Tunnel Confusion

[rickfri59 0]

I want to do some RW tunnel training this winter in FL. I plug "Tunnel Training" into Google and get so much info. that I'm in a dazed and confused state. At the same facility (Orlando) I find camps for: Space Land Anomaly, Tunnel Camp.com, Sky Venture, NSL, New School Flight University, etc....
So what's the deal? Do differint skydive training organizations/teams lease the facility so that it's their camp for the day (or two, or three..) Next question is very subjective.... Which sponsoring organization/team camp is better for learning the basics of RW. I don't want to end up in a camp with a bunch of RW "experts" (it's o.k. if the instrucors are experts) and be the one inexperienced flyer that holds anyone else back. Or do they schedule and match flyers by skill level? Oh shit, too many choices at which to throw my $$. Help would be appreciated.

[Luna 0]

To start, www.tunnelcamp.com sponsors all of the camps that happen in the Orlando tunnel, so a good place to start is their site. It gives a brief overview of all the different camps, as well as the cost. Some of the camps are freefly camps, which it sounds like you don't want, so that narrows it down a bit. You can check out the site for the particulars, but basically the camps run anywhere from 1 day to 6 days and run the gamut from the tunnel coaches to guys like Arizona Airspeed. When the different camps are at the tunnel, no other camp is going on, but there are plenty of whuffos and teams going in when you aren't in.

I went to the Airspeed 3-day camp with about 27 jumps under my belt. You don't hold anyone up! You coach works with you to your level. I got behind everyone on day one because I had trouble just staying stable. Then on day 3, I got a different coach and he took me back to body position again, so I got behind again. You can make up some time in the evenings (highly recommended that you do evening time), but I ended up not getting to do a couple of the drills. Big deal. I got what I needed. My coach had 2 other people, another one who was pretty behind, and one who had something like 5 hours in the tunnel already so she was a whiz. He worked with each of us at our level, so nobody gets held back. That said, I'd personally rather work with Airspeed any day. They're not only world champions, they are great coaches, and they are not skygods at all. They are a joy to work with. But like you said, it's very subjective, and also up to what you can afford.

Good luck!!

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

[DBCOOPER 5]

Its been my experience that you can just schedule time and work with whoever it is thats working the tunnel at that time.If you do it ,go with specific goals to work toward.All the tunnel rats can instruct.I think that camps are geared for more advanced training.

Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

[webracer 0]

I have done Airspeed's camp twice now, once with 300 jumps, once with 500 jumps. I am going to do it again this year.
I think Airspeed's camp is the best, but I have only attended Airspeed's camp. I am going after Christmas for 30 minutes (I have 1:40:00 so far), to do some time with Guy Wright, and some friends. I will still be in Airspeed's basic camp this spring (April probably).
I have heard the NSL camp is great too, and if you do a personalized camp with Majik, that is awesome too.
I'll stick with Airspeed's camps, they have a great setup.

Troy

I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

[diablopilot 2]

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To start, http://www.tunnelcamp.com sponsors all of the camps that happen in the Orlando tunnel,

Says who?

Anyone can by tunnel time, and run a camp if they want.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[NeedToJump 0]

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To start, www.tunnelcamp.com sponsors all of the camps that happen in the Orlando tunnel...

No they don't, they sponsor the specific camps listed on their site. Anyone who wants can run a camp - just buy a lot a time and call it a camp.

Rick - any of the RW camps you listed would be fine for teaching you basic RW. I know that Robbie Spencer is running a Majik camp pretty soon (maybe next week?) and a bunch of people from Skydive New England will be at that. There's probably still slots on that if you're interested.

Also keep in mind that you don't need to participate in a camp. You could just get a coach and do some one-on-one tunnel time. There are a ton of great tunnel coaches around. It all depends on exactly what you're looking to do and what you're looking to spend.

Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

[rickfri59 0]

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and a bunch of people from Skydive New England will be at that. There's probably still slots on that if you're interested.

I would have signed-up with them, but I'm recovering from arm surgery and won't be ready 'till the end of January. Thanks all for the input.

[Luna 0]

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To start, http://www.tunnelcamp.com sponsors all of the camps that happen in the Orlando tunnel,

Says who?

Anyone can by tunnel time, and run a camp if they want.

Sorry, you're right. I do know of other camps not done through tunnelcamp. I think most or all of the ones he mentioned were through them, though. So, is there one place to find all scheduled camps at the tunnel? I haven't seen a schedule like that anywhere, just for the ones through tunnelcamp. Seems like something SkyVenture should have on their web site.

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

[NeedToJump 0]

No problem. I live in DeLand and keep track of what's going on at the tunnel and am there quite often. If you want to know of anything specific going on when you're better feel free to PM me and I can find out for you or help find you a coach appropriate to what your needs are. I Hope you get better quick!

Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

[Mad47 0]

Do not forget about Perris.
http://www.skydiveperris.com/tunnel/tunnel.asp

Huh .. they gotta give me some discount now
At Orlando SkyVenture you can do Airspeed, NSL and SkyVenture camps. I believe either one is fine if you need to work on basic skills. Experienced jumpers frequently snick in to do some time without a coach (which is much cheaper, an our of tunnel time is about $600) but I would not recommend to do it if you are beginner. You spend more for a coached camp but you also learn more. It is also very helpful to visit a tunnel before you actually do a camp (it is open for everybody) and to look at experienced people flying. You will learn a lot about techniques and also small tricks that will make your training more efficient.

