Big ways
--------------
Most of us don't get to do big ways very often, so the information we
need to do them safely doesn't get disseminated as much as it needs to
be. Everything from dirt dives to formation flying to breakoffs needs
to be discussed. Most of the information that follows is verbal lore,
passed on from one CRWdog to another, but I'm attempting to write a lot
of it down, in hopes that the information can be spread farther. This
information is specifically written with big ways in mind, not for
competitive teams or anything like that. They'll necessarily do things
differently.
Gear
We'll start with a discussion of gear. For big-ways, you need to have
the same type of canopies with similar wing-loadings. Formations can be
built without these, but it makes planning the skydive much more
difficult. For example, we've discovered that Triathalons have much
longer lines than Lightnings - a Tri 160 has similar length lines to a
Lightning 218. When we built formations with a mixture of Triathalons
and Lightnings, we generally were putting the Triathalons all on one row
of the formation, as otherwise the formation would build crooked because
of the variety of line lengths. Triathalons also seem to have much more
sink than the Lightnings - this can affect how the formation flies. If
the formation gets too heavy - it can make it very difficult for the
Lightnings to dock upon it. I remember one time where we put a Prodigy
200 as 4th on a formation. It made the formation sink so badly (even
though he was flying brakes) the people attempting to dock the row 3
wings were shooting by like skyrockets. I once had a Prodigy dock below
me in a Lightning formation, and I was hanging on for dear life in utter
pain, praying for breakoff because it about my ripped my hips out of
socket. So you can mix canopies, but it makes life much more difficult.
Many people put 2-1 assists on their front risers. These are a simple
pulley system which helps people pull their front risers, and can make
life much easier if you need to front-riser for a long length of time.
Large toggles are good - they're much easier to grab quickly without
looking, and they can allow you to front-riser without also pulling down
the tail when you have your brakes in your hand. You should either have
long toggles, or have a long brake setting so that you can do this.
If you have one of the smaller Lightnings, one thing you might want to
be aware of is your bridle length. I recently found out that PD
installs the same length bridle on all Lightnings sized 176 and smaller.
Needless to say, a proper length bridle for a 176 can be long on a 113.
Many of us have found our pilot chute flopping around almost like a
freefall bridle. Get a friend to check the length as you fly in the
air. If its too long you may want to consider shortening it.
Blocks on the front and rear risers are a good idea - they're easier to
get a hold of than dive loops, and can be grabbed quickly.
You don't want an RSL - you need to be able to freefall clear of any
mess before pulling your reserve. Some people consider having an AAD
while doing CRW a bad thing. While I wouldn't dare do CRW with someone
with an FXC, Sentinal or Astra, I don't worry with the Cypres. Its got
an excellent safety record. I think its a waste of money to have one in
a CRW rig however, as the likelyhood of it being needed is pretty small
(the Cypres is designed not to fire if you have any canopy out at all -
thus it will be useless in a low CRW wrap).
Slider noise does become an issue in a big formation. The cumulative
flapping of 30 sliders becomes very loud. While it can be a very good
indication of trouble to come when the sliders all go quiet (can we say
stall boys and girls?), its generally not a good thing. Many people use
mesh sliders for this reason - they're much quieter. If you have a
regular slider, you might consider getting velcro on it so it can be
collapsed. I'd stay away from the drawstring-sort of collapsing, as
that is just one more free line waiting to be snagged.
Many people like to wear helmets when doing CRW. They do provide added
head protection, which might save your life someday. You do have to be
aware however, of the additional likelihood of a line snagging around
it/your head. You need to be able to release it quickly if something
does snag. Most people who wear helmets wear half-shell Protecs or
something similar. These are good because they don't limit your
hearing. Frap hats and Factory Divers and such aren't good, because
your hearing is impaired and you need to be able to hear your fellow
dogs.
Get a good hook knife. Get several. The small orange plastic things just
break. If you buy a Jack the Ripper or similar long knive, put
cardboard in the pouch with it. Otherwise it can be very difficult to
remove with just one hand. I prefer metal knives myself - Aerostore I
know sells several good types, as does Square One. Mount them in
different locations - if you're wrapped with your arms trapped at your
side, a leg mount might seem handy. A chest mount can be the best at
other times. Mud Flaps and the harness are other popular locations.
Wear long pants. Line burns hurt. Even in the summertime, seriously
consider a long shirt. It can protect you from the worst of the burns.
