frankiebrina 0 #1 January 16, 2004 OK. I live 5 minutes from skyventure and even though I've been living here in Orlando for about a year yesterday was the first time I ever went to the wind tunnel. It was really fun and different in a way but. I sincerely am not sure if I will be going back ever!! The service was great and the instructors very helpful but I found it to be very different and I really don't know if training in the tunnel would do me any good because I strongly believed it to be different from my skydiving experience. Even my position had to be different for me to maintain myself above the net. And I would not stay centered. I wasn't hitting the walls like crazy but there were slight movements unwanted. WHY?? When I'm skydiving with others I'm no Mr. Experience but I stay leveled and totally stable in front of anyone without rocking back front side side. Has anyone ever experienced this the first time you went to the tunnel.???? One more thing..... I also practice Freefly and I noticed some guys yesterday trying to sit fly. They had to learn to sit fly again because they could not sit in the tunnel. Even being that they regularly sit fly when skydiving with no problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JeffD 0 #2 January 17, 2004 I think it helped me greatly. I only had about 3 minutes of freefall before I went in there and the first time I went in there I was all over the place, kicking walls, diving for the doors, grabing the net etc(for my two minutes). then after that I did 2-3 more aff jumps and went back and I could stay perfectly centered in the tunnel, and did some fall rate practice. Then I graduated aff and did a coach jump with fall rate exercises and I did them no problem. So with 12 jumps and 3 (2 mins) in the tunnel I got 3 up and down and docks. no problem. I think you need to get more time in there, Just let the staff know you are an experienced jumper and they should give you plenty of wind and leave it alone. I know that for inexperienced people they will change the wind all the time because they get High or they get out of control. I say go back and try a few more times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites EDYDO 0 #3 January 17, 2004 Just be sure and use double ear protection. I had an earplug fall out during my last trip and I lost a great deal of hearing out of that ear. Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Synapse 0 #4 January 17, 2004 My first time in the tunnel was after failing AFF level 3 due to uncontrolled spins. After that happened I decided not to jump again until I could get in a tunnel. I signed up with Skydive U to do their wind tunnel AFF program and on my first 2 minutes in the tunnel I was all over the place, stuck to the net, and doing the same uncontrolled turns just like my last jump. After I had finished all of my time in the tunnel that was included in the AFF program (20 minutes) I could fly in there w/o a problem and loved every minute of it. No more uncontrolled movements either! -synThey who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites rjf98 0 #5 January 17, 2004 The tunnel is a VERY small space. It tends to magnify your weaknesses A LOT. We (instructors) took a trip over to perris to experience theirs right after it was open. I felt like I was on AFF 1... as a STUDENT Don't get too frustrated. The tunnel is fixing things you don't know about from freefall. When your in group skydives everyone is adjusting constantly without knowing it. I now have about 45 min of tunnel time and I can tell a difference in my skills when I'm jumping in real air. Get coaching. Flying in the tunnel by yourself almost isn't worth it. Don't overestimate your current skills, and don't be afraid to look foolish either. Our chief instructor with over 10,000 jumps looked pretty funny sliding around in there for the first few min. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites frankiebrina 0 #6 January 17, 2004 Thanks. I was feeling pretty bad!! Anyone else has stories like these from the tunnel Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites marcandalysse 0 #7 January 17, 2004 oi frankie, tudo bom? The tunnel will exaggerate every little input and you have the walls to judge that by (both in level control and centering). You are correct, Freefall control seems easier compared to the tunnel. BUT, If you have good control in the tunnel, it will result in even greater control in freefall....that's my experience. Do a couple of rounds practicing a short 2way routine, then do it again in freefall. You will see how much control you learned while working hard at it in the tunnel. Alysse and I will be in the tunnel sunday afternoon from 3-4 with Sally Hathaway (from team synchronicity, and a zhills coach). She might have a slot available from 6-7 that nite. Come by and watch the way she trains us. We have a lot of fun! Unless it rains while we are in there (which the weatherman is predicting) (vamos tomar um cafezinho depois na padaria brasileira no international drive?) Marc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites arlo 0 #8 January 17, 2004 so how much time did you spend in the tunnel? also, if you were not flying stationary in the center of the air, then that can be a humbling experience in itself. if you understand the way the windtunnel works, then you'll realize that you aren't