Worried

[marcs 0]

Im new at skydiving and i am a bit worried about starting freeflying at a later stage. I really want to start some time but im a bit worried about some things.What if you dont get the right position when flying head down or sit flying etc.... and you start to lose control. Isnt that a bit dangerous when you want to deploy your parachute. Or how would you get back to the belly flying position. Marc.

[reACTed 0]

I'm totally new to skydiving also (at least in a practical manner) but I've learned that the number one priority of every jump you make is to PULL, then to pull at the right altitude and then to pull from a stable position.

Concerning the losing control part, I think that is what learning to freefly is all about but when the time is there to start freeflying you're at least so far progressed in the sport that you can get a stable position from an unstable one. That's what's AFF is all about, with the unstable (dive) exits and backloops and stuff. In short, you know what to do, get stable or just check your altitude and pull.
Unstable pulls are not optimal but it's the right thing to do because you do not have all the time of the world.

Personally I had to do an unstable pull once, was on my back, my rig (leg thingies) were getting loose because of a major spin, and I was thinking... ok this sucks let's pull. When I recovered from the nice 5 twists in my risers (reserve was not an option since I knew that 15 seconds of freefall doesn't leave much altitude from an 5000ft exit), I was at an nice 1500 ft, landed the thing and kept swearing at myself the whole day.. Conclusion: thinking bad, pull good
These are my 2 cents, I think that the experienced Freeflyers on this forum can tell you more..

krek wak wou o_0

[SurfFlite 0]

Just arch just like you were taught to do. A big arch will recover you from most anything. (Except an out of control spin on a skyboard, but even arching works there sometimes.)

Of course if your audible is screaming at 1100 ft. just pull

Kerry

[skreamer 1]

When you are ready, get coaching from an experienced freefly coach. Not just experienced in terms of jump numbers but also experienced in terms of coaching. Along with freefly skills they will also teach you about safety (both for you and the people you jump with/after/before).

Buy a second audible and always keep a spare set of audible batteries in your gear bag.

Will

[reACTed 0]

Well that's what I did (pull, AAD going off wouldn't have been that, it's there to save you life but not if you easily could have done it yourself), but a little too late (well not too late, but later than I would have liked to) because I was in a situation I was never been before with a loose leg thingy, but I survived and it was the jump I learned the most from, some jumps later I had the same problem with the leg thingy and compensated it for 9000ft (with the most silly belly 2 earth body position). Really need to get rid of the student rigs
But I've got the feeling this goes a bit offtopic so I'll just shut up

krek wak wou o_0

[jsaxton 0]

At the end of the jump you will breakoff (turn and track) you will probably do this on your stomach (until you learn to track on your back) so you will already be belly to earth at pull time.

[lazyfrog 0]

if you lose control, go to ball position. You will keep more or less the same speed. going back to belly can be dangerous (like if you're not stable, you might drift and get under others...) and you would then pop up towards them...

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Fumer tue, péter pue
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ourson #10, Mosquito Uno, CBT 579

[78RATS 0]

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Really need to get rid of the student rigs

If your saying that the rig your freeflying in is not freefly friendly, DON"T JUMP IT.

Seriously - that shit will kill you.

Rat for Life - Fly till I die
When them stupid ass bitches ask why

[freeflybella 0]

Wow, Malaysia. Do you have any freefly coaches at your dz? If not, I would suggest taking a nice vacation to find one.
Do you have many freeflyers there?

In the interim, find an instructor on your dz and have them check any rig you want to FF in.

They should address the following:

1. EVERYTHING MUST STAY CLOSED until you open it!
- the riser covers must NOT come open
- the reserve and main covers must NOT come open

2. You should be able to tighten the harness (chest and leg straps) so that it does not move off either shoulder and when in a sit position, the leg straps do not move down your leg. (A pull-up cord tying your legstraps together at the butt will help)

3. ONLY jump a BOC or pull-out system. A pilot chute on your leg is UNACCEPTABLE. And your BOC pouch MUST be tight.

4. There should be NO bridle or fabric from your pilot chute exposed to the relative wind - ever. Tuck it all in.

5. An aad and cypres are advisable. (Some say essential)

Anyone else (Hookitt?) have anything to add?

