Point position - Meeker Exit

[ladyskydiver 0]

I'm point for my team. On the meeker exit, no matter how hard I'm holding onto the grip and presenting myself to the relative wind, I seem to keep losing my grip. Any suggestions? It's really beginning to annoy me.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[weid14 0]

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I'm point for my team. On the meeker exit, no matter how hard I'm holding onto the grip and presenting myself to the relative wind, I seem to keep losing my grip. Any suggestions? It's really beginning to annoy me.

where is the OC going? how are you presenting? how is the timing?

if you are trying to put yourself straight out.... and the OC is droping away, you'll lose that grip, the OC need to get their hips straight out (many ways to explain, but they should not drop below a line straight out from where they are in the door).

Many exits that you think you are messing up on could be the result of someone else not going where they should. (that's where that whole video thing comes into play)

[Ron 10]

David....What are you up to anyway?

Care to come to FL and play some?

Ron

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[ladyskydiver 0]

We've got video of the jumps that I'm referring to and will be getting a debrief on it later - last night it was too late.

But, I appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[Dumpster 0]

Refresh my memory- Who was OC last night? Don't get too flustered until we jump again and I'm back on OC. I'll have some things to share with you before we jump on presentation.

Easy Does It

[eeneR 3]

Just thought you guys might be interested....GK is doing a 4-way camp at SDC this weekend.

We got to work with them a bit last weekend...ok so we had one of them to ourselves the entire weekend

They were a great help last weekend!!!

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[Dumpster 0]

You don't know how much I would like to be able to get there this weekend! Meeting up with you and Chris wouldn't be so bad, either!

Easy Does It

[ladyskydiver 0]

oooh...I so wish I could go. Unfortunately, I've got some commitments prior to going to SK and then a couple at SK that are not team related. It would be great to meet you, however, and I'll look forward to meeting you soon.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[ladyskydiver 0]

I'll talk with you on Saturday about it, k?
Lem is going to be there as well organizing so we'll be able to get some pointers from him again. YEAH!!!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[weid14 0]

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David....What are you up to anyway?

Care to come to FL and play some?

Ron

does it involve fast 4way and hot women?? if so I'm in! (ok, it doesn't have to involve hot women, just fast 4way). my rig is in date! (well, one of them)

[Ron 10]

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does it involve fast 4way and hot women?? if so I'm in!

Well we need a 4th, we lost a guy.

We did a 16.6 with 20 jumps, and a15.4 with an alternate...
There was that one gilr who asked me "Who is the cutie" last time you were here.

So ,I would say yes to both...Good jumps and a girl...Man your lucky day huh?


Ron

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[ladyskydiver 0]

Hey, guys!

Would you, please, take this conversation to PM's? I really am trying to learn something here and your conversation is not helping me learn anything or giving me suggestions on how to "fix" losing a grip. Thanks!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[Squeak 17]

Take a grip on me Cora I'll make certain it sticks

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?

[Ron 10]

well sure, but with out video all we could do is guess why you could not hold the grip.

So you would do much better talking to someone that has seen the video.

Post the video, or you can mail it to me if you wish.

You could try to give more detail on what you are doing for exit, but it is almost impossible to coach over the internet.

Ron

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[ladyskydiver 0]

I know that without video and a better description, it's hard to coach. And, I appreciate the attempts that have been made.

If I can get a copy of the video from the tape and get in on my computer, I will post the video.

What we have been doing is having point and IC inside the plane with tail and OC outside the plane. Point (me) is grabbing a hold of OC's leg grip and IC is grabbing a hold of point's leg grip. IC is giving the count.

I'm trying to make sure that my body is presented to the relative wind.

We're going to be showing the video to one of our coach's tomorrow. And, if I can get a computer copy of the video, I'll post it.

The problem with the video is that you couldn't see the exit. You saw IC still holding onto my leg grip but I had lost OC's leg grip.