Wear nice thick socks - the first time you have a canopy sliding up and
down your ankle you'll understand why. You need shoes you can kick off
easily. Many people use elastic shoelaces where you don't have to tie
them. Don't wear shoes with long tongues - they easily can get snagged
in lines and cause wraps or worse.
Sunglasses can work better than clear goggles if the formation flies towards
the sun. Just attach them with a strap for exit. You normally don't
want to wear a wrist-mount altimeter. It can be ripped off if a line
wraps around your hand or you could get your hand caught in a wrap.
Get one mounted for your chest strap or your mudflap. I've seen people
wear one on the harness by the hip as well. Very easy to see there.
Note, no matter where you put it, there is a chance that it can be
caught in a wrap.
Many CRWdogs use a pullout deployment system. This system has the
skydiver pulling the pin on the main container and then releasing the
pilot chute. You have a very positive deployment with this system,
and there's no possibility of a pilot chute in tow.
Probably the more common system is still the BOC throwout however. This
is what the majority of skydivers use in general.
One other thing to be careful of is your reserve system. I know of at
least a couple of instances where lines have snagged on Reflex pop-tops
and opened the reserve. That's a very bad thing. The _modern_ Racer design
doesn't seem to have as many problems. If you have a Reflex, make sure
you get the CRW flaps installed to help prevent this. On older Javelins
and Vectors and some other makes of rigs, the reserve flap doesn't tuck
into anything and the flap can get snagged and the pin pulled open - CRW
flaps are highly advisable on these rigs as well.
Packing
Now that we've covered gear, lets cover packing. Many people use
tail-pockets on their Lightning. These are good because they make it
much easier to pack for an on-heading opening, you have very consistant
openings, and its an easy pack job. The only major con is that it opens
faster.
Others put a deployment bag on their canopy. While this does make the
openings softer, there is a much greater potential for off-heading
openings, line twists, and other problems.
Whichever system you choose, you need to make sure you're going to have
an on-heading opening. There's a lot of people in the air with you, and
there's a formation nearby. It needs to be on-heading. Every time.
Near misses are not great fun. People have been killed that way.
If you're having off headings, try to pin down the "why's". Was it
body position or did someone trip you going out the plane? When velcro
gets old on your risers, you need to replace it. That can cause off
headings or spinners. Make sure that when you lay your lines in your
packing tray that they aren't snug against the bottom of the reserve.
Packing them too tight can cause off headings.
Dirt-Dive
You may not think so, but the dirt dive is a critical part of the plan
for the skydive. You need to show up on time, stay quiet, and learn
your slot. Learn who docks before you and after you. Learn who you're
docking on. Be aware of what slots you might have to move up and fill
if some people aren't there (if you're on the 25 way diamond, you might
have to move up to the 16 way if people are snoozing.) Learn the
skydive.
Learn who is docking after you - this is the person you have to follow
into the airplane. Its much easier if everyone gets in the plane in the
correct order, it saves hassles on jump run. Run out the echelon in the
dirt dive - don't just immediately run back to your slot - if you're not
going to be docking within the first 30 seconds out the door in the air,
don't do it on the ground. Take it slow.
Arch. Even in the dirt dive - its muscle memory. Practice yelling -
yelling at the people below you without breaking your arch. Stay in
your slot - it makes it much more difficult to figure out what's going
on when people are huddling in small groups to talk.
Learn the break-down procedures. Know the order of dropping people, and
when its your time to act. If you're not sure, ask. Its better to ask
on the ground than mess it up in the air.
In the plane
Board the plane in the right order so you know who to follow out. If
necessary, keep the aisle clear so that the spotter can relay signals to
the pilot. When exiting, give a second or two delay after the previous
person. Assume a good body position, then deploy. Depending on your
position in the formation, you may want to take a freefall delay. If
you're docking 30th - you can often take a 5-10 second delay. If you're
having to cross over the formation however, make sure that you can get
to the appropriate side by passing above it - burbling the formation is
bad. So your delay may be shorter than that of someone on the correct
side already.
In echelon
The echelon is the formation of canopies off to the front and sides of
the formation of people waiting to dock. If you're docking 25th, you
don't want to run back immediately, as you will have to fight more.
You might get left behind, and you lose the ability to spiral to drop
altitude, as that will leave you trailing. By staying out front, you
give yourself more possibilities for flying.
Know your leader. This is usually the wing-man on your side. In
general, unless you're having to come back to take a slot, stay out with
them. Don't pass them and fly back to the formation. They're usually
an experienced person, and they know where to fly so as not to get
hosed. Trust them.