If ANYTHING isn't good, take it to a rigger and have them fix it or get different gear. Do NOT jump unfriendly gear. Cost of gear compared to cost of life or limb, no comparison.

When your gear is FF friendly - watch lots of video and STICK TO SOLOS when you try anything.

Plan on being belly to earth by 2000 feet above your pull altitude - if you pull at 3,5 - be belly down by 5,5 etc.

Pretty much after that, not alot to be afraid of. Tumble away, stay altitude aware, arch to get on your belly and land safely.

Don't worry about a good body position at first - you won't have one and that's OK. As long as you're solo you can careen around the sky all you want. (Make sure your loader/instructor knows what you're up to so he can exit you accordingly)

With all the talk of safety it's easy to be afraid to try flailing around, but as long as you follow some strict but simple guidelines you'll be safe AND have a ball!

edited to add: EEEEEEK! Only 9 jumps??!! Ok, what I wrote still stands but you've got a ways to go before you actually get into this. Don't be in a hurry.

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[adamjenner 0]

one word...arch

[hookitt 1]

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Anyone else (Hookitt?) have anything to add?

Heck no.. that's a great list.

Good luck!

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[Levin 0]

4.5) Everyone should know the anatomy & physiology of their parachute container. They should also know how to check each of these areas for wear and tear and damage. They should know how and why different areas show wear the way they do. I think the USPA A,B,&C license (maybe D, but by the time you have 500...) test should include a couple of questions that test knowledge over some of the most simple and basic aspects of rigging. The common sense ones that pertain to maintaining your own personal gear inlcuding rental and student gear when jumping it. Such as replacing velcro and keeping cables clean; which finally brings me to the point of this post. And I only said personal because it is our own responsibility to make sure our rig is safe. It's the rigger's responsibility to repair and make the needed changes. Exceptions being the really simple things, just as easily done by the rig's owner. These are rubber bands, closing loops, flexing 3-rings and cleaning those cables because clean cables make it easier to cut-away. Much of the skydiving population as a whole do not how to make a closing loop or take care of it (heat and friction wears them out-prematurly. Put the pull-up cord under the pin and pull out slowly, a little at a time). Since the cables are hidden they all to often go neglected. Usually kerosine or wd-40 is what's available to me most of the time. Sometime's somekind of silicone spray. I think there is something out there that is recommended as the best thing to use (can't remember - maybe it's the silicone spray). Irregardless, any of those items or similar items will work. Some may take one wipe, others 2 or 3. Check the tips of red cables for metal wearing thru. The point I want to make is to the people that usually or always use packers. The packers only responsibility is to pack your parachute. Their job description does not include maintaining your rig. Most packers will replace a closing loop if it looks like it is going to break. Usually free of charge. Cables cannot be inspected by just glancing at the rig. Typically they just don't have the time to check and clean them. Think about this. If a packer mistakingly stows a break line wrong or forgets all together and you have a nasty spun up malfunction on your little loaded canopy and all of the sudden you can't cut-away. Whose fault is it that you got hurt or died?

I've talked to way to many new jumpers that don't know how to clean their cables. So they just don't do it. Instead wait the 120 days for the rigger to do it. I think once or twice a month is good. Point is know your rig and how to check the oil. Don't wait/rely on the mechanic to do it.

6. Headdown deployments are fun!!

Levin
vSCR#17
www.freeflyers.com

[apoil 0]

Quote

Wow, Malaysia. Do you have any freefly coaches at your dz? If not, I would suggest taking a nice vacation to find one.
Do you have many freeflyers there?

There are a couple of decent freefliers in Singapore who jump in Indonesia mostly but Malaysia sometimes as well.

Check out www.skydiveasia.org. They can help with the basics.


As to recovery, you don't get off student status without being able to recover stability on your belly. For freeflying altitude awareness is important and we make a plan to get flat on our bellies somewhere between 4000 and 5000 feet, sometimes higher.

An audible altimeter is hyper essential for maintaining altitude awareness at high speeds.

Malaysia skydiving is not safe. If you wanted to freefly with 9 jumps, no one would really stop you or make sure you had a cypres, or audible or hard helmet. Mostly because they don't freefly themselves, and don't know anything about how to teach it, but if they started telling you you couldn't do it, then it would become clear they knew nothing about it, and they'd lose face.