Diving A Dying Art? Good diving skills are essential to the success of any large formation load. Brit100 is just around the corner and demands skills that we don't get to practice every weekend.  Soon we're going to be asked to deliver.  Do you know what's required?

Photo by Simon Ward

It could be argued that diving is a dying art. About fifteen years ago the DC-3 was the most common large jump aircraft. With its tiny door you had to get a great exit and dive like an express train to hell in order to build a 40-way. The majority of today's big formations are built from one or two aircraft with large doors (tailgates for example). Brit100 will take place from at least five aircraft, up to three of them Turbolets which have a strung-out exit, so hot diving skills are needed. How often do you get the chance to do some hard core diving? We all do the odd boogie or 16-way competition but when did you last push your limits? Some of the information here may sound obvious but for that I don't apologise. In order to deliver at Brit100, we should think about what extra will be required and take this opportunity to remind ourselves of what we already know. The better we prepare ourselves in advance, the greater chance of realising our goal: 100 skydivers united in the skies over Britain.

General Tips
Pictures
Mentally prepare yourself as best you can. Picture your exit and presentation to the slipstream. Have in your mind's eye a picture of where you expect the base to be. Imagine every detail of your dive, flare, approach and docking. Include flying the formation and tracking off to build a complete mental video of the skydive. This will be easier once you've done some build up dives, you'll have a better idea of the anticipated pictures and angles.

Down the Wire
Head for where the formation will be, not where you initially see it as it leaves the lead aircraft. Imagine a straight line from you to this point and fly 'down the wire'. Be efficient by sticking to it without fishtailing.

References
Recapping on Darryl's Brit 100 article, use references. Pick up your reference(s) in the formation, (eg, line of flight, quadrant markers etc), as soon as possible. Follow the person in front of you to the formation but don't totally rely on them. Be aware they may be going to the wrong place (George!) or be peeling off from your path at some point. Pick up any other key references relevant to your slot and keep an eye open for traffic.

In the Aircraft
Sit in the aircraft in order. Don't find yourself at the wrong end of the aircraft on jump run, having to manoeuvre around people. Stay focussed, conserve your oxygen and be able to move swiftly into the line-up with minimum effort. If you're near the door, make sure you're warm enough by wearing more clothes.

Line-up
Think about the placement of your feet, head and hands, even your elbows and knees if you're jammed in the door. It can make the difference between a slick or slack exit. Mould yourself to the person in front. Use individual coloured tape to indicate foot position in the aircraft if you wish. Have your head off to the right and low if you're in a side door aircraft. Have the length of your forearms up the outside of their pack and tuck the top half of your fingers underneath the yoke. You don't need a death grip, just move with them. It's very tempting to try and look out of a window to see what's going on. There will be appointed 'base spotters' in each plane to keep an eye on the lead aircraft. Remember this is a team effort. Have faith, remain focussed and listen for the shout.

Exits
We always refer to leaving the aircraft as an 'exit'. Think of it more as an 'entry' into the skydive. We must ensure that we get off to a good start. 100m records aren't broken if you're slow off the blocks! The skydive starts inside the aircraft.

Lead Casa
22+, all on the tailgate, no CofG limits
We are depending on the divers in the lead Casa to get a real tight exit for a quick base. If all the divers pack together like sardines, there should be hardly any distance to go. You will find yourself doing more of a fast fall than a full-on dive.

Skyvans
8 on the tailgate, 2 on ramp threshold, 10 Divers, 3 abreast on C of G line.
The divers behind the C of G line should be 'giving it the Linford's' as soon as they hear the 'Go! Go! Go!' from the designated base spotter(s). Don't worry about those on the tailgate - they'll be gone by the time you get there. If they're not, you need to take them with you anyway!

Whatever the aircraft, give full commitment. Ride your buddy out of the door. If you find yourself still on them in the slipstream this need not be a problem, just ease yourself off to one side. Similarly, if someone is on your back don't kick or fight them, trust your team-mates to do their job and get off.

In the Slipstream
You're out... what are you waiting for? You should have gone already! Pick up your references immediately, use your momentum out of the door and go for it! Have an awareness of hitting the slipstream and be ready to react quickly. Adjust your position, maintaining stability whilst heading straight to where you want to go. Don't flare out of the door and look for the base before you start your dive. Don't wait to 'see where you end up'. Bad exit? Deal with it!

