Just for Hippies?

Freeflying is for long haired, hippie, pinko, pot-smoking louts that can't even get out of the plane stable. 

They only do it to look cool. 

They're either on their heads or off their heads! 

They zoom around and many are downright dangerous... Right?

Wrong.  Freeflyers are just like any other skydivers; they do it because they enjoy! Just like others of you out there that swear by your discipline, freeflyers love theirs. It is the part of the sport that they prefer. The part that they find themselves good at. The part that gives them more satisfaction. They are no different to any other skydiver and, believe it or not, most are actually quite normal! Freeflying is a difficult discipline to master. Although predominantly thought of as head-down flying, it actually involves flying the body in all positions. Not just the one position like in Formation Skydiving, moving your body around on your belly, but also upside down, on your feet, sitting, on your back and even tracking. It gives you all-round flying control at different speeds and is beneficial training, whatever your discipline.

photo by Dean O'Flaherty

Tracking
How many of you FS jumpers out there need to improve your tracking? With these new faster canopies, greater separation is needed before canopy deployment. Freeflying is a great and fun way to learn this skill. Freeflyers often spend a whole skydive just tracking. It's a relaxing way to finish a day whilst improving your skills at the same time. Probably the easiest freefly jump to start on, just don't forget to let the jumpmaster know so that he can adjust the spot accordingly and ensure that you don't interfere with other groups. Or, if you can track well already, can you do it on your back? Why not try?

Safety First
Make sure that you stay safe. Before attempting to freefly, you must receive a brief from an instructor or freefly coach. A lot of freeflying is done at higher speeds than conventional flying due to the body orientations. Before you start, modifications may need to be made to your gear. The deployment system should be either BOC (Bottom of Container) or pullout. Freeflying with a legstrap throwaway is asking for trouble! If you have a BOC, ensure the spandex is in good condition, especially the mouth of the pocket. Ensure the closing loop is tight and all bridle line is adequately tucked away leaving only the minimum amount exposed. The last thing you want is a premature deployment at 180 mph! See pictures in Safety in Head-up Flying article, safety information is also contained in Page 1 and Page 3 of that article.

Baggy clothing is popular but make sure that you tuck the top into your bottoms and secure it with your legstraps in order to prevent it from riding up over your handles. Many rigs have riser covers that blow open, this sometimes can't be helped. Paying attention when packing to the way you route your risers can help to stop them coming loose even if the riser covers do blow open.

Audible altimeters are a 'must'. Any body clock developed from belly flying is wrongly calibrated because of the shorter time freeflyers spend in freefall. An AAD is advisable because of the altitude factor and the potential for high speed collisions. There are many experienced freeflyers that can tell you of near misses they have had whilst in freefall. Don't let that happen to you. Jump in smaller groups with skydivers that have the necessary skills not to take you out. Wear a hard hat. There are any number of helmets around now designed specifically for freeflying. With increased speeds this will afford more protection than a leather 'blood-bonnet'.

There are many different theories on the exit order and whether freeflyers should go out first or last. If you are unsure about which to do, don't worry about it. As long as a sufficient length of time is left between groups (not just a few seconds), then it should not matter what type of flying the groups are doing. Be aware that with your extra freefall speed you will probably be under canopy before others on your load. Make sure you don't fly beneath their intended opening area and be conscious of the position of all canopies.

Give it a Go
If you've mastered one aspect of body flying, on your belly, maybe it's time to learn all the other aspects. Or are you scared of failure? Worried that you won't be able to learn a new discipline? Scared that people of lower experience whom you're 'ahead of' in FS will be better than you at head-down? There's no humiliation there, it's all in your mind. People will respect you more (not less) for trying it. Have you got the "I can fly on my belly, so why should I need to fly in any other position" attitude? Well there is no reason why you should. But if you try it, you never know, you might even like it. Your life - your choice.

Photo by Keith Larrett

Sit and Stand So it's time to have a go! It is a good idea to talk to someone experienced about what you intend to achieve during the dive. No need to bite off too much at once. Try and be disciplined with what you do. This will put you in good stead when you start to jump with others. If you have never tried freeflying before the logical place to start is Sit/Stand-up flying Ð this will give you the feel for the vertical nature of freeflying. Spend some time on the ground thinking about the where the wind will be coming from up there. A good exercise is to sit upright in a chair and feel the muscles in the front of your legs, back and stomach that you use to stand up out of the chair. This is what you will need to feel when you are in the air. Exit the aircraft with your back to the wind in a seated position and pick up a heading on the ground. This will feel really easy and comfortable for a while until the airspeed increases. You keep the seated position by keeping your feet pressed into the airflow as you pick up speed. This is the hardest part! Pay attention to the relative wind. You can make things easier by using your arms to create drag high on your body, lowering your centre of gravity. If you find your feet popping up, instead of trying to drag your feet and lower leg back through the airflow, try pulling your knees close in to your chest and pressing your feet down through the air Ð think about getting up from that chair and keep those arms out. Again, pay attention to heading; this will do wonders in helping to eliminate spins and orbiting. Experiment with the airflow by squishing your feet into the wind, try moving from a sitting position to a standing position. How ?? Remember the chair! Feel the increase in speed - YAHOO! Be sure to stay altitude aware as even sit/stand-up will burn altitude in a way you may not be accustomed - I mean really fast! Initially you should aim to go flat/break-off no later than 5,000-4,500 feet. This will allow you enough time belly-to-earth to slow down and deploy stable. Flipping over and dumping straight away will hurt - I guarantee you! See the series spanning three issues and fifteen pages giving more info on head-up flying

Head-down
If you've been sitting/standing on your own two feet for a while and feel comfortable with it you should try flying on your head. Although there is some perceived difficulty in flying head-down, once you have cracked it you'll what all the hoo-haa is about. Between sit/stand and head-down it is fair to say that most people find head-down to be the more natural position.

To get started get someone more experienced to take you out head-down a couple of times. This will allow you to orientate yourself and get the feel for the differences in body position, air flow, etc. Even when you are being helped to fly head-down by someone else you still need to fly your own body.

Initially it will be easier to exit the aircraft in a head-down orientation. Just the same as a belly-to-earth exit, you need to present your body to the wind straight out the door - in this case your head! After rolling out the door, head into the wind, first thing is to get those legs out wide Ð as a rule, if you feel like your legs are wide enough, spread them some more! Have a look at your legs. Try not to have your hands and arms too high, this will create instability and you don't really need them to fly anyway.

Pay attention to where you are feeling the air on your body; all the pressure should be on the sides of your legs, arms and hands. If you feel wind in your face and on the front of your body you are "backsliding" or in a steep track on your front. If you can feel air pressure on you back or the backs of your legs and arms you will be driving forward. Try arching and de-arching a little with your hips and feel the effect. The amount of movement required is very subtle and this is the hardest part to get your head around; the subtleties of falling 'down the tube'. Taking a heading and looking at the horizon will help a lot too!

Pay attention to altitude - make a point of doing alti checks - this might be harder than you think! As with any freeflying, give yourself the time to get flat and slow down. While you're learning, be aware that you can really cover some ground if you're not falling down the tube and the speed difference could have you passing other groups in freefall. Therefore, at break-off, clear your own airspace (even as a solo) before you dump.

See more info on head-down flying

The most important thing is to be safe and have fun! Catch the buzz - it's fast and furious but most of all, it's a wicked amount of fun!

Article by Al Macartney and Mark Swarbrick

Back to Apr 99 Contents

Back to previous 'Just for' article

Forward to next 'Just for' article