Just starting

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Im after advice. Ive just started getting into playing with my front risers and want to get into swooping! I just a spectre 170 currently but will be downsizing very soon onto a sabre 2 150.

What i am looking for is advice on how to start swooping, how do you proctice as a newbie etc?

[dharma1976 0]

relax and take your time you have th rest of your life ot skydive and a little mistake can fuck that up for you (not speaking from personal experience at all)

Dave

http://www.skyjunky.com

CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

[phoenixlpr 0]

How is your landing accuracy?

Are you comfortable with double riser approaches?

[Tonto 1]

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Im after advice.

You will get some conflicting opinions here. Learning to swoop of the internet is a bit like reading a book called "Learn how to fight like Bruce Lee" By James Smith.

I would suggest you approach someone who swoops well and has a good reputation at your dz. They already have an idea of your skill set and talent, and can give you a few points to start on.

If that's not possible, you have a (hopefully) long and dangerous road ahead of you.

Some sure things..

1. Practice up high.
2. Get to know the canopy you've got.
3. Never downsize and change planform at the same time (Like you plan to.)
4. Know your limitations.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

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I have practiced up high checking to see how much altitude i loose on a 180 turn then adding 100ft on and gradually bringing it down slightly.

When i get my new canopy i was intending on starting the proceedure from scratch!

My landing accuracy is prety good!

[Tonto 1]

You may want to go back to double fronts, or to 90's. The initiation point on 180's is very narrow. (Comes and goes too fast)

Glad to hear your accuracy is good because any good swoop is all in the set-up.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[phoenixlpr 0]

If I were you I'd rather practice 90 degrees or less rotation. I think the last 90 degrees is the most important part.

[Pendragon 1]

Peterlee, eh? I suggest:

1) Attend Chris Lynch's "Wingtips" course before you start doing anything close to the ground. Failing that, get a proper brief from an experienced swooper, one that is CP coach rated
2) By all means, play around with your risers above 1,000ft
3) Stay current while you're learning

I've got no idea how good your landings are. If you get cautious remarks from experienced swoopers about starting, do heed their warnings. When it goes wrong, it can be spectacular..

--
BASE #1182
Muff #3573
PFI #52; UK WSI #13

[andyflylife 0]

The Chris Lynch courses are great!! Do both the fundamentals one (if you haven't already) and then the swooping one.

Like most people will tell you on here, you cant learn things like swooping over the internet, but by all means discuss it, the more knowledge you can obtain the better.
Just for reference though i started bringing swoop techniques down to ground level just with STRAIGHT IN (no turn) double fronts, learning to let the canopy recover fully before having to give any input.
Whatever anyone may say about starting this way, i found it invaluable to learn about increased speed and keeping the canopy out of the 'Corner'.
Oh and stay current!!

Play safe

"swooper 24/7, 365!"
ME on Myspace
My Project playlist

[AggieDave 6]

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You will get some conflicting opinions here. Learning to swoop of the internet is a bit like reading a book called "Learn how to fight like Bruce Lee" By James Smith.

I would agree fully. However, I would state that DZ.com and Canopypiloting.com is good for reading different thoughts in technique, gear choices and how to swoop. Will it teach you to be great swooper? Hel no. Will it help you learn what types of questions to ask your DZ swooping mentor? Yup.

The thing, besides a DZ mentor and doing a shit-ton of altitude clear and pulls, that helped me the most was watching videos of swoopers. I was watching the videos over and over and over again. Watching their hands, their bodies, their turns, the approaches...every little detail of their swoop I was watching. It didn't turn me into a badass swooper (obviously), but it has helped me refine what and how I work on things while under the guidence of my mentor and the coaches I hire.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Peej 0]

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The thing, besides a DZ mentor and doing a shit-ton of altitude clear and pulls, that helped me the most was watching videos of swoopers. I was watching the videos over and over and over again. Watching their hands, their bodies, their turns, the approaches...every little detail of their swoop I was watching. It didn't turn me into a badass swooper (obviously), but it has helped me refine what and how I work on things while under the guidence of my mentor and the coaches I hire.

I'm the same, and i'm sure you'll agree that further to this Dave was/is hanging around the DZ, even while not jumping. There's an enormous amount that one can learn while watching other people land and discussing it with experienced pilots, etc during jumping and once the beer light is on.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[AggieDave 6]

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I'm the same, and i'm sure you'll agree that further to this Dave was/is hanging around the DZ, even while not jumping. There's an enormous amount that one can learn while watching other people land and discussing it with experienced pilots, etc during jumping and once the beer light is on.

Absolutely. There's not a day at the DZ that doesn't go buy that when the beer light that there's a decent group of us discussion swooping in depth. I love it. I get to learn from the mentors as well as from the newbies. More often then not the low time swoopers bring up a point from something they've seen or a question they had that teaches us all something new.

Watching other people, even beginning swoopers, do their setup will teach even the experienced swoopers new things. If for no other reason they can watch to see whats working and whats not working for someone. And it helps for watching and going "gee, they should have done X and Y and that would have been a really good swoop." Then the next time you're setting up you think of X and Y and it helps you refine your swoop.

Swooping is all about you, except for the learning, that's all about everyone else working with you to learn.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Peej 0]

Right on!

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

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Cheers peeps. I think i will go back to double front risers till i gain more experience then gradually build it up rather than trying to learn straight away doing 180's!

[SkyDivinRyan 0]

just a question why is it that every time some asks a question about something new people ASSUME that they are in a rush just wondering

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Because, typically, that's exactly what they are thinking. I used to be that guy, so I can positively say it's true.

[marks 0]

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so I can positively say it's true

me too, it is an every day occurrence.

for example. someone wanting to downsize to a 150, because they weigh 142 lbs, and they are jumping a 190. landings are shit, but they hear from other 200-300 jump wonders that they would be better off under "something faster" because "speed"="lift" so there landings will get better. it is this kinda bullshit that is killing peeps these days...

tell you what. I would let you jump my 84 "velo" OR "JVX" any day. but I would only let you jump it once.

you would be so scared the first time that you would be "OK" but if you got comfy with it, you would kill yourself...

[dharma1976 0]

because most people come her asking questions because someone has already told them what we are going to say on thier dropzone...which I swear I never did at all...



Dave

http://www.skyjunky.com

CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

[SkyDivinRyan 0]

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Because, typically, that's exactly what they are thinking. I used to be that guy, so I can positively say it's true.

Definatley make sence thanks guys