Dive Structure and Strategy
 
With every new opportunity to break the world record for the largest freefall formation, there is also a new opportunity, and often a need, to push the envelope regarding the structure and design of the formation. In 1994, World Team introduced the concept of docking free-flying whacker lines on a base formation in order to radically expand the size of large formations, and make them more stable. This technique worked so well that it has served as the international standard for large formation dive designs ever since.

2004 Challenge:  The 357-way formation was 20% larger than World Team’s largest formation built up to that date – a 297-way; The exit altitude could not be raised, due to safety reasons related to oxygen saturation for the human body at low barometric pressures; break-off altitude had to be raised, so that all participants could separate and open safely.  World Team ’04, therefore, had less time in freefall to build a much larger formation.

World Team needed to develop a new concept for taking large formations to the next level. The solution was to utilize the most effective elements of World Team’s previous dive designs, eliminate the less effective ones, and implement a means to build large formations more efficiently.

Solution – Piece of Cake:   Since whacker lines have proven to be relatively easy to build and fly, and can be pre-built while the base formation is still forming, the number of skydivers flying in whacker lines was increased significantly for the 357-way.   Whacker groups were redesigned to minimize crowding between them by using short whacker lines close to the base formation, increasing the length of each successive whacker line by one person, and increasing the number of whacker lines in each whacker group. Each whacker group was structured like a huge wedge-shaped piece of cake.

Base Formation:  During most previous large formation record attempts, teams have struggled with completing the Base formation more than any other element. This recurring obstacle delayed the completion of record formations as a whole.  The 357-way Base formation, therefore, was significantly reduced in size, and structured to allow for consistent, relatively quick, completions. Special attention was required to ensure that the Base formation maintained a medium-fast fall-rate.

Flyways:   To minimize traffic, and to allow skydivers to dock in their correct slots on whacker lines even if they arrived later than intended, flyways were created between each whacker group. The skydivers in each sector could enter the zone between designated radials that extended from the center of the formation and passed along the side of each whacker group. The open area to the right of each whacker group was a No-fly Zone for the skydivers of that whacker group; the open area to the left, however, was each whacker group's flyway, and was available for these skydivers to fly to any of their whacker lines at any time during the dive. 

400-way Dive Design for World Team ’06:  The improvements made to the dive design for World Team ’04 worked so effectively that no structural modifications will be made to the dive design for World Team ’06. The only changes will be the addition of a few more skydivers to the last two whacker lines. Each whacker group in 2006 will include whacker lines of 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10, for a total of 33 skydivers.  Each 38-person sector will also include 5 skydivers who are part of the 70-way Base.

 
Click on image above for a larger view. 
Note: Jumpsuits which appear black/gray are actually white 
 
AutoCAD Images: Rags Raghanti
Dive Design: BJ Worth