10-Way Wisdom from Jerry
Lehnherr
The line-up:
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Let the person in front of you settle before you get in place,
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Keep your back straight, don't lean over.
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Don’t push on the person in front of you.
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If you grip the person ahead, grip the cross pieces on the harness. Always
release in the same way - you can help or hinder the person ahead of you
by how you release.
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Remember your steps.
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Choose something to look at (part of door frame, floor, whatever) and always
look at it - it will help make your exit consistent.
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Turn to exit square to the door, especially if you an early diver. Cutting
the angle too fine will tend to throw the #10 person into the rear of the
door frame (ouch).
Engineering:
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Assign slots according to the strengths of the individuals – arrival order
may not necessarily match exit order.
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Don’t engineer in a delay caused by someone waiting for their slot to develop.
This usually means don’t have adjacent jumpers in the exit order docked
together (e.g. don’t have #8 docking on #7).
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Divers have gravity on their side, floaters have to work against it. Keep
this in mind when engineering the formation.
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It takes time to get the line moving – the early floaters will be separated
more than the late divers.
Building the formation:
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Know where the base will be, and go there.
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Never back away.
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If you arrive before the person you dock on, take their slot or take a
temporary grip.
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Once in, if you have a legal grip don't let go.
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Once in, stop the formation from turning.
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Once in, keep the fall rate up or the floaters and late divers will be
hosed (many of the formations are floaty).
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The last floater and diver in can dock hard. Be prepared to absorb the
shock.
Flying the formation:
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Don't switch grips during the 5 second hold.
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Some of the formations are fragile (e.g. the Dragon). Pay attention to
levelidity.
Formation quirks:
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Boatman’s Star. Does not absorb a hard hit well. Subject to level
problems.
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Lil’s Nova, Perris Pinwheel, Deland Dingo. Straightforward.
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Triple Diamond. Front three need to take care that their arms don’t
overlap, which looks like illegal grips to the judges.
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Wright Flyer. Builds quickly. Take care the “wings” don’t flap forward
which will block the "stabilizers".
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Tim’s Zircon. Floaty.
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Handprop. Very floaty once the size reaches 6 or 7.
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Thacker’s Beartrap. Also very floaty in the compressed center. The
center must keep the fall rate going or the cats have a hard time.
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Norman’s Cross. Turns very easily, everyone has to work to prevent
this. Take care
with the grips, it's easy to take a wrong grip.
- Raeford Dragon. !!!!!
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Xenia. Straightforward.