Going low

[ou812 0]

As someone that has a fast fall rate (240lbs with gear) I was wondering about wing suits & body positioning with them on?

[slotperfect 7]

-I am also a big guy fast faller, 6'2" & 225
-When choosing a jumpsuit, choose polycotton. It's heavy and hot, but it produces a lot of drag.
-When choosing forearm material, I usually go with the double material and velcro cuffs option. Less comfortable, but once again more drag.
-I don't like wings for general skydiving; I only use them when jumping camera. I think you're better off with a big, floppy suit. Lots of material and lots of surface area. They will put a little "wing" in it, but not in the true sense of the word.
-I recommend booties as well. More drag and more thrust.
-Bottom line: get a suit selection that allows you different fall rates when using your NORMAL body position.
-Also, be choosy (conservative) where you allow yourself to be slotted in a formation. Err on the side of being there, and dress for success. I don't look cool in my big floppy stuff, but I'm there!
-Recovery from going low: if you can ever get to a vertical wind tunnel to practice your de-arch (recovery technique) I HIGHLY recommend it. Take along a fellow big guy with lots of experience who is good at recovering.
Respectfully,
SP

[des 2]

sp has good advice,another option is swoop cords,come into effect when you need them.as sp said wings are not the answer ,docking is difficult ,and any reaching will send you over the top.
dress for success,pick your slot.
p.s base is a really cool slot,and good organisers will only have good ,reliable skydivers in base slots.
the visuals from base on a big way are great.
des

[weid14 0]

I'm also 6'2" 225 out the door, but my fall rate is pretty mid range and I am using supplex body, cordora booties, and spandex arms. Our fall rate on our 4way team is about 115 mph.

[Greg 0]

Quote

Our fall rate on our 4way team is about 115 mph.

Wow!! I have just started with larger groups, and RW in general, as well as just got a new pro track. We just did a couple five ways last Sunday (nothing serious mind you, not a team, just kinda goofin around a bit) but our average speed on both was @ 130 mph. I guess, with practice, we will slow down? Maybe?
Greg A-37958

[SkySlut 0]

weid14, I thought that 4 way teams wanted to fall faster for control reasons. The groups that I have been jumping with are falling around 124 to 129...and I am going to be getting weights. I weight about 135-140 depending how much beer and pizza I consumed the night before. I thought that the more relative wind, the quicker and easier you can control your turns, etc. Thoughts anyone???
-Slut
"I'll jump anything!"

[weid14 0]

Urban myth. it's not how fast you go, it's what you do with the wind. I've jumped with a few of the top team members in various training camps and fun jumps with no alteration in flying style, so I'm going to assume that we are all falling at about the same rate. If you're using a Pro-track, make sure it is set to SAS so everyone has the same baseline. As an aside, I was in the base for some fun formation load stuff and we were setting the rate at around 125 out the door, but I was in a pretty hard arch. The dudes on the base for the world record were screaming (I wasn't there, BTW, just heard)

[Greg 0]

Yeah, I set my pro track on SAS, man I love that thing!!. I was actually just curious, as I weigh @ 140-145 and I have to practically fold in half and jump nearly naked to get that fast on my belly, and you listed your weight as (sorry, I hope it was) 225 and were flying at 115.

[weid14 0]

yup, 6'2" 225 out the door. Surface area has a lot to do with fall rate as well as where your weight is carried (a beer gut is a natural wind deflector), plus where you are in your progression. We took a 50 jump guy on an 8 way - about my size, but he still had the AFF arch going, I had a very hard time keeping up (er, down) with him. Luckly, we were all turning around him. He did buy Corona that night for us, too.
Dave

[SkySlut 0]

Example:stick your arm out the window of your car at 30 miles and hour and make a small move. Your arm doesnt move too quickly. If you speed up to 80 miles an hour, that same small move creates a bigger and faster action, right? Why is it that Airspeed, Sebastian XL & Generation FX wear weights??? It just makes sense to me that the faster you are going down, the easier and faster your movements will be. Toughts?
-Slut
"I'll jump anything!"

[ditch9276 0]

if you´re looking for an good tipp about your jumpsuit check this site >www.funjump.de< ask them what they mean and what they think about the material,
with blue skies ditch9276

[michael 9]

True. But you'll find it isnt the top priority in FS. Think about when you try to go as fast as you can - hips forward, arms and legs tucked away. While you'll be going fast, controllability is actually sacraficed because the jumper has to concentrate on a) Keeping up that blistering fall rate and b) making sure any movements in freefall dont cause s/he to pop.
Look at a comp 4-way teams' body position - its actually reasonably flat - arms down in front, head up, and frequently knees low in the breeze to use as another set of control surfaces (you can particularly see this in 'stopping' movements, for example stopping a turning three way piece).

[SkySlut 0]

Correct and that is why they wear weights. They are flying comfortably in their mid-range of flying capacity. So they wear weights to speed up the relative wind so they arent arching and tucking things in or back to speed it up. You lose controllability and efficiency if you are focussing all your attention on fall rate. Does that make sense?
-Slut
"I'll jump anything!"

[weid14 0]

wrongo - I have jumped with Airspeed, FX, and PD Blue& Gold. Only in rare cases do they wear weights. Weights are used to compromise for a higher surface to mass ratio, not to pick up a blistering fall rate. The mantis (or whatever you want to call it) actaully promotes a slower fall rate. BTW, the wind tunnel in Orlando maxes out at around 120 mph. I do agree that a 30 mph difference in speed will make a differance in your arm out the window, but a 5-10 mph difference in fall rate, doubt it. The "conventional" wisdom once was fall as fast as you can. Today's idea is to get a comfortable jump suit and fall in a relaxed position giving a much better range of motion and control. (FWIW, a couple of years ago an FX member convinced our point person to remove his weights)
Dave

[SkySlut 0]

Huh...I have just heard conflicting stories from some of those same teams plus a few other top teams. Maybe I just misunderstood them. Interesting information to consider. Thanks.
-Slut
"I'll jump anything!"

[ou812 0]

I was looking for more of a camera slot type speed where you are above the team.I need the heavy brakes.

[slotperfect 7]

For 0U812, who wants to fly camera, wings are the ticket. I recommend booties as well. Not only do the wings and booties offer you more fall rate range, but they allow you to anchor your "camera platform" so that your video & stills are framed consistently.
I am a big 'un: 6'2" with an exit weight of about 250 lbs. I use the Tony Camera Suit by Ai Time Designs with the big "A" wing. When I order my next camera suit, though, I will get a "flipflop" wing (Tony Suit: "C" Wing)so I can flip over in a sit and film above me. My big "A" wing suit doesn;t work well for that.
Respectfully,
SP