracking toward a USPA B License holder with 100 jumps would be different than the same advice toward an AFF student with 6 jumps - in the latter example a responsible poster would encourage them to talk directly to their instructional staff.

Arrive Safely

John

[sng2k 0]

First off, thanks Praetorian for the advice. I will give that a try. Second, I stated I was working on my A license. This is why I'm hesitant to post on these forums after reading a lot of the topics/posts. If the standard advice is "ask your instructor" then there really is no point in this forum IMO. The forums are here to share opinions and ideas and that's what I was asking for. I will fill the profile out when I get off of work.

[happythoughts 0]

When starting out, the target is generally not that far away. There are essentially two parts. Getting down to the target and slowing down enough to remove the momentum before docking.

Try to think of the grips as a bonus. Fly to your slot, be stable, then take the grips.

To get down there, sometimes it is sufficient to bring the elbows/forearms in. For a faster approach, put hands behind your back (this method may be too quick for a while).

When you are close to your target, bleed off some speed by getting big. Ease into your slot, then take the grips.

Down the road... As you start doing bigger stuff, the target may be farther away. You will have to aim for where the target "will be" instead of where it is now. Your approach will need to change to have a faster dive rate then also.

[bob.dino 1]

I'm not experienced enough to instruct you on the technicalities, but this I can say: take your time.

The biggest problem I see is folks going "oh shit - I need to be all the way over there" and taking off at a rate of knots. By the time they realise "oh shit - I'm going pretty damn fast" they've just set themselves up for "Oh Shit!"

[Squeak 17]

Quote

Quote

Why do some certain people keep saying that.

Having a completed profile provides a bit of personalization so we know a bit more about who you are.

There are people on this site who clutter up the boards by 1) posting questions they already know the answer to, eliciting a stream of replies (trolls); and 2) hide behind an anonymous username (no profile) so they can be overly opinionated. Having a complete profile can help us make sure that you're no one of those.

Also, if a poster has a complete profile, the members posting replies can fine tune their answers to fit that person's experience level. For example, advice about tracking toward a USPA B License holder with 100 jumps would be different than the same advice toward an AFF student with 6 jumps - in the latter example a responsible poster would encourage them to talk directly to their instructional staff.

I understand the reasoning behing having a profile, but my question was how many people actuallt read a persons profile BEFORE they answer a question. I know I don't

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[kelpdiver 2]

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First off, thanks Praetorian for the advice. I will give that a try. Second, I stated I was working on my A license. This is why I'm hesitant to post on these forums after reading a lot of the topics/posts. If the standard advice is "ask your instructor" then there really is no point in this forum IMO. The forums are here to share opinions and ideas and that's what I was asking for. I will fill the profile out when I get off of work.

The one part I think you need to tell us is have you tried to do the dive and dock yet? If so, what troubles did you have? It seems like once people finish AFF, it's a pretty steady progression through the rest of the A, with only the 'scary' hop n pops to get past.

I did 4 coach jumps to clear out the requirements. On some I exited right after the guy. On the last one, I gave him time and exited the small cessna as quickly as possible. On all of them, it's key to leave on time. As a new jumper I (and I think most) hesitate a bit on the dive. If you count off the time and then start your usual pause, you'll have a long way to catch up.

At the jump count you (and I) have, it's very hard to evaluate and instruct over this forum. We can share similar experiences, but otherwise just say keep at it.

[sng2k 0]

I did try the dive, and the dive part of the dive and dock was fairly straight-forward, the docking, however, which I've done before, I seemed to reduce my fall rate when attempting to move forward to my target, or at least that's what I was told. I couldn't tell if I was rising or she was falling. I was mainly curious as to whether it was an actual dive you had to do, or just getting small then going forward.

[skyhighkiy 0]

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you can only go down. Don't go below your target.

you can only go down, true, but when jumping with another falling object/person, you can also fall slower than the other person by body position and catch up(slow down?) to your target w/out them doing anything at all.

Although I kinda understand where the advice is going, it may not be wise to put half-truths in to the mind of a student. JMO

BE THE BUDDHA!

[kelpdiver 2]

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I did try the dive, and the dive part of the dive and dock was fairly straight-forward, the docking, however, which I've done before, I seemed to reduce my fall rate when attempting to move forward to my target, or at least that's what I was told. I couldn't tell if I was rising or she was falling. I was mainly curious as to whether it was an actual dive you had to do, or just getting small then going forward.

The coaches should be keeping a constant fall rate, making it you that changed. It's amazing how much harder it is to dock with another lowtimer compared to these coach jumps!

If you went from a hard arch to extending your legs for forward motion, that could slow you down. You shouldn't need to actually dive to do the dock, and if you tried you would likely scare them into backing away from a hard collision.

Just keep at it. Even a failed dock has other elements that can be signed off on a jump. Good track and separation, canopy skills, etc.

[happythoughts 0]

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I seemed to reduce my fall rate when attempting to move forward to my target, or at least that's what I was told.

A common problem is that people will think of bending down towards the target. It is like seeing an object on the ground and bending to pick it up. They bend at the hips and de-arch unconsciously. (Knees too wide will also cause the pelvis to tip forward. )

Many times, two beginners are both making mistakes and it is hard to determine what is going on. Example, you could be moving down towards someone while that person is looking up and back-sliding.

Knees close, arch, forearms/elbows in. That should take you down at a controllable speed.