WrongWay

Okay, these are all good questions. 1. Having your arms slightly behind you isn't a bad thing at all. Actually, you will want them slightly back for stability, but stay nice and relaxed. As for having them up higher or down lower, this will vary on every jump, for the simple reason of FALLRATE. The higher your arms are, the faster you go, but you'll lose stability if you use your arms for this. Here's what you should do. 1. Relax your arms, put'em slightly behind you but not much. Just make them as comfortable as possible, they won't be used for much other than a little stability and hand docks (when you're ready for it). Don't worry about putting them up or down, it won't matter. 2. Use your legs for most fall rate stuff. Keep that nice wide stance I was talking about earlier, and not only will you be stable as a rock, but you'll be able to go really slow or really fast. To go slow (like belly speed), bring your knees in (but NOT your feet) in order to cup air and go slow. To go faster, push your legs down a little bit, and that will create less surface area, making you faster. 3. GET COACHING. Solo's are okay for learning to be stable, but you could be sliding all over the sky and have no idea. An experienced coach will help you fly straight and stable, and he'll tip you on your position, plus you'll get good video!! One coached jump is worth 20 fun jumps, so go get it. Need anything else, drop me a line, I hope I helped!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

What about using all Steel and making the tail a little shorter? Do you think that'd work?? Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

You're hooked bro!! Congrats!! I did the same thing. I ended up doing four tandems in my first weekend, and finished my student prog. in like 3 weeks. Welcome to the club. Now GO and JUMP YOUR ASS OFF!!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Here's the way I like to teach it on the rare occasion we have new freeflyers wanting coaching....... Exit: The best way I've been able to teach newbies with the exit is to do a train with them on the back.That way, you're holding them in the correct position and all they have to do is stay in that position when you break to look at them. Granted, for actual coaching this won't help much, as you won't get video on exit, but if it's video you want, tell them to hop out in the position you taught them on the ground with their butt to the prop. Concepts: Make sure they understand the concept before you take them up. The term "sitfly" is kind of deceiving. Drill into their head that their not actually "sitting", they're really hanging by their arms, and pushing their feet down into the wind so it looks like their sitting, but no butt is involved. Tell them that if they try to actually "sit", then their just going to end up on their back. They should feel lots of wind on their arms and mainly the balls and arches of their feet. Body positioning: Even though there are shortcuts to learning, you don't want them to develop bad habits at the beginning. Make sure they have a nice WIDE stance with their feet, increasing stability and making sure that their hands will be free to do docks in the future. Too many times have I seen people learn to sit with this "legs tight in a ball" kinda thing, thinking that just because they're upright they're doing it right. Also, teaching the "zen" thing isn't a good call. I'm referring to the indian style sitting position. While it may look cool once you already know how to fly, it won't teach a newbie anything about flying with their legs, and they're fall rate control will be awful. Movement: Emphasize the importance of flying with the legs. Teach simple turns and things using some arms, some legs, but most movement should be all legs. After they get all that, they should be fine on their own, and you'll be able to talk to them in terms of "Well this is what I do" and stuff like that. Hope I helped!!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

I'll be there, maybe we can go hd from a little over 3800 feet this time, and I'll go low with ya to make up for last time. How's break at 3500 sound??? Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Val, I hear you're a natural!! Congrats, and I must say, the suit you were jumping was SWEET. Man, I'm the only guy at the dz not to give in to the peer pressure of the nylon crack yet!! I can just hear the voices in my head repeating themselves on the plane... "Must.................join.........................floooooooooooock................................................" Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Hey man, I just lost both my grandparents a couple months ago, I know how you feel. If you need to talk, PM me. Good luck to you pal, let me know if I can help. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Yeah man, it happens to everyone all the time. There was a dude at my dz who I could never jump with. He was the badass freeflyer out there, and I kinda looked up to him as a mentor, so to this day I still can barely fly with him. Hahaha, he has to think I'm the shittiest freeflyer on the planet, hahahaha!!! It happens man, just enjoy every jump, even the fucked up ones. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