falling as flat and stable as you'd like to think you are. but don't fret - most people are humbled the first time they're in the tunnel. if you were potato-chipping (rocking back/forth/side/side), then you need to relax a bit. sometimes being in that fish bowl can be intimidating. you feel like you're relative to everyone else in the skydive because everyone is compensating for everyone else. not everyone flies to their slot and stays. but don't beat yourself up for it. along the same lines, don't blame the tunnel either. you saw first hand how you fly without input (or help) from other skydivers, so take that experience and learn from it. it's a great tool. i personally think you would be able to learn a hellluva lot more than you think you would in there...you just have to be open to it - and admit that your flying isn't necessarily what you thought it was. this advice applies to you and a wholeeeeeeeee bunch of other people...myself included. there is ALWAYS room for improvement. regarding ff-ing in the tunnel: please do a seach on any tunnel posting i've made. almost all of them explain the progression people have to go thru in order to freefly in the tunnel. FLYING IN THE TUNNEL IS NOT THE SAME AS SKYDIVING. who said it was? it's different and that should be expected. i hope your next trip to the tunnel is a learning one...enjoy! arlo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites riggerrob 643 #9 January 17, 2004 Yup! Your first time in a tunnel can be humbling. On the other hand - if you go with an open mind - it just might improve your skydiving skills. For example, when I visited the Aerodium (20 years ago) I suspected that I had a back-sliding problem in freefall. Sure enough, I back-slid into the wall several times before I started paying more attention to my legs and extended them a bit. That first tunnel session taught me more than 200 skydives. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites sducoach 0 #10 January 17, 2004 Here is the main thing about tunnel time that you must keep in mind. The small area ( no matter what tunnel you go to) amplifies your perception of your movements in a manner you cannot get in freefall, unless, you have an instructor who knows how to truly fall "straight down". Tunnel flying is a great experience and training aid to correct those body position errors we simply do not realize we are making. My first tunnel trip I could not stay in the column for the first five minutes! After you discover the correct straight fall position, you'll be amazed at how much better your skydives will become. I'll be in Vegas at Fly-A-Way tomorrow. I've got to work a trade show there, I don't drink or gamble so I just "have to go" to the tunnel. Good winter practice!!! Blues, J.E>James 4:8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Michele 1 #11 January 17, 2004 I wanna go to the tunnel....I wanna, I wanna!!! I've got so many problems that I know I'll be bouncing off the walls while in a horrible flat spin! I wanna goooooooooooooooo and learn how to not do that!!! Although it does make for very funny videos....my favorite comment from jump number 81 was "let's chase Michele!!!".... I think I'd rather than be an option rather than part of the dive plan, however.... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites VectorBoy 0 #12 January 17, 2004 I'll be in Vegas at Fly-A-Way tomorrow. I've got to work a trade show there, I don't drink or gamble so I just "have to go" to the tunnel. Quote I'm probably too late with this for you, But dollar for dollar avoid this tunnel and spend the time and money in Perris's skyventure. Fly- away's design is obsolete, it is not powerful enough. The thrust is completely in the center with a dead air perimeter. Its single large prop and plywood baffles, designed to concentrate the flow and focus the weaker power, create burbles as much as they cancel the P-factor. The staff caters to wuffos and could "be bothered" by divers wanting to improve. Perris Skyventure has more than enough power to fly in your personal tight RW suit for belly improvement and enough power for lighter weight flyers to FF in without resorting to a tunnel suit. Perris has many coaches available for both disciplines and a whos who of customers practicing most times during the day. You can spend a few minutes in the tunnel and make a 2 minute walk to a 15 minute call afterward without ever changing your jumpsuit. You can also learn plenty just by watching the goings on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites PhreeZone 20 #13 January 17, 2004 My experience... 700+ jumps and I fly camera on RW jumps sometimes. I hit every wall of the tunnel at least once and some two or three times on Tuesday. At the end of my 15 minutes I had learned to fall straight down the air stream and I was starting to get the knack of center point turns. I'm usually right there to take grips if I do RW, but the entire formation is shifting a tad here or there so I'm constantly moving too and don't realize it. With the glass right there and its not moving it makes it really easy to see if you are moving or not. Even a slight 3 or 4 inch movement is very noticble in the tunnel and you never would see it in freefall. Freefly in the tunnel is something else. Where in Freefall can you reach out and push off of a wall to regain stability? Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RoadRash 0 #14 January 17, 2004 I practically went through AFF at Skyventure before I actually made my AFF2 at Lake Wales last year (thanks to the fact that it rained for almost a week straight before I got there...There were a couple of extra swamps on the DZ too...). I learned a great deal thanks to that wind tunnel, and I was waaaaaaaaaay more confident when I started AFF a day or two later. Talk to the coaches, the coach who was with me showed me everything from side sliding to barrel rolls in the tunnel...I had a blast, but I definitely felt it the next day......Enjoy!! Cheers...~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Fly the friendly skies...^_^...})ii({...^_~... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites helldog 0 #15 January 18, 2004 In reply to Although it does make for very funny videos....my favorite comment from jump number 81 was "let's chase Michele!!!".... I think I'd rather than be an option rather than part of the dive plan, however.... Michele, Can you please post a video Im still LMAO... Blue ones Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Michele 1 #16 January 18, 2004 Ha, helldog! Well, I have video from #82, linked here(it's called Chuteless). It's the jump I made for Bill Cole last saturday...some of it is missing - there was a glitch in something or other...but you can see a bit of the fall rate issue when JC (on vid) catches up to James and me and comes into the formation (at about, oh, 7500), Steve joins us and Karen goes bouncing off my leg. When everyone leaves, you can see my fall rate compared to JC on his belly. According to James, we were sitting pretty at 135....and that was the slow part of the jump... The comment came from the jump before, when we lost it on exit, and, as usual for me, I went belly really fast (I'm chubby, and have one of those natural arches...but it's mostly chubby...). No-one caught me, even though I was doing my damnedest to get flat and stay stable. No, I was backsliding around, looking for someone...James gets very near me, but not close enough...Karen was nowhere to be found, and Steve was as small as he could get and got sorta close... Yeah, me needs tunnel time.... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0 Go To Topic Listing
EDYDO 0 #3 January 17, 2004 Just be sure and use double ear protection. I had an earplug fall out during my last trip and I lost a great deal of hearing out of that ear. Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Synapse 0 #4 January 17, 2004 My first time in the tunnel was after failing AFF level 3 due to uncontrolled spins. After that happened I decided not to jump again until I could get in a tunnel. I signed up with Skydive U to do their wind tunnel AFF program and on my first 2 minutes in the tunnel I was all over the place, stuck to the net, and doing the same uncontrolled turns just like my last jump. After I had finished all of my time in the tunnel that was included in the AFF program (20 minutes) I could fly in there w/o a problem and loved every minute of it. No more uncontrolled movements either! -synThey who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjf98 0 #5 January 17, 2004 The tunnel is a VERY small space. It tends to magnify your weaknesses A LOT. We (instructors) took a trip over to perris to experience theirs right after it was open. I felt like I was on AFF 1... as a STUDENT Don't get too frustrated. The tunnel is fixing things you don't know about from freefall. When your in group skydives everyone is adjusting constantly without knowing it. I now have about 45 min of tunnel time and I can tell a difference in my skills when I'm jumping in real air. Get coaching. Flying in the tunnel by yourself almost isn't worth it. Don't overestimate your current skills, and don't be afraid to look foolish either. Our chief instructor with over 10,000 jumps looked pretty funny sliding around in there for the first few min. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frankiebrina 0 #6 January 17, 2004 Thanks. I was feeling pretty bad!! Anyone else has stories like these from the tunnel Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marcandalysse 0 #7 January 17, 2004 oi frankie, tudo bom? The tunnel will exaggerate every little input and you have the walls to judge that by (both in level control and centering). You are correct, Freefall control seems easier compared to the tunnel. BUT, If you have good control in the tunnel, it will result in even greater control in freefall....that's my experience. Do a couple of rounds practicing a short 2way routine, then do it again in freefall. You will see how much control you learned while working hard at it in the tunnel. Alysse and I will be in the tunnel sunday afternoon from 3-4 with Sally Hathaway (from team synchronicity, and a zhills coach). She might have a slot available from 6-7 that nite. Come by and watch the way she trains us. We have a lot of fun! Unless it rains while we are in there (which the weatherman is predicting) (vamos tomar um cafezinho depois na padaria brasileira no international drive?) Marc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arlo 0 #8 January 17, 2004 so how much time did you spend in the tunnel? also, if you were not flying stationary in the center of the air, then that can be a humbling experience in itself. if you understand