legs spread or shoulder width apart?

[andy2 0]

Is it just bad form on the part of so many skydivers I see in clips and videos, or is there a reason they have their legs/knees spread so far apart, because the second I do that my instructor gets on me for bad/sloppy form, and tells me to bring them back to shoulder width. Is this a stability issue? because it feels so much more comfortable to throw those legs wide, but if if thats going to make me less stable, then...

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[Tonto 1]

Hi Andy,

I'm guessing you're flat flying, as spreading your legs head down has more to do with fallrate than anything else, I think.

Shoulder width, or a little wider is about right. Going wider will increase lateral stability, but because of our pelvic mobility, (or lack thereof) it tends to make you fly "bum up" a bit. If you're flying legs wide and getting "hips down" signals on AFF, that's the reason.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Cajones 0]

It's a bio-mechanical thing. With your legs spread wide, it's difficult to arch. Just the way our hips work. It used to be taught to make a big "X" - especially exits from the strut, and has changed mostly due to awareness. You may be seeing skydivers taught with this older method who've learned to skydive like this; I don't think it's wrong to learn to skydive with your knees wide - just more difficult for some. You may also see skydivers with "built-in" fall-rate enhancement (beer bellies) that do not need to arch hard to be stable in the deployment position, and fly legs-wide to help slow their fall rate.

Keep listening to your instructor on this one - sounds like he/she is trying to make you a good skydiver.

The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

[sundevil777 102]

Take a look at a picture of any 4 or 8 way team, and their legs will be at about a 90 degree angle to each other. This is a lot more than shoulder width I think.

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[billdo 0]

Quote

Take a look at a picture of any 4 or 8 way team, and their legs will be at about a 90 degree angle to each other. This is a lot more than shoulder width I think.

Right, I think this has something to do with the fact mentioned earlier that this make's you "bum up" a little bit, and 4-way teams (good ones) are not flying in the typical "box man" but rather the modified and less stable "mantis" or a variation thereof. The less stable you are the faster your turns and your maneuverability. A Hard arch is very stable but not as maneuvable, because stability and maneuverability are inversely related. Think, a DC3 is a very "stable" plane, but not very maneuverable, whereas an F-16 is not stable, but has twitchy maneuverability.

The student who originally asked this question should stick with shoulder width legs and only modify his body position once he has this very basic stability position mastered (ie. the boxman "arch").