The echelon should be 30-45 degrees or so off to the side of the
formation. If you rush back at the beginning, you're going to wear
yourself out trying to stay there. Stay in the echelon, and work your
way back slowly. Be very careful to never fly in front of the
formation. This is a sure way to get people very upset with you. Stay
off to the side. You want to stay level and in front, somewhere between
the bottom and the center of the formation. Somewhere in this range is
where your slot is going to be. Its better to keep down, so that when
your slot builds, you don't have to work your way down in a hurry. But
if you get too low, you're going to struggle getting back up.
Don't run downwind to the formation and then make your turn in when its
your time to dock. If you do this, you'll end up behind. My general
strategy is to turn back early, set up about level with my slot to the
side, then do a hard sashay out and back in and it sets me up a couple
canopy lengths below my slot where I can then make my approach.
Everyone has their own technique here - you just need to find one which
puts you where you need to be - about 2 canopy lengths below your slot,
about 45 degrees out, 45 degrees down, and 30 degrees back from your
slot. The one exception to this is the point of the diamond, who makes
a more vertical approach.
Docking
You want a smooth dock. Set up just behind the person who's docking
before you. You should be docking 3-5 seconds behind them. More than
that, you're late. Ideally, there should be a line of people going up
the side to dock, one right after the other. Its impressive when done
right. The main reason big formations don't build is because people
don't dock. There's no excuse. When your slot comes, be ready and take
it. If there's a big lag and there's no one taking a slot or two,
unless your a wing or a wing lockup, get in there and take that slot.
Be aggressive.
You want to make your approach at an angle like discussed before. This
way you're only passing through one person's body burble at a time.
Dock on the centermost person - aim your end cell at them. There's a
tendency to wash from side to side if you're looking at both people
you're docking on. Fly your end cell to the innermost person, and once
they have you, fly to the other. If you dock on the outer person,
there's a chance that you will swing and set up a wave that can take
out the formation.
One approach, one dock. That needs to be your philosophy. If you're
coming in a little high, you can bump the front risers to kill a bit of
lift. You want to burn off all of your speed from your turn in on
approach 2 canopies lengths below your slot. This keeps you from having
excessive energy from your setup when you arrive where you need to go.
If you ever fly underneath your slot - where you can't see the feet of
the people you're docking on - front riser abort out of there. If you
toggle abort, you're going to float first, then turn, and you can take
someone out. If you have someone docking on you that cannot see you,
start running. The bottom of your tennis shoe will help pull the
canopy back and hopefully you can catch it. One thing that can help you
avoid flying under your slot is to aim for the hips rather than for the feet
when you're looking at the person you're docking upon. That way, if you end
up low when you get there, you're at their feet, rather than flying underneath
them. Also, it makes it much easier for someone to get their foot in the line,
and and for wings, its easier for them to catch you without swinging their wing.
On the note of aborts, be very careful. There's been numerous near
collisions/collisions on aborts. Watch where you're going! When you're
waiting for your slot right behind the formation, don't take up excess
airspace. Never cross the centerline of the formation (the line of death)
because you're likely to run into someone docking on the other side.
The points of diamonds are the only ones that can cross the centerline
of the formation. Don't do wide sashays because you're using up other
people's airspace. Many people do quick rear riser stalls and it keeps
them in a Ferris Wheel sort of rotation staying at the same level.
Don't wait right behind someone else - because you limit what they can do.
Another technique is to fly with one front riser and one toggle and
"park". This is a bit more challenging, and should be learned on
smaller dives.
When you come up to your slot, one technique which can work well is one
inside toggle and one outside front-riser. This way you can control
your speed and your lift.
If you plug a slot, and this is a formation with sequential points,
make sure you know what grips need to be dropped for the next point.
If you ever see a wing up there with no lockup in sight - lock them up!
They will be very grateful I assure you. Make sure you dock gently, and
on the centermost person first. If you dock with too much speed you can
push the wing around. If you dock on the wing, and the other person
can't reach you, it can hinge the wing, and make life very interesting.
And if you're ever back behind the formation you're near the camera
people, you have majorly screwed up. You should never get that far
behind the formation. Stay in front! Use the cameraman's position as
a guide and cut it by at least half to determine how far back you want to
go.
Remember - you're docking on a big formation now, not an 8 way or a
competition dive. Docks should be gentle, as hard docks send waves
through the formation which can cause wraps. Also, a hard dock by you,
can make it impossible for someone to dock on the other side.
