Having Fun as a Couple: Skydiving Together

Having Fun as a Couple: Skydiving Together

OK, well not as a couple per se', but as a team of "two". Two-ways are a great way to start weaning yourself into the fun of skydiving after you completed all of your AFF solo's. You did a bunch of solo's, but now what?

Pick a partner and start having some two-way fun.

As a beginner, you may want to start with some small practice drills. Some of my favorites are:

Over and Unders

This is where you are side by side with your partner - and you take turns going over the person next to you. First you go over (side sliding and then popping up over the person without falling into their burble) while the person under you slides and does the same. This is a very fun exercise. The ability to pop up and over a single jumper or a group of jumpers is a requirement if a jumper wants to move on to 4-way and larger RW skydives involving piece turns.

Rotation

This is where you are facing your partner - then you must do a complete rotation around the person in front of you and bring yourself back into the start position. This forces you to use all of your movements (side sliding, forward motion, back motion) etc.

Some RW Drills

These can be as simple or difficult as you would like. Start small with 1-2 points and then work your way up to many more points.

Exit Drills

There are so many variations on how to exit the plane and this all changes depending on the aircraft you are exiting. It is always a good exercise to be proficient in all types of exits because as you start jumping with more people, you never know where you will be placed for the exit. It's good to be feel comfortable in all positions, so why not practice several exits with your partner - both linked and unlinked.

More RW Drills - Objective - develop precise control in making small moves then stopping.

The Moves

Launch the 2-way then both make a SMALL side slide and stop: then both forward

About a half body length and stop: then turn to face your buddy and dock. Next time through, side slide the other way and pass on the other side. For the more ambitious, if you would like to do this as a vertical transition rather than pass side by side, give it a go - but remember to work out on the ground who goes over, who goes under FIRST!

Here are some additional two-way RW drills:

Now, once you have some experience under your belt and want to take a break and do some silly fun jumps - there are several to choose from...Depending on jump craft:

Backs out the door, hold on to each others arm and exit in a sit.

Face each other, shoulder to exit holding each other's shoulder straps. Go into a 2 way head down.

With backs to exit, hook your left and their right leg together and exit. Fly on your backs and go into horny gorilla, then each extend your right arm and go into a spin. Enjoy, be safe and have fun!!!

Horny Gorilla, have one person almost lay down in the door hanging from the inside floater bar. (If you have one) Give the person inside and towards the rear of the door a foot. Go out and put your heads into the wind. If you are smooth with it you can stay rock stable and then go to other stuff once you are off the hill.

Tubes are fun and easy. Lie in the door with your legs outside the plane and your butt on the edge. Other guy faces the door with legs astride your chest and takes a firm grip on each of your legs (grips or a chunk of material). You take a similar grip on your partners legs (doesn't matter where but if you both grip at about the same place it helps). Person standing up rolls out of the door pulling you out as well. Hold on for a while as the speed builds up and then both drop a left (or right) grip and you will spin like crazy, let go with the other hand and you will be thrown well clear of each other. This is a fun jump and has no other merit except that it is a fun and can be done with more than 2 people.

Train exit - you can have it where everyone is outside the plane facing either the tail or the prop - the back person shakes the person in front of them to signal they are ready, they shake the person in front of them, etc. You hold onto the rig of the person in front of you - and lift your outside leg to be under the armpit of the person in front of you....the front person gives the count and at the same time you all hop off and bring your other leg under the other armpit (major caution - be VERY CAREFUL of handles on this jump) - you will all be connected as with a choo-choo train....you can hold this for a while or until it starts to fold in on itself. There are many variables to this jump - but this is the basic.

.....just to name a few.....there are many many others - as skydivers get creative, new exits are born.

Again, there is much caution to doing these types of fun jumps - handles are extremely vulnerable during many of these jumps so you must use caution (this is why having some experience under your belt before trying these is highly recommended)....also - some of them (such as the case with the tube exit) you can be thrown pretty far and be unstable for a few seconds once the jump blows apart. These are not jumps recommended for someone just starting out after getting their A license. If there are 5 people in a tube and it blows apart (which it will), now you have people scattered across the sky on all sides - above and below you....when doing these jumps - always know where everyone is - keep your eyes open - handles secure - and have a game plan (know where everyone is pulling, perhaps do a barrel roll before pulling yourself, the person above needs to keep an eye on who is below them and which direction they are tracking, etc.)

No matter what you are doing - whether it be 2-way learning drills or "idiot jumps" (as I've heard them referred to) - just be smart, have fun - but most importantly - be safe.