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Lately, I've been doing some balloon and helicopter jumps. I like having dead air and speeding up to terminal. I have noticed on my exit off of both types of aircraft is that I stay in the same body position, I'm not "swimming" but I do one turn, sort of like a flip and right back to my belly. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to make it a nice belly to earth throughout the whole exit?

When I exit fast moving aircraft I don't turn. If you would like to see video of it, I can provide that as well!

I know this isn't about BASE jumping, but you guys have amazing exits from still objects like balloons which is why I came here.

Without seeing video it's hard to say. I'm going to assume you're doing a forward rotation (front flip), and that you're probably exiting head low and continuing to rotate, probably because you're leaving with some rotation already in the system. All of that is an assumption, though, and without actually seeing the exit, it's really tough to say.

Keep your head up, and keep looking at the horizon. Lead with your chest (not your head), and don't look down at the ground. You want to launch with your chest first at a 45-70 degree head high angle. Don't dive (like you were going into a swimming pool), just jump.

I used to find in my early jumps that actually looking at a point around 45 degrees upward from the horizon helped to maintain a decent launch position moreso than looking at the horizon, as this can sometimes make you still dive out horizontally leading with your head, whereas looking up to the 45 degree point helps encourage keeping your head up and the lead with your chest toward the horizon.

Just a thought, as I found this quite an effective way to help with my exits.

be firm on your exit
solid like a rock
and visulize it skydiving is not about falling its about
flying from exit to landing

I'd like to have more stable balloon exits.

Here's the video of the turn I've noticed in a few of my jumps.

http://vids.myspace.com/...p;videoid=1693134787

It looks like your left side is against the basket and you turn to the right and just fall forward. The pilot probably loves that, because the basket doesn't jerk around, but if you fall forward you're generating momentum on that axis and you'll keep spinning forward unless you know gymnist tricks to stop yourself.

Just jump of fully relaxed, dont arch, but a bit dearched. Hands a bit out to the side, not over the head. Feel the air, dont fight it..

Come to Norway and I`ll teach you! (many things...)

I concur with Dave's analysis.

You are leaving your feet on the basket when your upper body leaves. This creates rotation. When your head and torso are in motion, your feet are still stationary. Once your feet leave the basket, they have a different momentum than your upper body.

In order to exit without rotation in the system, you need to leave with your entire body at the same time. Think about "hopping" off the basket, with the same momentum in every part of your body.

Thank you very much! You all have been very helpful!

that looks sweet! like an intentional front flip. hell, do that BASE the same way, pull at the right time and you will be fine! front flips are fun.

I'm going to stick to balloon jumps. But I want to make sure I can nail a smooth belly to earth position.