Skysurfing - Why Would You  April 2003

 
  The thought of jumping a skysurf board has most of us reaching for the Imodium, yet it's not as inaccessible, nor as hard as you might think.

David Fish, describes his experiences earning his SS1 qualification for skysurfing. Share his journey from a beginner's board, through a slightly larger one and finally, the full monty. It's not the huge step into madness that you may imagine; there's a logical progression system to help you gain the skills you need.

I decided that the best way to embark on this new activity was to head off to Skydive Portugal with Tim Porter for 10 days focusing just on skysurfing. You can learn to skysurf in the UK too, Dave Sturgeon runs skysurf training at Sibson most weekends.


Master Head-up First
There's a lot you can do before you get on your first board. The better your head-up flying, in particular your stand-up, the easier you'll find the board. The BPA has laid down some minimum requirements (downloadable from the BPA website) that you should meet before getting on a board and this includes good stand-up control as well as the ability to stop fast spins quickly. Spending time practicing these basics is well worth the effort.
 
Starter Board
The first few board jumps are done on a starter board, this is about 32" long and has the bindings set so that your feet are pointing across the board rather than in line with it. This is because the board is too small to deploy in the stand-up position; by having your feet across the board you can fly flat with it tucked up and deploy in a normal belly to earth position. Jumping the starter board gets you used to having your feet bound to a solid object. You build you up slowly to the bigger boards (which can bite!).

Having spent half a day on the ground, putting the board on, laying on creepers, varying the board's position for deployment and going over new emergency procedures it was time for my first board jump.

The First Board Jump
The first thing that surprised me was how much effort it takes to put the board on in the aircraft. I practiced many times on the ground but it's a different ball game when climbing to altitude in an aircraft full of jumpers!

 
32'' Starter Board
Bindings are set across the board so you deploy face to earth
Skydive Portugal's Super Otter is very quick in the climb, so I started to put the board on at 4,000 ft which gave me a little time at the top end to prepare for the jump ahead and - er - relax!

It was like doing AFF level 1 all over again. Not knowing what to expect, excited, nervous, wanting to do well but unsure of what 'doing well' really meant. The first jump was all about finding a good body position for the deployment. The whole jump was spent in a belly to earth position varying the position of the board to see what it did to the angle and stability of my position. Tim was flying in front of me (also flying flat - a very rare sight) giving signals. The main danger with belly to earth deployment is if the pilot chute goes between the board and your legs; this is definitely not a good situation!

The deployment height for the initial jumps is 6,000 ft, this allows extra time to sort out the minor complications that come from having a board attached to your feet should you have a malfunction. With a good body position, thumbs up from Tim and 6K approaching, itwas time to pitch out the pilot chute. Once I had a good canopy and the DZ located there was plenty of time to reach down and undo the bindings ready for dropping the board on landing.

It was one of my most exciting jumps since AFF. I had a smile from ear to ear as I walked in from the landing area with my new toy under my arm.
 

Second Jump
It was time to try this surfing malarkey. I felt a bit more pressure mixed with nerves of what was to come when I left the apparent security of the Otter's airframe. Great energy was put into making sure the board was tightly attached to both feet and that the all-important cutaway cable was correctly routed and connected.

A little undignified hop to the door and it was out into the slipstream for a second time. After a couple of loops I was on top of the board and it's hard to explain how good that felt. It's easier to stand on the board than do normal stand-up flying and, once on top, it's quite a stable platform. After three board jumps the grin lasted all night - but sadly the case of beer didn't!

One of the main differences between the starter and the next size training board is you can physically muscle the starter board around the sky but the bigger board will have none of that! You have to fly it and control it or it will control you. The larger boards are about technique not physical strength.

The next few jumps were about finding out what happens as the board moved through the airflow; this is achieved by doing front and back layouts and then practicing different recovery techniques to get back on top of the board when they didn't work. With every jump it became easier to stand the board up. As the number of jumps on the starter board broke into double figures it was time to prepare for the addition of another 12 inches!

Deployment
As the bindings on the starter board are set up for a belly to earth deployment you have to twist at the waist in order to fly in line with board. Once this is sorted you can start doing practice pulls in the stand-up position. It's really important that you can carry these out smoothly and without turning. With the bigger boards you must deploy standing up so this skill must be practiced before moving on.
Finally Tim wanted to see some spinning before I could hop on the bigger board. The logic behind this is to find the edge, see how fast the board can get and then learn to control it. When the horizon is a blur, one of the hardest but most important things is to stay calm, breathe and look at the board. This was to become very useful as the boards started to get bigger...
 

 

Training Board
After spinning, looping and spinning some more it was time to make the step up to the 44 inch training board. This was as much a mental step as physical. It's bigger, the foot position's different and you have to deploy in stand-up. 'What if...' goes through your mind. You know that you can get rid of the board if you have to but pride means that you don't want to consider that.

It was back to that AFF level 1 feeling all over again - only this time, I felt I should know better! With Tim on the camera step and the board pointing out the door it was time to try a nice surfing down the slipstream exit and see if I was going to make a 'real' skysurfer.