Be careful though, a tunnel is addictive like a drug.

[NeedToJump 0]

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Be careful though, a tunnel is addictive like a drug.

It's more expensive and more addictive than crack!

Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

[Mad47 0]

I am currently on diet

[NeedToJump 0]

Me too, I've only got 2.5 hours booked for tomorrow night

edit to add: Merry Christmas to me...

Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

[Mad47 0]

Hm ... it is too late this year, but for the 2004 ... what a great idea for a Christmas present for me too.

[marcandalysse 0]

The great ladies from US women's skydiving Team Synchronicity will do a tunnel camp in the springtime in Orlando....Alysse and I already have reserved our slots!!

[arlo 0]

if you have specific questions, please PM me. i work at skyventure in orlando and i can answer pretty much any question you have regarding tunnel camps, booking time, instruction, blah blah. :) and no need to worry about me trying to "sell" you any particular program. i'll shoot straight with you regardless...

blues,
arlo

[arlo 0]

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I think most or all of the ones he mentioned were through them, though. So, is there one place to find all scheduled camps at the tunnel?

no

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I haven't seen a schedule like that anywhere, just for the ones through tunnelcamp. Seems like something SkyVenture should have on their web site.

not really. skyventure is in the business of making money and tunnelcamp.com is a skyventure, uh, venture. the camps listed on tunnelcamp.com are INHOUSE camps and the profit goes to us.

the other "camps" are simply bookings on our schedule. they buy time from us and call it whatever they want to.

if wouldn't be economically feasible to list everybody's tunnel camps on tunnelcamp.com because we don't make camp money on them. pretty simple business decision if you look at it. we provide 'quality control' for the tunnelcamp.com camps. it's not our realm for the non-skyventure tunnel camps. seriously.

too, we know the quality of the camps on tunnelcamp.com. that is not to say that other camps aren't great - some are outstanding. some aren't worth a pinch of monkey shit. i have seen some camps that are an absolutely ripoff to the skydivers buying into them. for example, one that make me nauseous was from an east coast dz that had a "coach" (maybe 500-600 jumps) who couldn't fly worth a shit. HE was charging coaching/camp fees and people were paying him because they didn't know any better. it made me sick to see it. they were being taught bad habits by someone that honest to god flew like shit. out of curiosity, i asked him how he thought he flew. his response? "I did great in there." he didn't have a clue how badly he sucked. When i'm at work, it is bad business protocol to tell someone that they suck. anyone that knows me knows how hard it is for me to NOT comment on something like that. but if said coach books time under his name and decides to bring his dz fledglings to the tunnel for a 'camp', we have no control over how he teaches.

hell, same goes for a "well reknown" coaching organization (which i'll leave unnamed). this organization used to be something respected, but after seeing the requirements for the coaches they have, the program has become quite diluted.

then on the flip side, there are camps hosted by folks that are quite fluent to the ways of modern flying (mantis, freefly, whatever) and do an exemplary job of tunnel coaching because they have participated and are outstanding body flyers. Juliana, Fabian, and Joao come to mind. they (thank god) are part of the skyventure tunnelcamp team and are an incredibly wonderful addition. they compliment the team.

so after spewing forth all of that, bottom line is to do your homework about a tunnel camp if you choose to participate. just because someone says "we're doing a tunnel camp", don't assume that it's associated with skyventure. we provide the venue. think about it this way: just because the college league team plays at yankee stadium doesn't mean that their schedule should be listed on the yankees homepage. same with anything calling itself a tunnelcamp.

if you have further questions, PM me. most of these responses i post are from my other job, so i'll respond as best i can in as timely a fashion as possible. if not, remind me. i really don't mind helping out folks by being able to answer whatever questions you have.

blues,
arlo

[VanillaSkyGirl 6]

then on the flip side, there are camps hosted by folks that are quite fluent to the ways of modern flying (mantis, freefly, whatever) and do an exemplary job of tunnel coaching because they have participated and are outstanding body flyers. Juliana, Fabian, and Joao come to mind. they (thank god) are part of the skyventure tunnelcamp team and are an incredibly wonderful addition. they compliment the team.

so after spewing forth all of that, bottom line is to do your homework about a tunnel camp if you choose to participate. just because someone says "we're doing a tunnel camp", don't assume that it's associated with skyventure. we provide the venue. think about it this way: just because the college league team plays at yankee stadium doesn't mean that their schedule should be listed on the yankees homepage. same with anything calling itself a tunnelcamp.

[Trent 0]

Yeah... Juliana, Fabian, and Joao are the bomb... that's why we hire them to be primary coaches for our Anomaly camps. While we do a good deal of freefly coaching at home, we don't have tons of hours in the tunnel, so we don't feel it's legit for us to charge people for our coaching in the tunnel.... yet. We're working on that now, but we feel like we can wait till we have more tunnel time before we pass ourselves off as "tunnel" coaches... it just makes sense.

Oh, hello again!