Spins

[skydude2000 3]

Hi all,

I'm having trouble fixing a stabilty problem. I just started doing 15 second delays and I can't seem to stay stable. My JM has told me that I am doing left and right spins, and I can feel them. But I have done everything I can think of to fix it, and do not know what else to do. My JM has offered to film my next jump, but I've been told by others that this is a bad idea. Any insight on this as a solution? Or other suggestions to stop it?

PULL!! or DIE!!

[quade 4]

I'm looking at your profile.

48 jumps over 3 years and in this thread you say you've just started doing 15 second delays.

What's the story here? Have you had to stop and start training several times? Where are you located?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[freakflyer9999 1]

I don't know why video would be a bad idea. Of course, just asking your JM to follow you out would work as well.

I found that the best solution for me when I was a student was to ARCH. This solved virtually every stability problem I could come up with.

I'm just getting back into the sport after a long layoff and yesterday I had to rediscover this simple plan. I have made 3 stable exits in the past few weeks, but yesterday, I purposely exited unstable. Since I'm a rather large guy with a built-in arch (50 in. waist) I am usually rock solid, but I guess that I had de-arched some and was tumbling and spinning at the same time. I had to intentionally arch hard, which resulted in my immediately stabilizing on a constant heading.

If a hard arch doesn't fix the bill, then make sure that you look at the position of your hands and do a toe tap to make sure everything else is symmetrical.

If all else fails, have someone exit with you, with or without video and tell you what looks wrong.

KG

[skydude2000 3]

My dropzone moved over an hour away, and I don't have my own car. Plus I was injured early in the season last year, and was out for almost a whole year.

PULL!! or DIE!!

[Hooknswoop 19]

Quote

hard arch

Bad term. 'Hard Arch' tends to make the student tense up. Think, "Good, relaxed arch and chin up".

A spin is caused by an unsymmetrical body position. Want to fall straight down, no turns? Deflect the same amount of air for 360-degrees. To turn, deflect more air one direction than the other and you turn.

Imagine a leaf. The leaf falls out of a tree and flutters to the ground w/o turning. Pick up that leaf, bend the corner and drop it. It spins as it falls.

You have to relax and feel the air, once you do, no more spins.

Remember, you are causing the spin, and you can stop it.

Derek

[d604 0]

All right, there are many reasons why you might be spinning, but I'm going to try and cover the usual causes and solutions (that I can write up in 5 minutes).

Practice on the ground with a creeper, have a coach look at your body position and assist you on the creeper. Remember what you do on the ground is what you do in the air. Practice practice practice.

If you end up spinning to the left try to turn to the right until you have stopped turning.

If your upper body is looking OK, try tapping your feet together. If you have one knee down you will turn, by tapping your feet you should get your knees level, therefore, not turn.

Umm, video is one of the best training aids; I'm not sure why they DZ would be against it. Maybe the instructor is not very experienced. Try to get a video by an experienced skydiver that can move out of your way, spins can float across the sky.

BTW. You might get advice that you can Delta Dive out of a spin. That is correct but it can be very dangerous as you loss altitude in the dive. Had the same problem over 10 years ago and was told to D. Dive; well flat spin occurs at 5K, Delta at 4K = ground getting big fast, Good Times.

Do not Delta out of a Spin. Just thought I should clarify.
Sean

CSPA ratings C1, C2, IA, IB, QE, RA, and EJR

[Hooknswoop 19]

Quote

If you end up spinning to the left try to turn to the right until you have stopped turning.

That can get you through the jump, but doesn't fix the root problem.

For example, holding one toggle down a bit can stop a built in turn, but doesn't fix the problem.

Every student I had try to spin was because the tensed up. Relax and no spin.
Derek

[d604 0]

Oh yeah, you gotta relax. Let the air move around you not move you.

great point! I forgot to mention that, I knew I missed somthing.
S

CSPA ratings C1, C2, IA, IB, QE, RA, and EJR

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Quote

...A spin is caused by an unsymmetrical body position....

Derek

A-HA!!! I just KNEW that if I watched long enough, I'd catch Hooknswoop giving out wrong info about skydiving!!! Gotcha! You're nailed!! No gettin' out of this!! You blew it, buddy-boy!!! MWAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!





















It's caused by 'asymmetrical' body position...not 'unsymmetrical'. YES!! I ROCK!!!

Shit. Ok, so Webster's says they're the same thing. dammit!!! One of these days you'll misspell something and then BLAM-O!! There goes your credibility in its entirety!! Yeah, it's been a slow day at work...

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[darrenspooner 0]

I kept doing right spins during AFF and my instructor told me to go straight into a track for a few seconds then go stable again. It corrected the problem straight away.***Die with yer boots on

[Shaman 0]

I kept spinning for 3 jumps during AFF, and like the others have said, it's body position, mostly legs (as you can't see em).

I found practising my arch laying on the floor with my feet against the wall. This got me used to feeling where my feet were.

Can't see how video would be a bad thing, often you have one idea of how a jump went, when you check the vid, it's completely different!

Toe taps, relax, and keep jumping, you'll get it.

[Unparagoned 0]

I would get it filmed so you can actually see what you are doing wrong. Then if you can just do lots of jumps in a short space of time, at least 6 jumps in a couple of days. I've just got my A licence, but that was the way I stopped my spinning problem