If
it goes wrong
If you get into a spin or fall off a position - get stable, check
your altitude and, if height permits, try again. Try new bursts of
skills in ten second intervals. You will tend to drift across the
sky when first learning, so turning around after ten seconds and going
back the other way will help. |
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| Do not rely on
audibles if you cannot read your altimeter or see the ground in freefall |
It is
helpful to practice being 'unstable'. Your body and mind need to learn
that face-to-earth is not the only way to fly. For example, if you
do get into a spin and are confident that you can handle it, why not
throw in a barrel roll as well? The overall object is to be in control
in any way - that's what 'stable' really means. On your early jumps,
if you are out of control and solo, get face to earth, it's what you
are used to.
Make sure there is no-one above you before you go belly-to-earth or
you run the risk of 'corking' (see later) and will go up and collide
at a very high speed with anyone above you. This is why it is essential
to be able to recover into a faster position (head-up or head-down)
before going on to jump with others. Learn to tuck into a tight ball
if you go unstable in order to keep up the fall rate. Practice this
skill on your own first.
Stay Small
Only do solo jumps until you are skilled in basic positions and can
revert to them in times of stress and instability. Spend a few jumps
on just one move until it becomes second nature. Don't become disappointed
if it doesn't happen all at once.
Master the skills of recovery, turns, fall rate, forward and back
movement before going out with larger groups, or go out with experienced
freeflyers who will be happy to help. Do lots of 2-ways first with
experienced freeflyers.
2-ways with both inexperienced freeflyers are dangerous. There is
a very high risk of collision at high speed.
With the added third dimension to flying, the chances of a 'zoo' dive
become greater so it's best not to have too many people to start with. |
Altitude Awareness
Freeflying can be as much as 50% faster than belly flying, so it's
particularly important to keep good track of altitude as you've probably
developed a body clock based on belly flying. |
Break-Off
Have a plan, even a rough safety idea. Determine break-off and deployment
altitudes. Break off heights need to be a little bit higher as you
need time to:
(a) get belly to earth
(b) slow down
(c) track away before you pull. |
Allow time for people to look first
before tracking off
Do not break off randomly; keep slots on break-off too.
On bigger ways use staged break-offs and deployments; leave first,
track off and pull a little higher.
For beginners, I recommend breaking off at 5,000ft for the first few
jumps. Think of barrel rolling whilst in a track to check the airspace
all around you - a really good general survival skill. |
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Audibles
Remember,
do not rely on audibles if you cannot read your altimeter or see the
ground in freefall. If you totally rely on your audibles, what will
you do if this fails? Some manufacturers advise the use of two - although
some sceptics would call this a sales ploy!
Have fun - stay safe to do it again! |
Learn to barrel
roll whilst in a track to check the airspace all around you - a really
good general survival skill.
Practice this technique alone first! |
Head Up Flying
(Sit and Stand)
Think of sit and stand as being a combination of head-up speeds -
with sit being the slower position and stand-up being the faster fall
rate - with all the subtle variations of speed and body position in
between. This will avoid those dives when many people tend to begin
in 'sit' and then change to 'stand-up', radically altering their fall
rates - without really getting what they want. |
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Work on learning a skill in the slower
speed range - 'sitting' - this also seems to have a lower centre of
gravity so initially it's easier until you become proficient, then
speed up the fall rate - this will greatly improve your balance and
when learning more advanced moves (for example carving) will make
it easier. |
The Position
This position can consist of a series of angles - keep your spine
straight and 'think tall' - push your hips forward slightly (just
an inch or so).
For a faster position, keep the position as before - straighten your
legs and have them a comfortable width apart (about shoulder width).
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Centre Point
Now you have an idea of head-up positions, imagine a 'centre point'
just a few inches below your belly button (this is where you initiate
movement from. Focus on this point in your body - notice how it affects
the whole way we walk, run, jump. Notice how your body seems to follow
this point, this centre of gravity.
A good exercise to feel this centre point of balance is:
Kneel on the floor, keep a really straight spine and close your eyes.
Now get a friend to rock you from side to side, large movements to
start (not too fast), let your friend keep rocking you, just make
the side-to-side movements smaller until eventually you stop.
Feel how losing your balance helps you understand where your balance
is. Focussing on this point will help you understand movement in freefall. |
Legs
Blowing Up
When learning to fly head-up, remember to push your legs down into
the airflow, think of the angles you need and keeping your hips forward
a little and your centre of gravity. People often ask, 'How hard do
I push my legs down?' The answer is - until they are down! |
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| Someone in a radical position
or moving around is probably on the edge of control so give them a
wide berth |
On Your back??
If you end up in a reclined position on your back - don't worry -
just relax and smile! - check that your body is in symmetry - arms,
elbows, knees, feet (if it is, you will be falling back to earth and
stable). Roll back your shoulders and arms, so that your arms are
level |
with your head and push your hands
against the airflow (sort of like rowing a boat). Push down with your
legs at the same time - don't forget to keep your legs pushing down.
This should place you in a more vertical position (ie, spine vertical
in the airflow). |
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New Arm Position
Try this: hold a weight with your arms outstretched and now, with
a 90ƒ bend. See how much easier it is to lift. In the same way, when
head-up flying, use your arms a bit closer to your body. This will
make it easier to fly head-up (and also later on will help you going
forward, back, slipping to the side, and taking grips). Palms against
the wind feels easy too.
I cannot over emphasis the need to keep elbows below the shoulders
- in all but the fastest flying, if you let your arms blow up you
will go faster. A lot of stand-up dives become a race to the ground,
with everybody looking at each other, arms right up and movement can
become erratic in this position.
It's easier to read your alti too: |
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Holding
a Heading
Learn to find a heading and hold it. Pick an object (the sun or any
reference point that will not move). After exit, turn 90ƒ from the
direction the aircraft is going (the line of flight), either way is
good. This makes things much safer. If you track up the line of flight,
you risk collision with others, either in freefall or under canopy.
When starting to learn to freefly, you will tend to drift around the
sky a bit, so try bursts of skills and then turn around and go back
the other way. |
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