Catching Docks/Flying in the formation
When you catch a dock, always double check the grip before you put your
feet in. If you get the B line, it makes the canopy very heavy on you
and can warp the formation. If you get a line one cell in, its hard for
the person who docks beside them to dock with the excess canopy hanging
out. And if its on a record, it won't count if you have the wrong grip.
So make a quick glance so you know for sure.
If someone is docking on you, lift your leg forward. It raises your
body burble a little bit (can be a lot if you have long legs) and makes
it easier for people to dock on you.
If you catch someone and you're on the inside, catch the canopy with
your hand, and hand it outside to the next person. Make sure they have
it before you put your feet in. If its a small canopy, sometimes it can
be quite a stretch.
Sometimes if you're on the outside of the formation, you can take a full
cell grip if a larger canopy is docked on you. That way it won't squish
their canopy up so badly.
You can't take a full cell grip during a record attempt. Every year or
two, the rules on grips change slightly. Right now the rule is one leg
grip with the other leg outside the cell.
If the canopy feels really heavy, check your grip. If its floaty, you
can try pinching off a cell with your hands. This will take some of the
lift out of it. If you think a canopy is floaty, look over at the other
person holding it and see how they are flying. If I fly next to someone
6 feet tall (being only 5 feet tall myself), a canopy that's on my ankle
will be at their knee. Or possibly even worse if they have longer lines
than me. Sometimes as well, formations can build crooked. So before
you call down for someone to get heavy, make sure its not how the
formation is built first. Another possibility is if you're a wing, you
might be flying in too much front riser. Try letting up on your front
riser a little and see if the person is still floaty. If so, call down
to them to get heavy.
If you're holding an outside wing, you can help hold them back by
extending an arm across their canopy killing some of their drive.
Arch! Its very important in a formation to not be looking down below
you watching people dock, but to be arching. This is especially true if
you are on the inside of the formation. Keep the center moving fast -
don't be cupping air. There's even talk now of having the center people
dress in tight fitting clothes, while the outside people wear baggy
clothes to help slow them down. Arch and hold that arch.
While you're in the formation, be quiet! Don't whoop and holler and
don't be yelling non-important information. When the formation is
noisy, it can be hard to hear important commands, and it can be
confusing when it comes time for the starburst. If its not a CRW
command, keep quiet.
Wing Flying
Wing flying can be an art into itself. On small ways its very easy, but
it can become quite challenging on bumpy days, or on a slow formation,
or if one side of the formation is heavier than the other. Its
challenging, but its a lot of fun. Constant alertness is important
though - you need to fly your wing the entire time.
Generally, wing flyers fly outside riser trim and inside brake. If
you're a wing at the top of a formation, once you get a wing or two
beneath you, most likely you will be able to let up completely on your
outside riser. In general, you want to fly the wing as light as you can
- being heavy makes it harder on everyone. If you are on heavy riser,
your opposite wing will have to be on heavy riser, the next wings will
have a harder time docking because they will have a lot of float on the
formation, and if they manage to dock, will have trouble staying down.
So please - as light of trim as possible.
Many people shift in their harness when on the outside of the formation,
putting more weight on their inner leg. This can be useful to the wing
flyer as well.
When you're coming up to make a wing dock, you want to be arriving on a
45 degree angle from the side, 45 degrees down, and 30 degrees back.
The idea here is to have your excess momentum absorbed in all 3
dimensions, so it will make less of an impact upon the formation. If
you are coming straight up from below, when you dock all your energy is
sending you straight up, and when you run out of lift, you're coming
down hard and you're going to send a wave through the formation. When
you're coming up, pretend there is a fishing line there along that axis,
pulling you up. If you find yourself a little high, ease up a bit on
brakes until you reintersect it.
One thing to remember is that the point of the diamond gives it its
integrity. You want to wait 10 seconds after the point is docked before
you dock, as this gives the diamond time to stretch out and flatten
before you dock. You should be using these seconds for your approach,
although you don't want to dock sooner.
One way to approach is coming up on inside toggle, and perhaps a bit of
outside front riser to control your lift and speed. Its a popular
approach - and works especially well if the formation is fast and floaty
on you.
When you get close to your dock, you're going to get a sensation similar
to "ground rush". The tendency here is to hit the brakes to slow down -
which of course immediately give you lift. Just suck it up, and keep
going on the same trim you had. Its gonna be a controlled crash - you
just need to accept this. If you dock just after the other wing,
you're gonna feel like you're suddenly floaty. The formation will sink
just a bit when the other wing docks - so if they're beating you there,
try to give the formation a second or two to settle and then dock.
Once you arrive, set the wing, but very gently. It'll settle down on
the person's foot with just a touch of front riser. If you pull a lot
of front riser, you're going to send a wave through the formation. Try
not to do that. If a wave does go through the formation, don't adjust
your trim for it. If your trim was good before the wave, you can ride
the wave through it. Adjusting trim can just add more energy to the
formation.
Watch the other people in your row. You want to stay level with them,
and not be driving forward or sinking down or floating above them. If
one wing gets too heavy, it will make the other wing have to as well to
compensate. You don't want to have so much front riser that you're
driving forward. If you get to a 45 degree angle forward, you're going
to come around. It is better to be floaty than forward, because wings
rarely come around from being floaty.
If you have a wing docked on you, try to keep your leg back behind you.
If your leg is in front of you, you're just making it harder for the
wing to stay back with the formation. Use your legs to absorb bounces
from the formation below - if you let your legs absorb the energy, it
doesn't get transmitted to the row above you.
Try to avoid any unneccesary movements when flying the wing. Its very
sensitive and you'll input energy into the formation.
Starbursts
The pilot of the formation is the only person who can call a starburst.
He will yell out "Starburst Starburst" and it is everyone's
responsibility to yell this to the people below them. Make sure you
don't break your arch as you do this. Once the starburst has reached
the bottom of the formation, the pilot will start the count. Listen.
Be quiet and listen here. When you hear a number, "8!" don't yell 8
below you, pick up the count and yell "7!" Often starbursts can get out
of sync if people yell the wrong numbers, and this can lead to
interesting zipper-like exits.
Be aware that if sequential points were planned on the skydive, you
might be yelling down "Diamonds Diamonds" or something else - don't
mindlessly assume its a starburst count. You need to be remembering the
dirt dive.
When the starburst count reaches one, grab a hold of the canopies below
you and take your feet out of the lines. On 0, its time to leave. The
people at the top of the formation leave on brakes - the right side
peels off right, the left left, and the center folks go straight. The
closer to the top you are, the more brakes you use. The middle folks
can turn out on straight toggles - the center line can fly straight
ahead in full flight. The bottom folks need to turn out in hard front
risers, with the center line front-risering down and straight ahead. As
you're turning out, make sure that the person beside you is as well. If
they react a bit slower than you, don't run them over. Turn and follow
them out.
Break-it-down
The only people allowed to call a break-it-down are the pilot and the
wings. Usually wings will call it if they're exhausted and they just
can't hold their wing back anymore.
When you break it down, people release in the opposite order of build.
It is VERY important to hold onto the point of the diamond until the
outer wings are gone. For example, on a 36 way, the outer people need
to leave, and no's 24 and 23 need to look up for the wing on their side,
and as soon as that row 6 wing leaves, then they can drop no 25 (make
sure the other is dropping them as well.) Same higher up - 14 and 15
need to verify that the row 5 wings are gone before dropping 16. No's 7
and 8 verify the row 4's are gone before dropping the point of the 9
way. The point of the diamond gives it integrity. On build, when the
point gets on, the diamond flattens out and flies smooth. The same is
true when breaking it down. It will get much more mushy and more likely
to wrap if you let that point go too early.
I've also witnessed people drop wings when the wing-lockup hadn't been
dropped yet. Always make sure that the person below the guy you're
holding onto is gone, before releasing them.
During the break-it-down, wings will need to be adjusting their trim.
You'll need to be careful and keep your wing flying while the formation
is changing size rapidly.
Piloting
There are a lot of tips and tricks of the trade to piloting, but I don't
know most of them very well because I don't get to practice piloting
much. But I'll include here the ones that I know.
Most importantly, keep a heading. This can be difficult at times if
winds are turning you one direction, or if one side of the formation
gets really heavy, but it helps the formation build if one side of the
echelon doesn't get hosed by a turn.
As the pilot, you have additional responsibilities. It is your job to
watch altitude, and your job to call starburst or break-it-down at the
appropriate time. We don't want to fly these things too low.
Steer as gentle as possible. 'Nuff said.
You should try and catch #3 with your legs if at all possible. It helps
keep you centered and on-heading. The pilot should only pilot - when
you start trying to help out the wings, things can get messy.
Landing
For many people, coming to their first Toadsucker camp is their first
time they've had to land in crowds. There are some basic pointers which
can make things easier.
First, if a landing pattern was established, try and stick to it. If
you decided on the ground to do a left-hand pattern, unless the spot is
long so a right-hand pattern is the only feasible one, try and stick to it.
