We introduce you to Freeflying, a very popular discipline within skydiving both at home in the UK and internationally. You will learn about elemnts of freeflying , competitions and what skills and courses you need to group skydive as a free flyer.
What is Free Fly ?
Freeflying is becoming a more and more popular skydiving discipline. During your AFF course, you learn to fly stable in a belly to earth position. Freeflying covers all other positions of flying in the sky, usually more unstable positions, and at higher velocity’s than the standard belly to earth position. This increase in speed is due to the skydivers presenting less body surface area to the relative wind, thus increasing their fall rate.
The equipment used for Freeflying must also be ‘freefly friendly’. This is due to the increased fall rate experienced whilst performing freefly manoeuvres and means that the equipment is safe to jump at these increased velocities.
Aspects of Freeflying
Freefly is vast, the orientations relative to the earth change dramatically over time as you move through your sequence. At a minimum it could be described as that which is not flat flying ( the basic position you learn on your AFF course ). There are two basic positions that you will come across in freeflying ( and some form part of the exam you have to complete in order to practice them in formation with other skydivers. Usually skills are learned in sequence ( and order of difficulty)
1. Sit Flying
The position that people usually learn first is known as " Sit Fly ". This position is somwhat similar to sitting in an invisible arm chair with your arms stretched out by your sides. Average speeds in this orientation range from 135mph to 160mph but this can fluctuate dramatically depending on your body mass and type of materials your jump suit is made of.
2. Head Down
The more difficult position to attain and master is " Head Down ". The skydiver is basically flying perpendicular to the surface of the earth. The speeds attained in this position can be very high ( anything up to 220 mph ). It really depends on how much drag you have on your jump suit and whether your arms and legs are tight against your body ( fast ) or pushed out into the " tube " of air which surrounds you ( slower ).
How Soon after qualifying Can I start to learn ?
After you have your A-License( 25 Jumps ), you can start learning to freefly. However, it is highly recommended that you make sure your belly to earth skills are of a good standard. The BPA (British Parachute Association) has a freefly qualification called FF1 (Freefly 1). To be able to start the FF1 qualification, you should ideally have your FS1 (Formation Skydiving 1) skills. The BPA advises “ Whilst Formation Skydiving Grade 1 (FS1) is not a requirement it is certainly desirable ”.:
Small Skills Test at the end of your Freefly training course.
To obtain the FF1, you must show that you can do the following. Usually thes skills are built into a " drill " for a skydive which you complete with an experienced coach.
Fly in a controlled sit/stand position
Control fall rate in a sit/stand position
Control forward/backward movement in a sit/stand position
Control turns in both directions in a sit/stand position
Fly relative to others in a sit/stand position
Once you have the FF1 qualification, you obtain the CCI’s Chief instructor´s) approval to participate in Freefly skydives with other people.
World Record:
The worlds largest freely formation on record was set in 2004 over the skies of Chicago. 42 people in a head down orientation managed to take hold of each other to build it. This is no mean feat. The high speeds attained means that flying must be perfect with no rooms for error ( which could leave you very quickly a long distance away from your target man ).
Competition.
National competitions are held every year in All European Countries. The winners are then entitled to compete for the country in International competition such as the World Air Games and World Cup. The Current UK Champions are a team of Professionals from various locations. Their team is called " Free Jive " .
How is a team made up ?
There are three people in the team, the two flyers you see on the video and of course the video man himself. The person flying camera is ( in public ) often not given as much credit as you cant " see him " but he is the backbone of the team. If its not on film ..it didnt happen !
How are competitions Judged
The competitors are given a sheet with various moves or " tricks " that they have to perform. As freeflying is an artisitic event how they " pull off these moves " is also considered. Criteria such as difficulty of move, precision , control and team work are considered in the artistic score.
Competitors are given a set amount of time ( 45s ) from when the trio leave the plane. This is later clocked using a stop watch as the video is playing back.
Competition in the UK for freeflying ( as with Formation Skydiving is strong ) as the skills base that exists is high. This is in large part to the standards required at the beginning of your skydiving career as set down by the BPA.
Free Fly Coaching
If you would like to learn more about freeflying or would like to work on your FF1/FF2 course then let us know. We can put you in touch with Freefly Avalore who´s offices are next door to ours on the dropzone in Spain. These guys are amongst the best in Europe and have been very active in the UK circuit for 2005 taking part in the recent Sibson Big Ways, Hibalstow Scrambles ( UK Nationals - Bronze ) aswell as coaching from Godzilla in the Black Knights up in the North of the UK.
You can visit their website here Freefly Avalore Spain