The exit almost went well and for a second I was in control and nearly on top of the board - then it all went to rats... I quickly learned the power and control the board can exert on you and, as the altitude slipped away, so did my energy. Looping, spinning, there was even a helicopter as the board surfed me around the sky.
Staying as calm as possible, constantly monitoring the altitude I kept working to try and get back in control, knowing as every second passed I was less likely to pull off a stand-up deployment and more likely to be cutting the board away.

44'' Training Board
The different foot position means you must deploy in a stand-up
 

Spinning Like a Rag Doll in a Washing Machine
Passing 7,000ft, I was still looping and spinning like a rag doll in a washing machine. I was confident the board was history but remained determined to put up a good fight. At 5,000ft, deployment time, I went for the cutaway pad located at the top of my trousers. With two hands firmly gripping the pad and the board inverted above my head I pulled the release and kicked with my feet to ensure the board was jettisoned.

As it shot off I rolled flat with the cutaway cable flying around in my left hand. I found I had no control over my legs at all, finally free from the plank that had drained all their strength, they were now flapping uselessly in the wind. Under canopy by 4,000 ft, there was just time to reflect on the last 40 seconds of fun before concentrating on getting back to the DZ and watching the board as it floated down under its recovery parachute, activated when it was cut away.

The ripple of applause bemused me as I landed. I was even more surprised by the slaps on the back and the shouts of 'Well done!'. Had they not seen that the board made its own way back to the DZ? Perhaps they had mixed me up with someone who had achieved something rather than failing, which is how I felt at this point.
What I couldn't see then and didn't see for a couple of days, was that I had probably learned more from this skydive than any of my previous board jumps. Although things had not gone to plan, I gave it my best and, above all, I had done the right things to stay alive.

After watching the video it was clear that I was trying far too hard with too much energy not being used to good effect. I was back in the air on the next load with the starter board and threw it around the sky!

Back in the Saddle
The next morning my first jump was back on the bigger board. I had mixed feelings; my confidence was dented but I was more relaxed with the knowledge that the cutaway had worked and encouraged by the support from everyone. I didn't tell anyone but I had decided that, if I couldn't get control on this jump, that would be it. I would take a break from skysurfing, reflect and consider whether or not to return.

I was given a piece of advice that was to prove extremely valuable in my quest to become a skysurfer. When you are trying to get back on top of the board or to stop a spin, look at the angle or pitch of the board. You can then use your feet to change the pitch and this will accelerate or stop the spin.

Staying as relaxed as possible in the aircraft, I blocked out everything and focused on the task ahead - stand up and deploy! The exit was smooth but not perfect and, after a front loop and a short spin, I had the board in front of me in a sit-spin type position. Looking at it I was able to control the heading and within seconds I was on top. WOW, what a feeling! I felt in control and it was a lot more stable than the starter board. A big grin and a thumbs-up from Tim flying head-down in front of me. A couple of practice pulls and then it was time to go for the live pull. A nice smooth deployment and I was elated. I started to believe that I could become a skysurfer after all.

Now I learned how to keep control in the same way as with the starter, practicing front and back layouts, sit spins and tracking. Techniques are the same but everything on the bigger board needs to be executed more cleanly.
 

Intermediate / Full Size Board
The more difficult moves were always practiced higher up so that, if I lost control, I had altitude on my side. After about 30 board jumps I moved up another 3" to the 47" board I am jumping at the moment. Even this small increase made a difference. Any out of control spin that isn't stopped quickly winds up real fast. I may stay on this size board as it is both challenging and fun but, if I eventually want to compete, the board must be 75% of my height, around 54".

SSI Qualification
Everything was finally put together to make a skydive in line with BPA requirements for the SS1 qualification, I passed!

Skysurfing Hot Tips

  • Take it slowly, learn at your own pace
  • Use the proper equipment, gear and clothing
  • Get good coaching from someone who knows
  • Listen and learn
  • Never be afraid to get rid of the board
  • Do it because you want to, not because you think it's cool!
 

77'' Intermediate/Full Size Board
A good all-round board
  Skysurf with a Friend
As the week came to a close we started to have some fun doing a 2-way board jump with Tim docking on the board while Andrew carved around us head-down flying camera. It's hard to describe how much fun and how rewarding these jumps were. After so much work and a little stress I knew what it was all about and I why I had started the journey to become a skysurfer.

I still have a huge amount to learn. I'm sure there are going to be times when I wonder why I ever started skysurfing but, while I enjoy it, I'll build my skills. I may even compete one day. For sure, skysurfing is not for everyone but, when you have watched the sun set while standing on the board after gliding down the slipstream and docking with your cameraman, you understand why people do it. And this is just the beginning...

Skysurfing. Why would you? Well you'll never know unless you have a go!

 
Thanks to Tim Porter, Andrew Pfeiffer, Dave Sturgeon, Tracey, Adam and Andy

Words by David Fish
fish@flyingpictures.com

Links to Related Articles:
So You Wannabe a Skysurfer
Big-way Skysurf

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