About how much of each (lead and steel) should I put into the ball?? Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Get something baggy on bottom, tight on top (ooh lala!!) The best advice I could give you is don't think about what you're doing. Just RELAX, spread your legs, breathe, and fly it. It'll make SO much sense if you just leave the plane and feel the wind. If you feel wind on the sides of your legs, you're falling straight (well, theoretically), feel wind on your heels, youre going forward, wind on your shins or toes, you're going backward, wind on your shins, you're moving like a bat out of hell. If you want to think technical stuff, here's a list of stuff to remember, but try not to keep your mind on the techs, the more you think about it, the worse you'll fly. 1. RELAX RELAX RELAX the upper body. You want all the wind to go right by it so you can use your arms for docks and stuff without losing your position. Plus, every freeflyer knows, the key to all flying is fluidity with the air, and breathing exercises and relaxing all you can will accomplish this. (And even though in belly flying you're used to the old "relax will make you go wicked fast" thing, your legs will anchor you in, and you don't have to worry about this. Relax as much as you can.) 2. Hips forward, this will help align your upper body with your lower so you'll be flying nice and straight. In time this will become autopilot. 3. Legs spread straight out to your sides in a strong yet comfortable position. You want to be able to feel the air on your legs, and control it, but you shouldn't have to force anything. You can have just as much power with your legs relaxed as you can with them flexed, so save your strength and your muscles, and let your legs fly. 4. Eyes to the horizon, or if you're with someone, their eyes. This will be the correct orientation. Remember, if your head is towards the ground, two things are happening. First, you're moving really fast horizontally (prolly backwards), and second, you're no longer head down, you're in a VERY steep track. Hmmmm..........well, that's all I can think of right now. If you have any questions, PM me, or better yet, ask Levin or Hookkit, they'll hook you up with some great advice. Hope I could help!!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Personally, I have 290 jumps and no cutaways (knocks on big f*ckin wood!!), and I either pack my rig very carefully, or have someone I trust and know is careful pack it. But still, there are no guarantees, so I check all my handles at least three times on the way to altitude. Remember dude, we may be used to being in freefall, and we may be used to minor mals (line twists, etc.), but we have to be prepared for when we do get cutaways, cuz the difference between laying back on the plane and spending time going through your emergency procedures could mean the difference between life and death. Personally, I choose life. It'll come one day, and when it does, be ready for it and (hopefully) you'll be fine. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Hey, does anybody here own a Vladiball, and what's the best way to load it (combination of shot) to fly at headdown speeds?? Also, what about the tail? I hear if you don't cut it just right, the shape will make it zoom all over the sky, hence eliminating the point of even having a ball. Any help would be appreciated!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Wingnut, Totally off subject, but aren't you the guy who had his canopy catch fire on opening once??? Nice pics by the way!!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Dude, if it were $10,000 tax free, I'd bear it!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Preach on my brother!!! Viva le revolution!!! Seriously, I couldn't agree more with what you just said. We need to teach the public through the media and demos. Hell, hold seminars!! We need to do all we can to provide info to the general public about just how safe skydiving really is. We need to tell them how "What if your chute doesn't open?" is practically a thing of the past. We need to explain to them the freedom and love that comes with our sport, the family atmosphere everywhere you go, and the bonds we form with all skydivers along the way. I personally have been able to come to skydivers I didn't really know with problems that I wouldn't tell my own family, and have received nothing but love and support from everyone. I want to be able to share this feeling with the world, whuffos and jumpers alike, as I'm sure you all do. We need to make an effort to promote our sport, the way it really is and not just the "Real TV" version, so that the general whuffo public may better understand us, and therefore support us in our efforts to stay in the air. SlotP, very well spoken, bravo. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

I understand your point completely, and I agree that the advancement of the sport strongly revolves around the newbies, as they will one day be the next freefly generation. But, there are several issues that would come up if this were the case. First, even some of the greatest freeflyers in the world can be horrible coaches and teachers. Some people just get it themselves, but have no teaching skills. These licenses are based on our OWN flying skills and safety we provide in the skydive by being a safe, proficient flyer. Second, let's say for instance the freeflyer is a wonderful teacher, but the student he's trying to "progress" is not a good student. (ie he doesn't listen, or just doesn't get it.) I know several AFF instuctors who were amazing at what they did, but the students just "didn't get it". Now we have a wonderful flyer who can't get his license just cuz some student wasn't ready to get off his belly. We get these licenses for ourselves, to prove that we are safe, proficient flyers. But I agree that at some point (not today, but maybe after the initial licenses are put into effect) there needs to be a test for coaching. Better yet, there needs to be a few licenses for it. For example, one for head up flying, one for head down, and one for advanced two way maneuvers. You have a good idea, and it should be considered for a separate license, but not in the original ones stated by the poster. Thanks for the input!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

I know a jumper who never waves off. I've seen this person complete a backloop and dump with people right there. (I have video.) Nasty thing to do. I never look at my bag, but as I'm tracking away, I usually track on my back, then do a couple barrel rolls before I pull, just in case. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Okay, here are the basic things you need to remember when doing docks with your hands while upright. Get a nice WIDE stance with your legs, with your hips forward. That will give you your stability to be free with your hands. (Thats very important) Then you want to think the same way you would when you pull, when you move one hand up, you move the other back to keep you in the same place. (i.e. If you're taking a right hand dock, move your left hand back.) Take a deep breath before you take the dock, relaxation and fluidity with the air is the key. Hope this helps!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Dear Sunshine, I have developed horrendously lustful thoughts for a certain pro freeflyer, whose eyes make me shudder at the way they shine, and whose hair blows in the wind like flowers in an open field. She has a body that only angels would possess, and a smile that gives me a warmth inside of a thousand suns. The animal magnetism burns me inside........ So, my question is, did you find out anything on that BASE course for me yet??? Thanks Sunshine!!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

And freeflygoddess rolling around in it. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Cool, I was just checkin......ya know, safety is #13, or somethin. What the hell was that number......2......no, thats not it...........uh........ Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Cute. I gotta try this, white boy style. Yo my homies, big up to tha masta playchibba!! Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet....................yo gonna be jumpin outta that plane, ma'n? You f*ckas are all craaaaaaazay........... Did I do okay??? Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

Phree, You sure he should be doin that buddy??? Doesn't he only have like 230 jumps er somethin??? I'm not whining, I just know that you turned me down cuz of jump numbers (well not really i didnt ask) but I knew he had less than I did, so add 2 and 2........ Dutch, You bring those and I will turn you in to the authorities for smuggling nylon crack. See ya this weekend buddy. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

I have one thing to say.... *goldfish looks up* "Hey, fish flakes!!" *goldfish looks down* "Hey, a castle!!!" *goldfish looks back up* "Hey look, fishflakes!!!" Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.

So are you all ghetto fabulous now or somethin??? Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails.