Thanatos340 1 #1 January 30, 2002 I have 2 Static Line Jumps and 2 Tandems all separated by about 10 years and I am now looking into starting an AFF program. I was out in Las Vegas Last month and tried the wind tunnel at Flyaway and found I had a lot of trouble with stability. I really kept overcompensating with my legs sending me forward and backwards constantly. My question is how similar is freefall to one of these wind tunnels as far as being able to stabilize?Thanatos340"Beer? Boobies? Can I play?" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebazz1 2 #2 January 30, 2002 I have never jumped in the tunnel in Vegas but, once went to visit and it didn't really seem like true freefall to me. The people had to wear big bagy suits and the instructor was just standing on the fan. Just didn't seem like the true 120 mph you would see in freefall. BUT - You do hear the stories of people coming to AFF with tunnel time and just being awesome in AFF. Dunno? Seb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zennie 0 #3 January 30, 2002 I went out to Vegas right in the middle of my student progression (I was out there for other reasons). Had a bad chipping problem when I went there. A few coach sessions at Flyaway and I went home & sailed through the rest of my student progression.I highly recommend wind tunnel training as a student if you get the opportunity. Any Vegas people know if Ray is still out there? Is he jumping at the Gravity Zone? Tell him I said "Hi... we need to freefly together". He may remember me (especially if you refer to me as Zennie)."Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #4 January 30, 2002 The wind tunnel in Orlando FL (Skyventure) is so powerful you don't need a baggy suit.Speed Racer"Fill your hand, you son-of-a-bitch!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #5 January 30, 2002 QuoteMy question is how similar is freefall to one of these wind tunnels as far as being able to stabilize?The Vegas tunnel, while interesting, isn't very good. That said, if you can stay stable in the middle fo the flow at Vegas, you're probably doing ok.The tunnel in Orlando is much better. So good, in fact, that a number of very good teams hold training camps there.An example of a typical 4-way training camp would be THIS.quadehttp://futurecam.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freefallfreak 0 #6 January 30, 2002 Thanatos,Dude, I haven't been to the wind tunnel in Vegas but it's my understanding that the air is forced up from a fan on the ground...sorta like the one in Tenn. It forms a cone that you have to ride and if you get close to the edge you stand a chance of falling off the "cone or pillow". I did, however, go to Sky Ventures in Orlando, spent a bunch of time there (a lot of hours, two minutes at a time) and improved considerably. Their fan is at the top of the building and draws air up in a solid column so it was pretty uniform at all areas. This was done before graduating from AFF (cause I kept flunking level 4) and then I breezed right on through...and it helped my abilities greatly. I had a guy in there called "Boxman" as a sorta' instructor and he was great. They found out I was a student and gave me a break on the prices, too, and didn't charge for an instructor, either.TripleF Geez, I didn't even say "BOOBIES" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zennie 0 #7 January 30, 2002 Quoteif you can stay stable in the middle fo the flow at Vegas, you're probably doing ok.I think this is what help me as a beginner. I really had to learn to fly my body to stay in the column.QuoteThe tunnel in Orlando is much better.Well, if you're going to be in Vegas that's the only tunnel right now. Any tunnel time is helpful to a beginner IMHO.But yeah, I've heard the air is better in the SkyVenture tunnel.It's kind of a moot point for me. Until they can crank up a tunnel to about 160 MPH I'm not going to be able to work on freefly. Of course it would be a good opportunity to brush up on thise RW skills I've lost. "Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freefallfreak 0 #8 January 30, 2002 Zennie,SkyVentures can do just that...I personally witnessed Boxman freeflying in the tunnel...they may tell you it won't but it will...and a few of the jumpers went last year with their DZO and were able to talk SkyVentures into cranking it up...just fyi...call em and ask if they will crank it up...they just might...TripleFGeez, I didn't even say "BOOBIES" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #9 January 30, 2002 "SkyVentures can do just that"Yep....I saw some video at the Free Flight festival of some folks from Sebastian that were doing all sorts of kick ass free flying in the tunnel."It's the cans..they're defective. Stay away from the cans"-Steve MartinClay Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #10 January 31, 2002 do you wear your rig in the tunnel, or anything to simulate it? ...or does the face that it is usually in your wake negate any aerodynamic effects it might have? "Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."-J.Geils Band Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #11 January 31, 2002 Quotedo you wear your rig in the tunnel, or anything to simulate it?I've heard of folks wearing weights and I could swear I've seen photos of a "training" harness with leg straps and such.I think wearing a normal rig would be a HUGE safety issue -- a way bad idea.quadehttp://futurecam.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dmddave 0 #12 January 31, 2002 I tried the tunnel in Las Vegas about a year ago and found it to be nearly worthless for help in skydiving. They alternated the speed of the fan too much so I was always compensating and not able to work on any skills. Also, the baggy suits didn't help and the instructor who was awesome in the tunnel had never made a skydive. The air was much different than actual freefall. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #13 January 31, 2002 hadn't thought of the safety issue, i guess having your canopy open accidentally would be bad in a tunnel.."Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."-J.Geils Band Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutchboy 0 #14 January 31, 2002 I've flown in the tunnel at Pigeon Forge a couple of times. It is much harder than real freefall, because you don't have as much wind, and you can fall off the edge very easily. It does make you keep on top of things though, and it can help with your body awareness.I've not made it to Skyventure yet. If you are close to Vegas then it might be worth it to spend some time in their tunnel, even if it isn't the best available in the world.The DutchboyCFI, CFII, AGI, IGIhttp://www.philsflying.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lazerq3 0 #15 January 31, 2002 I went to the tunnel in vegas just about a month ago and the trainer there ( who passed aff in two jumps thanks to 350+ hrs in that thing) told us that if your a beginner to skydiving then the tunnel is easier because you havnet picked up any habits , but if you sky dive it will be harder the first time. In freefall you use a boxman type pose and turn with your shoulders and maybe some legs, but in the tunnell we were shown to keep your amrs further out and use your hands bringing them close to your head to turn and not to fly with legs. This felt really wierd to me because I was used to a good stable box man!!! also as mentioned above if you side slip, backslip , or front slip (is that a term) any direction beyond 5ft , you stand a good chance of falling out were as in the sky 5ft to the lt or rt is nothing!!! All in all it was a very fun experiance but I'll take freefall anyday over a tunnel!!jason Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