So, unfortunately, this is the best description I can give for now. But, I thank you for the effort.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[Albatross 0]

O.K. Lets try and get specific here.
Is the grip being pulled out of your hand down or rotating aways from you.
Where is everyone going after you loose the grip?
Is the formation spinning?
On video is the OC or the IC cut into the wind?
Does this happen on a stairstp dimnond exit?
Can you post the video?

When I flew point I thought about putting myself above the OC on exit. That meant that I had to wait until she launched and that I had to step forward to a position where my shoulder was directly above her hip/knee. The 1 step forward made the grip much easier. I have also seen that if the tail is not getting out and "contering" the rotation that sometimes the formation just rotates out of the point's hand.

Does that help?

Chris

[ladyskydiver 0]

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Is the grip being pulled out of your hand down or rotating aways from you.

It's more rotating away from me.

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Where is everyone going after you loose the grip?

They are starting to rotate, and IC still has ahold of my leg gripper. After that I'm able to regrab OC's leg grip.

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Is the formation spinning?

Yes, it starts to spin.

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On video is the OC or the IC cut into the wind?

Not sure what you mean by "cut into the wind."

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Does this happen on a stairstp dimnond exit?

I haven't done a stairstep diamond exit with the team, yet.

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Can you post the video?

The video guy wasn't at the DZ today so I wasn't able to ask him to email it to me. As soon as I'm able to get a copy, I will post it.

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...putting myself above the OC on exit.

Ah....k...understand that. I'll try that the next time we jump.

Thanks!!!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[Samurai136 0]

If it is rotating away from you that suggests that OC is launching too far out. That causes you and the formation to be 'dragged around the corner' and continue spinning.
OC could be launching to far out for many reasons. One may be that the tail is not 'dropping' to their slot, locking the base of the formation and is instead launching out parallel to the wing forcing the OC to go further out to get their clean air.

If you have access to any video of Golden Knights or Airspeed launching a meeker, watch the exit over and over and only focus on one position. Really watch how the tail just drops down on the launch and OC just gets their hip up and presented to the wind and only hops out enough to give IC room to get some air.

Another solution is to take your grip on the legstrap and do a grip switch on the hill and let the spinning sort itself out. Based on your descriptions, OC and tail need a minor correction to their launch technique that you can sort out on the mock-up and have it fixed in one or two jumps.
Ken

"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

[ladyskydiver 0]

Thanks for the info. I now have the Airspeed video and have watched it a few times already. I'm pretty much expecting to wear the tape out.

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...have it fixed in one or two jumps.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm definitely going to do my best for my team to get my part nailed.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[Albatross 0]

Rotation in the meeker is caused most often by a combination of timing and presentation. As was mentioned if the OC "falls" off the plane they move down into the quadrent that the tail should be in nd the whole thing spins. Unfortunately for the OC this is often caused by the tail or the IC and the OC takes the blame. When you see the exit on tape watch the exit slowly (ie frame by frame) and see if the following happens.
1. tail goes down and rotates their right side down. Often novice tails rise up with the rest of the team and put their center point above the OC. This will cause a spin and will often make the tail cut into the wind (ie their side and not belly facing the relative wind) you should see the tail's container for a second as they drop out of the frame.
2. The IC should slide their hips through the "hole" created as the tail launches down. This will place the IC "below" (to the tail side of the OC). Make sure that the IC just goes down not up (similar to the tail).
3. OC should focus on placing themselves above and out side of the tail and more importantly on presenting their hips to the relative wind. Many OC try too hard to get up and end up cut because they jump but do not present.
4. Finally Point is placing their body on top of the centers and makeing sure to present. to help the OC point can "curl" (like a bicpe curl) the OC leg up.

Finally if their is a little spin the Outside fliers (point and tail) can counter it right out the door by sticking their outside arm forward.

Chris

[ladyskydiver 0]

Thank you for the things to look for. This helps a ton!!!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.