Do a sensible pattern - base, leg final. This is not the time to be
doing hook turns. There's too many people around. You also don't want
to do wide S-turns or sashays on final - there are a lot of people near
you who don't know where you're going to go when you do that. One tip
for adjusting your landing target without using s-turns is to use your
front risers. Always keep your toggles in your hand while you do this.
I can adjust my landing target by how deep of front risers I enter into.
If I go light front risers, I'll land further past where I would in full
flight. Deep front risers, I'll land short. I always let up on the
front risers just above where I should flare, and then do a half-flare
to plane it out and surf out the excess speed. Most CRW canopies land
best this way as well.
If you see some people landing a 2-stack (this sometimes happens at CRW
boogies ;) give them the right of way. They have much less
maneuverability than you, and are more sensitive to burbles and such.
Give them the right of way.
If you're nervous about landing in a crowd, you can almost always find
clear air if you're willing to land further out. As the old saying
goes, its better to walk a hundred yards than be carried 10.
If you're going to land off the drop zone, have somewhere you're 100%
sure you can make safely by 1000 feet. You don't want to commit yourself
to somewhere you can't make safely until its too late. Look for
straight lines in the landscape - they're practically always manmade,
whether fences or power lines. Remember, if you have to set down in a
small area, be prepared to get out of the way quickly. There might be
30 other people following you in there.
Make sure to note the wind direction before you take off. That way
you'll have a better idea about landing. If you have completely no
idea, go into deep brakes and hope someone lands before you. If they
don't leave a large cloud of dust, they might have picked the right way.
Be kind to farmers. Try not to destroy their crops. Try not to destroy
their fences. Exit through a gate if possible, and make sure you lock
it back so no animals escape.
Organizing
Organizing is another art form in and of itself. You have to compensate
for many factors - the sizes of the canopies, the wing-loadings, the
line lengths, the skills of the pilots and the type of formation you are
flying. Here are some general tips:
You need a fast base - if you can get some fast 176's or 160's up top,
they really help keep the formation moving. You also need skilled
people in the base - the formation really can't start building until you
have a 4-way. You also want a fast center-line - better to have the
slower canopies on the outside than down the middle.
You need to make sure the canopy sizes fit into the slots. You can't
stretch a 113 between two 176's, and you're not going to squish a 218
between 2 113's. Bigger canopies can hang off the sides on the bottom
(assuming this isn't a record attempt).
Wings and wing-lockups should be interchangable. These 2 positions
should never swoop a slot, as they require more skill than some other
positions. The slots at the bottom of the diamond are interchangable
however. If someone's not there, swoop the slot. The reason big
formations don't build is because no one docks.
You might arrange for people on the outside to wear baggy clothing,
people on the inside to wear tight clothing. It'll keep the center
moving.
You'll want to adjust the breakoff altitude depending upon the size of
the formation, whether there's turbulence, and possibly other factors.
Spotting
In light uppers, you can open downwind and fly towards the drop zone.
This lets you keep the airport in sight at all times. In heavier
uppers, the spot will have to be adjusted accordingly. Many drop zones
put out a lot of freefallers as well, so you may need to discuss with
drop zone management where the CRW will be flying. Sometimes pilots
also will circle the CRW formation, so as to provide a reference to ATC
as to where the formation is.
If you're flying a formation crosswind, it can make one side light so
you should be careful of this.
If you're going to land out, land together. This is important for
safety reasons if someone gets hurt, and also it makes it easier for the
dz to find you to pick you up.
Wraps and Entanglements
There has been a nice paper written by Mike Lewis about wraps and
entanglements. Most of the information I would cover here is in that,
so I'll leave it to the reader to read that. Its on my web site, off of
my CRW page: here
Protect your ripcord handles. If you raise your hands to protect your
face, your arms tend to shield your handles. You don't want your
reserve dumped when you're in a mess.
If you pass through someone's lines, try to get back out the way you came
in. Do it fast, because the period of time in which you can do this is
short.
If you have to cutaway, do look below first if at all possible.
Especially on a big way, there can be canopies all around, and you don't
want to safely cutaway from a wrap, only to freefall into someone else's
canopy. Freefall for at least 5-10 seconds altitude permitting, in case
others above you may follow you into freefall.
Communication
Communicate. Its very important when in an emergency situation.
Communicate the altitude, the problem and the plan. Don't use negative
commands, as they may only hear the "cutaway" part of "Don't cutaway".
When you're in a wrap, hearing the altitude called out to you can be
really reassuring.
