Newbie checking in

[blouberg 0]

Hi all, I'm a newly hooked tunnelflyer. 60 year Norwegian male. Got hooked on Tunnel flying thru a corporate event thing. (Meeting and a couple of flight minutes). This combined with a brand new Tunnel 5-6 Km from my home totally "sucked" me in. Current rate of flying is apx 10 minutes a week. I now have ca 70 minutes of flight time, and loving it!

Nice to read about, and see, others journey into Tunnel flight. Looking forward to read more and to pick up pointers and advise from seasoned skydivers.
Thanks to @vincearnone for an excellent article on gear. Suit and helmet are on order.

I have a Youtube channel where I collect some videos from stuff I do (: Also some tunnel videos from the very first time to a week ago when I hit the 1 hour mark (: Channel name: fander2bike. There also some bikestuff in there 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdlp3F5qKiFeLoK1G-Q26Ow?view_as=subscriber )

Cheers

 

 

[wan2doit 6]

I know this feeling - got into tunnel flight and Happily Hooked at a family reunion in Orlando Fla aboout 5 years ago at age 65. Have 13 hours under the belt now and it keeps getting better. Lots of continuous stretching daily helped me not be sore after flying. Knee, elbow and hip pads defend against the wall as you progress to more challenging skills. Maybe check International Bodyflight Association (IBA) skills progression sequencing that builds upon each skill. You can register to keep track of your hours and skills development. Best of luck to U.

 

[blouberg 0]

Thanks @wan2doit, I'm having a blast flying, I love the learning process aswell, so I recon I have many many hours of learning and fun ahead.  

Cheers

[wan2doit 6]

OBTW after a good bit of research I found that G-Form pads were best for me in tunnel. Had 1 extremely hard elbow strike on wall  (sounded like the crack of a home run hit thru the G3 and earplugs) with zero pain whatsoever - they worked well. One mistake I made was waiting until I had a tailbone strike against the wall w/o pads b4 getting them. G-Form's snowboarding compression shorts have well located hip and tailbone pads IMHO. Just a word to the wise. 

Edited August 3, 2019 by wan2doit

[blouberg 0]

Thanks for the heads up(: I can se the need for padding when starting to do some more advanced moves,  (: So far learning to bellyfly I've had no wallstrikes other than a finger between the helmet and glass.

Have opted for knee and elbow pads in the suit i have on order.

 

[wan2doit 6]

Tailbone strike was my 1st painful result from bodyflight. Kind of funny - as I whined to tunnel employees about it a few confided they had also hit tailbones on wall - I'd go for a full padded suit if they made them. 

 

[dolphinka 4]

Welcome blouberg! Nice videos! Always great to see someone new who is hooked on flying as much as you are  wait and see when you start backflying, and then transitions too. For me to do my first half barrel roll was something more than amazing;)

building strength and stretching is super important as want2doit said, and don’t forget to warm up before you get into the tunnel too. You are super lucky to have a tunnel so close by! It takes me 2 hours one way to get there... but maybe it’s good, otherwise I’d spend too much Time there.... hehe

 

what suit did you go for?

Edited August 10, 2019 by dolphinka

[blouberg 0]

Hi dolphinka, thanks!  I have looked at your videos, nice going!  Can't wait until i get into some mere advanced stuff. I have stepped up the stretching, considering Yoga (: 

Living next near the tunnel is as you say a mixed blessing..

I ordered the Sonic V3 tunnel suit and the Skyhelmets Fujin. The suit will be here in a couple of weeks, the helmet arrived yesterday. (: Looking forward to try it on Monday. 

cheers

[dolphinka 4]

Blouberg, how did it go with a new suit and a new helmet?:) 

[blouberg 0]

  On 9/1/2019 at 7:20 PM, dolphinka said:

Blouberg, how did it go with a new suit and a new helmet?:) 

Really like both the suit and helmet. Suit fits like a glove and it feels nice to fly without a large loose and flapping student suit. Took a couple of flights to get used to the suit.

The Skyhelmet is a step up from the G3 loaners at the tunnel. Was a little tight the first hour or so, now it feels just right. This helmet reduces noise level as well.

So to sum up, I'm very happy with the new gear.

Cheers

 

[dolphinka 4]

It seems that you have flown for a while since we last spoke! How is your progression? 

[blouberg 0]

  On 9/5/2019 at 6:17 AM, dolphinka said:

It seems that you have flown for a while since we last spoke! How is your progression? 

I'm at 2:30 total time, Struggling with backflying at the moment. It's hard to keep track of position in the tunnel. Also I have a hard time getting up from the net from lying on my back.  I have 15 minutes booked for tomorrow, more backflying (:

Her's a promo video for my home tunnel, I'm in a short sequence backflying. Black and orange suite (:

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by blouberg

[Bronner 0]

Hi!

 

I am also a newbie. (56 years old) I have three options to fly. Unfortunately all three options is around  300 km from where I live. ( I live in Karlstad sweden) The tunnels are located in Body Flight in gothenburg, stockholm and in gardemoen (modern activity center)

 

I am still learning to belly fly. Currently I am struggling with sidelslides.

Here is a a youtubeclip from one of my sessions.

Looking forward to share experiences from both beginners and more experienced people.