Never double-stow through grommets.
- Myth: The double-stow will bind up and cause a bag lock.
- Truth: The presence or absence of the bag-locking grommet has no effect on the lines coming out of the stow. Double-stowing greatly reduces the chance of a premature stow release and generally smooths the opening. See this PD video
Hug the beach ball to slow fall (get back up).
- Myth: Grabbing on to an imaginary beach ball will slow your fall rate.
- Truth: Putting your arms or legs down (in front of you) actually makes your wind resistance profile smaller! It's better to extend your arms and legs to get as large as possible. If you cant see your toes, your knees are bent. Supplemental reading: ULTIMATE GUIDE TO NOT GOING LOW – PART 1: SLOW FALL
Barrel roll on break-off.
- Myth: Doing a barrel roll while tracking away will enable you to see people above you.
- Truth: Yes, it probably will, but unless you are an awesome freeflyer, it will also turn you track to shit because you lose heading and speed. If you do see someone above you, what are you going to do (while on your back)? It's better to track straight, flat, and aware - look around and above as best you can.
- Side Warning: If you get too low and look up for bodies, open canopies way above you will look like someone much closer in free fall, the earth will kill you for sure...
- Bonus point from Dan BC: You CAN LOOK OVER YOUR DAMN SHOULDER and see the same thing. You know, with your head and stuff.
Tack perpendicular to line-of-flight.
- Myth: You should not track (break-off) up or down the line-of-flight.
- Truth: This is often told to students, but this really only applies to 1 or (maybe) 2-ways. Groups of 3 or more make it impossible if you want to also get away form the others in the group.
- Note: "Tracking jumps" are completely different.
Weight belts are a crutch.
- Myth: Learn to fly and you won't need weights.
- Truth: Weights are a necessary tool for matching fall rates. If you are a 95-pound-feather jumping with a 220 pound anvil, no amount of arching and de-arching is going to matter. If you are arched like a taco, you can't fly correctly. It's better to use the tools you need to adjust your comfortable fall rate to the average rate of the group. You always want to be able to go faster or slower. For more detailed information, look at https://furycoaching.com/2019/04/25/ultimate-guide-not-going-low-part-3-tools/. Additionally, jumping incorrectly weighted (too fast or too slow) promotes incorrect body positioning. If those bad habits become muscle memory, it is excruciatingly frustrating and expensive to fix later.
- Note: This also apples to suits, selves, & shirts.
Hybrid jumpsuits work.
- Myth: If you want to do RW and FF, you can get a suit that will do both (the ones that look like FF suits with small grippers but no booties).
- Truth: They don't. Every person I (Mark) have ever seen with one can't (belly) fly for shit! I can't really speak to FF, but all the great freeflyers I know have FF suits, and ALL the good belly flyers have RW suits. Use the correct tool for the job.
- Note: If you need a suit, we have over 50 loaner suits (loaned for free!)
If you want to buy the best, we pimp for Tony Suits (see Grace).
Get stable before pulling your reserve ripcord.
- Myth: You want to be stable to give your reserve the best chance to open without a malfunction.
- Truth: Waiting to get stable before pulling the reserve ripcord has killed more people that any other myth out there! It's incredibly easy to lose track of altitude when disoriented. It doesn't matter how unstable/stable you are when you hit the ground. Reserves work - PULL YOUR DAMN HANDLES!
You can always rely on an audible altimeter.
- Myth: Set your audible altimeter for pull altitude and trust it.
- Truth: No, you can NOT rely on it! Don't trust ANYTHING, that's why we have backups. Audibles have batteries, and batteries die. Use multiple sources of information (your eyes, wrist-mount analog/digital altimeters, etc).
- Note: If you wake-up in free-fall, and can't see, what time is it? Pull time!
The 45-Degree Rule.
- Myth: Use the 45-degree rule to determine exit separation.
- Truth: This rule doesn't work. Counting seconds works well (ground speed over time = distance). Looking at the ground could theoretically work, but our eyes are usually not accurate enough. If you have a GPS in your head, that could work!
- More on this in the Safety corner
Lost bootie.
- Myth: A lost bootie will cause a turn.
- Truth: A lost bootie can be a distraction and can feel weird. If you just one, just continue to use your legs - they will control your direction. Booties make your legs more efficient. Remember - you got through AFF without them.
Smiley face pin.
- Myth: Your main pin should be curved upwards (look like a smiley face).
- Truth: It doesn't matter! The main bridle (should) be perpendicular to your rig during deployment. This means the pin can be in any direction and will still be pulled out exactly the same. The "smiley face" preference is probably from the days when most rigs had top-down main-pin cover flaps.
Tight closing loops.
- Myth: Main closing loops MUST be ungodly tight.
- Truth: Closing loops should be tight enough that they don't open unexpectedly, but not so tight that you can't close them, risk breaking a loop, or breaking a flap stiffener. Remember - the ultimate goal is for them to come out!
Keeping lines straight while packing.
- Myth: While packing, you must keep tension on your lines to keep them straight.
- Truth: Simply them generally orderly. They won't be straight when you stow them. Pulling them tighter will not do anything.
Flaking.
- Myth: While packing, you must flake every cell and get all of the fabric away from the center.
- Truth: Lines to the center with fabric to the outside is a good place, but by the time it's all stuffed in the bag, things will have moved. Don't stress. Remember - shake it a couple of times, and if it LOOKS like a parachute, wrap it up!
- Funny story: I (Mark) once saw a guy packing by putting the fabric to the CENTER! I told him he had it backwards, but he said it's been working this entire time, so why change?