the way the windtunnel works, then you'll realize that you aren't falling as flat and stable as you'd like to think you are. but don't fret - most people are humbled the first time they're in the tunnel. if you were potato-chipping (rocking back/forth/side/side), then you need to relax a bit. sometimes being in that fish bowl can be intimidating. you feel like you're relative to everyone else in the skydive because everyone is compensating for everyone else. not everyone flies to their slot and stays. but don't beat yourself up for it. along the same lines, don't blame the tunnel either. you saw first hand how you fly without input (or help) from other skydivers, so take that experience and learn from it. it's a great tool. i personally think you would be able to learn a hellluva lot more than you think you would in there...you just have to be open to it - and admit that your flying isn't necessarily what you thought it was. this advice applies to you and a wholeeeeeeeee bunch of other people...myself included. there is ALWAYS room for improvement. regarding ff-ing in the tunnel: please do a seach on any tunnel posting i've made. almost all of them explain the progression people have to go thru in order to freefly in the tunnel. FLYING IN THE TUNNEL IS NOT THE SAME AS SKYDIVING. who said it was? it's different and that should be expected. i hope your next trip to the tunnel is a learning one...enjoy! arlo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #9 January 17, 2004 Yup! Your first time in a tunnel can be humbling. On the other hand - if you go with an open mind - it just might improve your skydiving skills. For example, when I visited the Aerodium (20 years ago) I suspected that I had a back-sliding problem in freefall. Sure enough, I back-slid into the wall several times before I started paying more attention to my legs and extended them a bit. That first tunnel session taught me more than 200 skydives. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sducoach 0 #10 January 17, 2004 Here is the main thing about tunnel time that you must keep in mind. The small area ( no matter what tunnel you go to) amplifies your perception of your movements in a manner you cannot get in freefall, unless, you have an instructor who knows how to truly fall "straight down". Tunnel flying is a great experience and training aid to correct those body position errors we simply do not realize we are making. My first tunnel trip I could not stay in the column for the first five minutes! After you discover the correct straight fall position, you'll be amazed at how much better your skydives will become. I'll be in Vegas at Fly-A-Way tomorrow. I've got to work a trade show there, I don't drink or gamble so I just "have to go" to the tunnel. Good winter practice!!! Blues, J.E>James 4:8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #11 January 17, 2004 I wanna go to the tunnel....I wanna, I wanna!!! I've got so many problems that I know I'll be bouncing off the walls while in a horrible flat spin! I wanna goooooooooooooooo and learn how to not do that!!! Although it does make for very funny videos....my favorite comment from jump number 81 was "let's chase Michele!!!".... I think I'd rather than be an option rather than part of the dive plan, however.... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorBoy 0 #12 January 17, 2004 I'll be in Vegas at Fly-A-Way tomorrow. I've got to work a trade show there, I don't drink or gamble so I just "have to go" to the tunnel. Quote I'm probably too late with this for you, But dollar for dollar avoid this tunnel and spend the time and money in Perris's skyventure. Fly- away's design is obsolete, it is not powerful enough. The thrust is completely in the center with a dead air perimeter. Its single large prop and plywood baffles, designed to concentrate the flow and focus the weaker power, create burbles as much as they cancel the P-factor. The staff caters to wuffos and could "be bothered" by divers wanting to improve. Perris Skyventure has more than enough power to fly in your personal tight RW suit for belly improvement and enough power for lighter weight flyers to FF in without resorting to a tunnel suit. Perris has many coaches available for both disciplines and a whos who of customers practicing most times during the day. You can spend a few minutes in the tunnel and make a 2 minute walk to a 15 minute call afterward without ever changing your jumpsuit. You can also learn plenty just by watching the goings on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites PhreeZone 20 #13 January 17, 2004 My experience... 700+ jumps and I fly camera on RW jumps sometimes. I hit every wall of the tunnel at least once and some two or three times on Tuesday. At the end of my 15 minutes I had learned to fall straight down the air stream and I was starting to get the knack of center point turns. I'm usually right there to take grips if I do RW, but the entire formation is shifting a tad here or there so I'm constantly moving too and don't realize it. With the glass right there and its not moving it makes it really easy to see if you are moving or not. Even a slight 3 or 4 inch movement is very noticble in the tunnel and you never would see it in freefall. Freefly in the tunnel is something else. Where in Freefall can you reach out and push off of a wall to regain stability? Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RoadRash 0 #14 January 17, 2004 I practically went through AFF at Skyventure before I actually made my AFF2 at Lake Wales last year (thanks to the fact that it rained for almost a week straight before I got there...There were a couple of extra swamps on the DZ too...). I learned a great deal thanks to that wind tunnel, and I was waaaaaaaaaay more confident when I started AFF a day or two later. Talk to the coaches, the coach who was with me showed me everything from side sliding to barrel rolls in the tunnel...I had a blast, but I definitely felt it the next day......Enjoy!! Cheers...~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Fly the friendly skies...^_^...})ii({...^_~... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites helldog 0 #15 January 18, 2004 In reply to Although it does make for very funny videos....my favorite comment from jump number 81 was "let's chase Michele!!!".... I think I'd rather than be an option rather than part of the dive plan, however.... Michele, Can you please post a video Im still LMAO... Blue ones Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Michele 1 #16 January 18, 2004 Ha, helldog! Well, I have video from #82, linked here(it's called Chuteless). It's the jump I made for Bill Cole last saturday...some of it is missing - there was a glitch in something or other...but you can see a bit of the fall rate issue when JC (on vid) catches up to James and me and comes into the formation (at about, oh, 7500), Steve joins us and Karen goes bouncing off my leg. When everyone leaves, you can see my fall rate compared to JC on his belly. According to James, we were sitting pretty at 135....and that was the slow part of the jump... The comment came from the jump before, when we lost it on exit, and, as usual for me, I went belly really fast (I'm chubby, and have one of those natural arches...but it's mostly chubby...). No-one caught me, even though I was doing my damnedest to get flat and stay stable. No, I was backsliding around, looking for someone...James gets very near me, but not close enough...Karen was nowhere to be found, and Steve was as small as he could get and got sorta close... Yeah, me needs tunnel time.... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
PhreeZone 20 #13 January 17, 2004 My experience... 700+ jumps and I fly camera on RW jumps sometimes. I hit every wall of the tunnel at least once and some two or three times on Tuesday. At the end of my 15 minutes I had learned to fall straight down the air stream and I was starting to get the knack of center point turns. I'm usually right there to take grips if I do RW, but the entire formation is shifting a tad here or there so I'm constantly moving too and don't realize it. With the glass right there and its not moving it makes it really easy to see if you are moving or not. Even a slight 3 or 4 inch movement is very noticble in the tunnel and you never would see it in freefall. Freefly in the tunnel is something else. Where in Freefall can you reach out and push off of a wall to regain stability? Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoadRash 0 #14 January 17, 2004 I practically went through AFF at Skyventure before I actually made my AFF2 at Lake Wales last year (thanks to the fact that it rained for almost a week straight before I got there...There were a couple of extra swamps on the DZ too...). I learned a great deal thanks to that wind tunnel, and I was waaaaaaaaaay more confident when I started AFF a day or two later. Talk to the coaches, the coach who was with me showed me everything from side sliding to barrel rolls in the tunnel...I had a blast, but I definitely felt it the next day......Enjoy!! Cheers...~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Fly the friendly skies...^_^...})ii({...^_~... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
helldog 0 #15 January 18, 2004 In reply to Although it does make for very funny videos....my favorite comment from jump number 81 was "let's chase Michele!!!".... I think I'd rather than be an option rather than part of the dive plan, however.... Michele, Can you please post a video Im still LMAO... Blue ones Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #16 January 18, 2004 Ha, helldog! Well, I have video from #82, linked here(it's called Chuteless). It's the jump I made for Bill Cole last saturday...some of it is missing - there was a glitch in something or other...but you can see a bit of the fall rate issue when JC (on vid) catches up to James and me and comes into the formation (at about, oh, 7500), Steve joins us and Karen goes bouncing off my leg. When everyone leaves, you can see my fall rate compared to JC on his belly. According to James, we were sitting pretty at 135....and that was the slow part of the jump... The comment came from the jump before, when we lost it on exit, and, as usual for me, I went belly really fast (I'm chubby, and have one of those natural arches...but it's mostly chubby...). No-one caught me, even though I was doing my damnedest to get flat and stay stable. No, I was backsliding around, looking for someone...James gets very near me, but not close enough...Karen was nowhere to be found, and Steve was as small as he could get and got sorta close... Yeah, me needs tunnel time.... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