Diving Positions
There is no way to describe exactly what position(s) you are going to need. Do what you need to get to where you want to go, adjust your position as required. Having said that here are some basic positions that can be modified according to your angle on the base. These are not rigid positions, one flows naturally to the next in a steady transition.

Photo by Simon Ward

No-Lift Dive - Steepest Angle Inherently a steep dive building up maximum speed in the minimum amount of time. Make yourself as streamlined as possible to minimise drag. Arms tight against pack, hands clasped underneath is the most efficient position. Only use a no lift dive if the picture allows. You will not spend the whole dive in this position but it's good to employ at the top end of the skydive as it really gets you going. This is often useful for later divers from trail aircraft or if you find yourself steep on the formation. Be warned... in a true no-lift dive you are practically in a head down position and speed increases dramatically! Delta/Dive Position A traditional delta gives a variable angle with high speed. With legs straight and arms casually swept back your comparatively large surface area gives good directional and pitch control. The majority of diving is done in this position. You may find you adopt it after an initial no-lift dive or immediately out of the door, depending on the picture. Tracking - Flattest Angle Adopting a more classic, track-type position , dearched with arms down and legs straight, you have high lateral speed for low loss of altitude. This is handy if you find yourself flat on the base; this often happens in formation loads if you are one of the first divers out of the trail aircraft.

Steering in your Dive
Lead with your head. Your head weighs about 10lbs. Point this in the direction you want to go and you're off to a good start.

Directional Control
Movement around the axes is controlled by air deflection. Steer mainly with your shoulders and legs although anything you do with your position will have an effect. Basic physics means that when you're travelling at high speed, tiny moves such as hand deflections make a difference.

Pitch Control
Your attitude can be controlled by arching/dearching and forcing your arms and hands either way into the slipstream.

Flaring
Due to the nature of the formation you will be flaring out earlier than you would on say a 16 or 20-way. Sheepdog the diver in front and flare on them. Keep an eye on the divers further ahead too, if they suddenly go mighty big there's probably a good reason for it! The closer you are to the diver ahead, the faster you will need to react. Don't flare too early. If you flare unnecessarily high it hoses people further back down the line and it takes time to build up momentum again. It can also be dangerous. Use that speed while you've got it. If you need to stop quickly, stick it all out! If you still have some distance to make up you may be better off just relaxing your position a bit, slowing down gradually to a flare.

Flaring Techniques
When flaring you can use any or all of these positions: dearch; knees down; booties out; shoulders rolled; elbows down; teeth gritted; cheeks inflated. You can also adopt a backslide to wash off forward speed. In a good flare you can physically feel the deceleration. If you load up with more lead during the week, bear in mind that it is going to take longer to stop that extra inertia. No matter what techniques you use to dive down to the formation you must come to a complete halt before making your final approach.

The Final Approach
Dockings need to be precise and care should be taken on the final approach. We don't need any heroic arrivals! The formation, by its very design will be falling fast. The end of your dive will be spent in more of a fast fall position using your legs for forward movement. What you should see is the formation with tiers of jumpers stacked up on their final approach. If you are 'in the groove', you should find your final approach a steady cruise. Control your forward speed and rate of descent using legs and adjusting your arch. Respect the formation. If you over-boogie, get the hell out of there. Our primary concern is safety. We don't need someone taking out the formation or zooming around underneath it because they've over-cooked it.

Docking
Fly to your slot and STOP. Assess the formation, adjust your fall rate as necessary and pick up your grips using peripheral vision. What can you get away with? Not much! A hard docking on a load this size can have serious consequences, maybe even in another part of the formation. Take pride in what you're doing and give it 110%. Expect your team-mate behind to be right on your heels.

Flying the Formation
You must continue to fly once docked. Think about whether you want to wear your bootees. They are excellent for diving, steering and stopping but can sometimes be a hindrance when trying to keep a formation flying level. They can give you too much lift at the back. The automatic response is to tuck your bootees out of the slipstream which puts tension on the formation due to a backsliding position.

Practice Makes Perfect
As you probably know, Brit100 seminars have been taking place throughout the country since the end of February (in Scotland - Brrr!). There are more scheduled in the lead-up to the record attempt, check page 38 and Brit100 web site. This could be your best opportunity to try different techniques and hone your diving skills before the big event. Use these practice dives to push your envelope! There will be dives where you will have carte blanche to go for it, so use it while you can. Brit100 does not begin on 12 July... it's already started!

Rhino
rhino.uk@virgin.net 

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