Favourite exit formation for 4-way?

I'm very new to 4-way, only done significant stuff in the tunnel so far (too cold to jump right now) but it seems my slot is likely to be O/C on a rookie team.

I'm still learning the Randoms (are the formations by letter the same globally, I know the names vary??) and I know a few teams from last year who picked their favourite exit and used that every time, regardless of the competition draw, as it took one less pressure off the dive.

What's your favourite exit formation and why? Variously I've been given B (Stairstep Diamond), H (Bow) and O (Satellite) though I'm struggling with figuring out how Tail manages to exit with O.

Obviously I'll talk to coaches and dirt dive these for real before jumping, but just for some variety whilst trying to memorise the formations, I'm curious about your experiences

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What's your favourite exit formation and why? Variously I've been given B (Stairstep Diamond), H (Bow) and O (Satellite) though I'm struggling with figuring out how Tail manages to exit with O.

For an O exit, you have three outside: Outside Center is toward the front of the plane, Tail is in the middle, and Inside Center is in the back. Point is in a two-way with OC, IC has a sidebody on Point and is head-jammed, and Tail has his left hand on OC's leg, and his right hand on the bar. On exit, Tail takes OC's arm. At least, that's how I remember doing it.

Most rookie teams I know use H. It's a pretty stable exit, and, as long as tail leaves more or less at the correct time, it's hard to funnel.

H is really good and one of my favourites. B also works well as it is more solid than H.

A positive on B is that eye contact is easy which helps.

Side note I dont like E because it often rotates.

Thanks, that's really helpful.
Think I've got all the formations pretty much sorted in my head now, will worry about the variations if we need them

I didn't like B too much on exit, as it frequently rotated a bit with us, and was definitely more wobbly once out than H.

H and P were our original go to exits at Rookie level. Both felt solid, and I don't think we funneled many of them at all once we'd got a few jumps under our belt as a team.

Also didn't like E.

Other ones that turned out to be good exits, but ones we didn't try until we'd done quite a few days training were: A - surprisingly easy. M - also generally worked pretty well.

Never, not even once, tried an O exit.

As you can see from the answers, everyone's got their own opinions. Give a few a try and see which ones work out best with your team. If you can get some assistance from a more experienced competitor or coach, he/she can spend some time in the mockup with your team helping you understand the best place for everyone to be to get optimal presentation for each of the exits you've mentioned, as well as the exit timing.

(NB: my recommendations are on the assumption that you're exiting an Otter or something with a similar door... I've got no clue / opinion on other door configurations!) I agree with the recommendations of B, P & H. I think O's maybe not the best option. E can be good but as others have mentioned it has a tendency to rotate. If all four flyers are solid individual flyers, F can actually be a nice one, but it can be hinge-y.

(Also, some good discussion in this post: /cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4541390)

For my money, H and P are the two most solid for rookie exits. B has the advantage that one team member stuffing up the exit is less likely to funnel the whole thing than most of the others.

If you're likely to be an OC, your job #1 is to make sure your hips are presented to the relative wind. Job #2 is to launch up, so IC and tail have room to get below you.

H

H as well... even with my limited 4 way experience it seems to work well with a wide variety of skill levels

Launching a 14 is fun though.

you can do a search on the topic too -

I think there are another 3 or 4 threads on this. pretty much the same stuff - some discussions fleshed out a bit on why certain formations make more sense than others

I just learned this discipline few weeks ago. H is my favorite exit!

[edit: I wrote a big reply, then just realised you asked what our favourite exit was, not what the easiest for Rookie teams to launch (that is another thread). In that case... I love 17. The visuals launching head-first from inside the plane and then flying completely over the rest of the formation to the other side straight out the door... Tails never get the glory, except for this one fantastic exit ]

[But if I had to take four people I'd never met before and give them an exit I knew for a fact I could have them fly first time, I'd probably pick H or P, depending on what shape they all were.]

Joellercoaster

[edit: I wrote a big reply, then just realised you asked what our favourite exit was, not what the easiest for Rookie teams to launch (that is another thread). In that case... I love 17.

YES, 17 is very fun.


18 is pretty easy for most new teams - lots of connections and all the angles are pretty much there before 'ready'.

I'm new to OC and for whatever reason, I just couldn't launch a B right last year. So we took out 18 for a B (our alternate B) and it worked quite well. Very solid launch with no real "hinge"

grantunderland

I'm new to OC and for whatever reason, I just couldn't launch a .......

pretty much a general rule for OC is presenting that outside hip (left hip on a left door) - when starting, an OC pretty much can't underdo it. more is better

when you get better, you can dial in the 'right' amount

get that right leg nice and strong - forward up and out


the other issue is team timing, if the point or IC is late relative to you, that also causes you a lot of issues -


can't really tell without video - find a good 4way guru to help you out or take a good camp sometime - lots of fun stuff to learn

We have video and coach for every jump. She explained it over, and over, and over. I just never managed to get it right, but then I got a tear in my left shoulder and we abandoned most "left grip only" exits for the rest of the season. 18 was nice since I could easily pick up point as I was starting the count.

We start training next month, with healed centers, and B is one I'm hoping to get right early

grantunderland

We have video and coach for every jump. She explained it over, and over, and over. I just never managed to get it right, but then I got a tear in my left shoulder and we abandoned most "left grip only" exits for the rest of the season. 18 was nice since I could easily pick up point as I was starting the count.

We start training next month, with healed centers, and B is one I'm hoping to get right early

that's a shame about the cuff tear. Hopefully it wasn't the exits the tore it?

I coach for OC's to take a left grip EVERY time it is even remotely possible - It's just better leverage against the wind.

Still, it's easy to miss things like point or IC being late, or tail not getting low enough - ANY of these can really mess up OC's presentation. But it's SO great when all 4 finally get in sync. It just changes from this athletic effort of 4 individuals, to more like one person just exhaling after big calm breath

Good luck with it. OC is my primary slot though I've trained in all of them, it's a lot of fun.

NWFlyer

If all four flyers are solid individual flyers, F can actually be a nice one, but it can be hinge-y.

We use F with my tunnel team to get into the tunnel - having practised it over 50 times for the tunnel where everyone lets go the second we're all through the door, that could be interesting launched from a plane

Only 2 of us are in the same team in the air though and we actually launch it 'backwards' for the tunnel (tail first) so will bear it in mind when we finally do get up in a plane (usually Caravan 208's though Otters and G92's are often available for competitions)

NWFlyer

(Also, some good discussion in this post: /cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4541390)

B and P for me

We found the B really solid and a good start to transition to many randoms:

example - to go from a B launch to an F, the centres just let go of the leg grips, reach forward and join - done

We then used P for the more strung out or longer formations.

Juz

Next time you're dirt diving, take a P, and have everyone drop the leg grip. You now have a F