Ok, so this clip is admittedly not well edited. However, as I learn how to edit video and make websites this can be used as an example. Use the video curser at the bottom of the screen to slowly critique the clips.

Over the years, I have heard, taught and been taught, that to correctly conduct a diving exit you must go positive on arms and negative on legs, in other words arms out front and feet on butt. I also think this is a misguided way to both teach and conduct a diving exit. In skydiving, teaching can be very difficult and challenging. Many of us don’t really know exactly what we do to make our bodies fly in the way we need, we just do it without thinking about it. In thinking over the diving exit and how to teach it to students I started asking myself why this method is taught, as I almost never do it on actual diving exits. Additionally, when working with students who have been taught to do this, invariably they have a dismally unstable exit even thought they did exactly what they were told (by someone else) to do, put their arms out front and feet on butt.

My conclusions are as follows:

1. 1.Having been taught this method, that’s all they think about, they forget about the most important part which is to present to the relative wind. They come out stiff and in an awkward, unwieldy position, do not present well and these factors lead to grossly unstable exits. As the student senses instability, they strain harder by pushing arms out farther, feet more negative just making things worse.
   

2. 2.The reason many are taught to go positive on arms and negative on legs on diving exits is to obtain horizontal/belly to earth freefall. However, immediately out the door of virtually any jump plane I know of (Cessna Otter, Casa, Porter, Pac, Carivan, etc etc etc, the relative wind, directly out the door, is horizontal. In any freefall, presentation to the relative wind is key. Cg and body drag are carefully manipulated, generally while not even thinking about it, to achieve what we wish to do in freefall, often with mixed results, based on experience and natural ability. Therefore, I asked myself, why would I, or anyone want to get horizontal immediately out the door. If horizontal presentation is achieved too quickly out the door, invariably what happens is the students upper body pitches up too quickly and they are now presenting a side or back to relative wind type picture. This initiates instability, as they become unstable, they become tense, struggling harder in a perceived attempt to get stable only making things worse. Overly tense body position and lack of attention to presentation to relative wind, no matter what the reasoning, are in my opinion a leading cause of student and new jumper unstable exit. ironically enough, their attempt to get stable is exactly what is causing their instability.
   

3. 3.In my experience in a diving exit, the best position is quite different from what is often taught and perhaps even completely opposite. I find a very relaxed essentially neutral “boxman” type position is generically better. Again, right out the door, the relative wind is horizontal both because of the prop blast and forward movement of the aircraft. In a stable diving exit, belly/cg properly presented to relative wind, you are naturally going to be in a head down position. You are still presenting the normal control surfaces to the relative wind, just that the relative wind is not in line with gravity.
   

4. 4.In many cases, depending on the delay in the diving exit, meaning how late in the stick (line of jumpers) you are, not only is the positive arms, negative legs absolutely not what you want to do, but quite the opposite. In fact, a mild delta type position with emphasis on relaxing is, in my opinion and experience, the best.
   

REVIEW THE VIDEO

Using the scroller at the bottom of the screen ad the frame by frame control at the right bottom of the screen you can study different body positions in some of these diving exit videos.

In the first shot make note of Yvettes (yellow jumpsuit) presentation. At no time is she positive in arms or negative in legs, in fact she is completely opposite, and in a mild delta. Also notice she has the most stable and cleanest of all the exits.

In the next clip, a more experienced group, note the first couple divers out the door, the video does not allow view of the later ones. None of them have positive arms, in fact, have them more in a mantis type posture. They are very steep in their excellent presentation in-spite of the tight exit. Pay particular attention to the first two divers, Matt Lyle in the black jumpsuit with purple and yellow Mirage, and Keith Majeroni in the the black and red jumpsuit and rig. At no time are they concerned with getting horizontal but instead with a relaxed presentation. The video gives an especially good view of Matts approach to me as the line of flight base. In fact, note that we are still very much on the hill when he and Eric Harper are one and as such less than horizontal. Again, presentation and flying the relative wind.

In the third clip, note Melissa Poe in the yellow helmet and purple jumpsuit. After about 1.5 to 2 seconds off the ramp, she is completely vertical with outstanding presentation. The video and base have a perfect exit frame site picture of the back of her rig, top of her helmet and soles of her feet.

This presentation also brings to mind part of the reason I think the diving exit is taught incorrectly so often and for so long. In Melissas exit, he presentation does not allow her to have visual contact with the base. This is ok. She can still maintain line of flight control using visual references such as the CASA 212 she just let, the horizon in front (relatively speaking) and the ground below her.