Focus on relaxing the parts of the body that aren’t needed for the correct skydiving body position.

There’s no need for your entire body to be tense.

Relax: We realize this one sounds a bit counterintuitive as you leap from a plane in flight, but the ability to relax your body will come in handy for skydiving body control. Having the hips and pelvis as the lowest point produces an aerodynamically stable effect, much like a shuttlecock in badminton. The following are the basic elements of skydiving body control.Īrch: The skydiving arch is a body position that resembles the shape of a banana where the hips are pushed forward and down to be the lowest point of the body and the head, shoulders, and legs are lifted. Extending the arms on exit helps the individual to present their chest, stomach, and hips to the relative wind, which in turn, helps to maintain stability on exit.Īlthough extended arms are far more noticeable, it is actually the skydiving arch that does the most to enable individuals to maintain stability in freefall. This skydiving body position allows the instructor to quickly attain stability and the ability to deploy the drogue parachute.ĭepending on the type of exit, student and solo skydivers will also exit the aircraft with arms extended – though, usually, at about a 90-degree angle rather than fully extended. Meanwhile, the tandem instructor will generally exit presenting to the relative wind with arms extended wide. This is done to protect the tandem student from injury.

Putting arms out while skydiving assists a bit with stability, particularly on exit, but primarily allows for maneuverability while in freefall.įor example, on a tandem skydive, the tandem student will often actually exit with arms folded across their chest, holding on to the shoulder straps of the harness, or another spot the instructor has indicated. During skydive freefall, the arms serve as a wing and are used to produce surface area. Just like you can’t really effectively swim with arms and legs pinned to your side, neither can you skydive.

Freefall skydiving