cisneros@trwrba.UUCP (Robert D. Cisneros) (10/30/85)
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During this last weekend, while jumping my local Drop Zone, I had the
opportunity to jump in a borrowed jumpsuit. My jumpsuit is a Flight Suit
SFR (Standard Fall Rate) jumpsuit, and up until now I've been very happy
with it.
The jumpsuit that I borrowed was a very snug fitting cotton jumpsuit.
The difference is like night and day! This jumpsuit allowed me to fall
like a stone, but the best part was I was able to slightly reach out for
people while RWing. I was jumping with a few friends who are much taller
and weigh more than I do (I'm about 5'11", 165 lbs) and I usually end up
having to tuck up and get really small to fall relative with them, with
this jumpsuit NO PROBLEM.
I was wondering if you net.jumpers have experienced similar results
with tight jumpsuits. The guy I borrowed the jumpsuit from is smaller
than I am and he swears by tight jumpsuits. According to him, when doing
sequentials the tight suits allow you to fly your body more efficiently.
This brings up another question, what happens if I jump with someone
who flies in a SFR jumpsuit and is my size? Now I'll have to be the one
"Hugging the Ball" to float up to the formation.
If you have any comments I'd appreciate the input.
Thanks in Advance,
Robert Cisneros
@ TRWkas@hp-pcd.UUCP (kas) (11/06/85)
About a year ago I bought a new SFR Flitesuit because I had the
opposite problem -- I chronically went low and had to "Hug the Ball" to
get back up. I was just getting used to my new suit when along came two
skygods with their brand-new skinny suits. They were hardup to try them
out, so they invited anybody and everybody, including me, on their load.
I eagerly accepted their invitation, but when they saw my Flitesuit they
puked on it and said I would have to find a skinnier suit if I wanted to
jump with them. Since I didn't have my old suit with me that day, I had
to hunt around the DZ until I found someone about my size with an old
wingless suit. I put it on and up we went, after extensive dirt dives,
of course. We launched a four-way base off the plane very smoothly, but
as soon as we dropped grips to transition to the next point, down I went.
I got to watch everyone else's belly buttons for 10,000 feet. I "hugged
the ball" till it squeaked, but nothing I tried got me back up. So, the
moral is, skinny suits are not necessarily Gods' gift to skydivers. It
really depends on your own body dimensions and those of your fellow jump-
ers. Use a suit that you are comfortable with, and matches you well with
those you commonly jump with. I, for one, will stick to my Flitesuit for-
evermore, no matter what the skygods say. I don't pay good skydiving bucks
to watch everything with a worms-eye view.
You are right about one thing though -- reaching out with a winged
suit will invariably cause you to backslide. This forces you to fly to your
slot with great precision, and take grips only when you get there. I don't
mind it though, because it has forced me to tidy up some of my sloppy flying
habits. The nice thing about my Flitesuit is that I can always "fold my
wings" if I need to fall faster, but they're there for me when I need to
slow down. Once you go low with a tight suit, you're probably down for good.
It is commonly assumed that a faster fall rate will give you "crisper"
control. This is probably true. But think about this: Joe Skygod is wearing
his skinny suit so he'll fall faster and have "more control". I am wearing
my Flitesuit, and am still able to fall at the same rate as Joe. So how much
difference can there be between our degree of "control"? Not much, I'll bet,
as long as we're falling at the same speed. About the only difference is
that Joe can reach for me without severe effects, but I can't reach for him.
Oh well, to each his own...
*
/ \
|---/---\---| Ken Scofield C-9355
| Gone | Hewlett-Packard PCD
| Jumpin' | Corvallis, OR
|-----------|
{ucbvax!hplabs, harpo, ogcvax}!hp-pcd!kasal@infoswx.UUCP (11/13/85)
I went to the 1984 Jumpfest at Ft Collins CO, and the Coors team was there and gave an RW seminar. Their words were that the size of the jumpsuit was no where near as important as everybody falling at the same rate. I believe the SFR was an attempt to do this, but unfortunately, the suit is too slow. I got a "104", and because of my weight (5'10" 185#) the suit has large wings compared to the others at my DZ. Although I am a little "sloppier" than the skinner suits, my fall rate is the same, and the RW works out better. The bottom line is: 1. You should have someone who knows how to sew take in your suit a little 2. If you want to be a "competition" skydiver, loose weight and buy a smaller suit. 3. If you want to have fun, but not be "competition", screw the little "skygods" and find someone who likes the things you do. Al Gettier Teknekron Infoswitch ihnp4!infoswx!al convex!infoswx!al