I was lucky to be there and watch the competition bcoz MITC is not too far from my campus. The competition divided into 3 categories: Accuracy, Formation Skydiving (RW), and Canopy Formation. The competition officially started on 13th April right after the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony has chalked entries into the Malaysian’s Books of Records. It was a record did by the two couples Dato’ and Datin. I forgot their name but it was a record, first ever a couple doing tandem jump together. Among the jumpers was Maznah Zolkifli who is a talented celebrity and likes to involve in many extreme sports such this one. I got the opportunity to meet her and got to know each other. Actually, she visited my site before, i can’t remember when, since then she knew me and here in Melaka was the first time we met each other. She was kind of blur at the time, maybe too many people came to meet her and ask for a photo shot, as well as me…heheheh.
You can read her article on this event by clicking to this link (Harian Metro-Maznah Zolkifli). And catch your opportunity to chat live with her and other MEXS crews every evening at http://www.maznahzolkifli.com.my/chat.htm
For more information about her, you can go to her official website by clicking on the banner below. Come and join as her fan club members. There will be a lot of activities, adventures, extreme sports and fun waiting for you. So sign up yours.
Ok… here are few pictures of her actions. I shot some of the photo from the ground or drop zone while the others pix are courtesy of her. Thank you for giving me permission to upload your actions in here. She said at 10,500 ft, she was screaming out loud at the moment she jumped out the plane. She said the views were spectacular. Actually she did tandem jump. Congratulations to Maznah Zolkifli. For more info about tandem jump click here.
Hey readers.. You know.. We can experience the tandem jump. A staff name Arshad (from Sg. Udang Military Camp, Melaka) told me that we can go to Kl (sg.besi airport) and join the club that provides tandem jump experience. You need to pay Rm500 for a jump and optional Rm200 for a camera man. But one of my friend said we can get Rm600 somewhere in Segamat, Johor. Rm600 for a course and a single jump or self jump, not tandem. You need to have a license before you can jump wherever and whenever you want. After courses, you will be monitored by 2 tutors at first 10 jumps. Before 20 jumps completed only a tutor and after 20 jumps you can jump on your own but minimal observation by a group of experienced jumpers. Only after 1000 jumps you can only be classified as amateur. For pro more than 3000 jumps at different drop zones.
This information i gathered from Sultan and his friends, also from brother Arshad. During the competition, i hung out with sultan team mates. Owh ok, i forgot to introduce who is Sultan… Sultan is a sky diver represented his country of Oman. He involved in accuracy competition. He was in 2nd team. I mean team B. Team A represented by more experienced jumpers and only team A competed in formation skydive and they are pro. Sultan is still amateur. Ok.. this photo of me and sultan team mates. Sultan is beside me he is in black accuracy jumpsuit.
Sultan is a nice guy. At the moment, he is 29 years old and he has three children. He said after this tournament in Melaka, they ll be in Russia for another Skydiving competition. I guess now he is in Russia competing in the same category. He said, for accuracy, the highest mark is the one that closest to ‘ZERO’. Total up of 7-8 jumps, the person with highest mark will win the competition. The main objective for each jump is to touch the mark. So if he touched exactly on the mark, he ll be granted 0.00. For accuracy, they used a larger canopy. This is for the reason of maneuverings. The larger canopy means more drag forces, therefore, they can maneuver a little bit longer and slower in the air. A lot of things we discussed and a lot of information i gathered from him. He also demonstrated to me on how to fold a canopy. ok… i took several pictures so at least u readers also know and learn something about this art. Ok here are the steps from 1-18. but not really clear and particular but at least… tq sultan…
This is the art of Physics in skydiving, based on my knowledge:
As the skydiver falls, he encounters the force of air resistance. The amount of air resistance is dependent upon two variables:
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1) the speed of the skydiver, and
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2) the cross-sectional area of the skydiver.
As a skydiver falls, he accelerates downwards, gaining speed with each second. The increase in speed is accompanied by an increase in air resistance (as observed in the animation below). This force of air resistance counters the force of gravity. As the skydiver falls faster and faster, the amount of air resistance increases more and more until it approaches the magnitude of the force of gravity. Once the force of air resistance is as large as the force of gravity, a balance of forces is attained and the skydiver no longer accelerates. The skydiver is said to have reached a terminal velocity.
A skydiver in the spread eagle position encounter more air resistance than a skydiver who assumes the tuck position or who falls feet (or head) first. The greater cross-sectional area of a skydiver in the spread eagle position leads to a greater air resistance and a tendency to reach a slower terminal velocity. The importance of cross-sectional area to skydiving is also demonstrated by the use of a parachute. An open parachute increases the cross-sectional area of the falling skydiver and thus increases the amount of air resistance which he encounters (as observed in the animation below). Once the parachute is opened, the air resistance overwhelms the downward force of gravity. The net force and the acceleration on the falling skydiver is upward. An upward net force on a downward falling object would cause that the object to slow down. The skydiver thus slows down. As the speed decreases, the amount of air resistance also decreases until once more the skydiver reaches a terminal velocity.
For more information on how actually the parachute works, you can click here.
Types of Parachuting:
1) Accuracy:
The Accuracy Landing event was part of the event that competitors competed there. Their objective was landing as close as possible to a target. This skill requires good maneuvering skill, controlling the chute then they steer it to a precision landing on a mat, where they need to strike the center within a 3cm diameter. An automatic electronic devices measuring and reads out their scores.
Best viewed under Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or higher. Best viewed under Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or higher.2) Formation skydiving (Known also as relative work or simply RW):
Formation skydiving is the art of building formations in freefall with multiple people gripping each others’ limbs or specially built “grippers” on their jumpsuits.
Formation skydiving can be further divided into several sub-categories:
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4-way sequential
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8-way sequential
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16-way sequential
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10-way speedLarge formations
But for the days, they competed for the 4-way sequential category, since it was the only category available for competition. Sultan said, they use a smaller canopy thus reduced their weight and easy to move while performing the formation. Because of smaller canopy, they tend to move faster during landing because of less drag force. Watch the clip!
Best viewed under Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or higher.After all, few days i joined sultan and his team mates and we talked about a lot of things. After class, i went there and watch those jumpers doing their routines. Sultan did give me a souvenir from his team. And here the pix of the souvenir: thank you Sultan..
Later, after i grabbed a good job i’m going to get a license and jump out of plane at 10,500 ft up there from sky. Yes, i’ll jump…
Btw, Congratulations to Sultan Al-Alawi. He ranked 31 out of 84 in accuracy championship. For full results click here. See you next year.
