DylanSD 0 #1 September 23, 2006 Hello everyone ! I'm a skydiver with 170 jumps and I want to go soon try the New Hampshire WT. But I have a few questions : First of all , I am now good enough in sitfly to dock with other people but I almost never did Headown. Is it possible and easy to start HD from the begining, with a coach, in a Wind Tunnel ? How many minutes do you think I need to be able to see a really good progress and be able to stay stable in a real HD jump ? Next point ... After a couple of sitfly jump in a row I feel a little bit tired ... is it possible for a wind tunnel newbie to freefly non-stop in a tunnel for 10 , 15 or more minutes or it's to hard ? Thanks ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skycat 0 #2 September 23, 2006 They aren't going to let you work on sit or head down right away. They will first teach you to back fly (your bail possition) then work towards sit flying first on the net then off the net. Next comes transitions, then head down. Honestly I doubt you will get to head down your first time there. I have 3 hours of tunnel time and am just now starting head down, although about 30 min of that has been helping people work on two-way belly stuff. Go to www.tunnelflight.com it will show you the tunnel progression that you will need to take. As for getting tired, yep, you will get tired in the tunnel, probably even faster than in the air because the tunnel doesn't let you get sloppy. (walls hurt )Fly it like you stole it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #3 September 23, 2006 Tunnel... You have to prove to your instructors that you can fly belly first, then back fly... Then walk the net. Then sit... Then advanced stuff like head down... As the tunnel speed increases, moves become more "dangerous" because of the energy in the system. Also, as the tunnel speed increases, the ability for the instructors to spot for you becomes more challenging because they are in the same wind and need better skills than you. Example. My friend JumpNaked69 on these forums, MAXed out the Colorado tunnel on his belly. He arched like crazy. The instructors told him that if he popped up and got unstable, to stay up there and they would bring him down with wind speed as they could not spot at the speeds very well. After a few minutes in the tunnel, the instructors were freeflying around him in very fast body positions. If they would have corked onto their belly to spot, they would have been so arched to stay down they could not put out their arms to catch him, or else they would pop up... And, they were not walking on the net either at those speeds, they immediately were flying as they entered around him. All this is to say, as you start to go to very fast flying body positions, the tunnel staff need to be real good to help you - and they are. Also - you will find that the tunnel is harder to do things in, because the net and glass don't lie to movement, and if you move 20 feet while transitioning from your sit to back in the sky - no problem, tunnel - ouch... The amount of time to progress is different. I am a slow learner it seams... I can just barely sit in the tunnel, even with an hour or two dedicated to it... Others pick it up quicker. But - even without being able to sit well in the tunnel, I was able to hold a sit in the sky (heading, fall rate, et al) the first time I tried it after the tunnel time, where before the tunnel I was very unstable... So it is a one-helps-the-other sort of thing. I would say, make sure you are getting great coaching from either the tunnel instructor, and off the clock tunnel instructor, or a coach... Coaching is the difference between money blowing by, and money blowing by with improvement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #4 September 23, 2006 QuoteAfter a couple of sitfly jump in a row I feel a little bit tired ... is it possible for a wind tunnel newbie to freefly non-stop in a tunnel for 10 , 15 or more minutes or it's to hard ? I would definitely limit your rotations to 2 minutes each with a few people between, and maybe 15 minutes total... I find my learning slowed down as my muscles got tired... Same thing happened when I was learning to belly fly. I was fighting it, so it was tiring. Now, with many hours of belly fly experience and team training, I can fly for 20 minutes straight on my belly and not fell tired at all, just winded like aerobics because we practice blocks and throw each other around the tunnel practicing the 4way piece partner moves. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reginald 0 #5 September 23, 2006 QuoteFirst of all , I am now good enough in sitfly to dock with other people but I almost never did Headown. Is it possible and easy to start HD from the begining, with a coach, in a Wind Tunnel ? You willl find like everyone else the tunnel is a humbling thing. Once you progress to a sit you will find that you are all over the place bouncing into walls, etc. You never knew in the air how much you were washing around. Best advice is to take it slow and follow the advice of the staff. They've done it all personally and seen it done thousands of times too."We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mailin 0 #6 September 25, 2006 QuoteAfter a couple of sitfly jump in a row I feel a little bit tired ... is it possible for a wind tunnel newbie to freefly non-stop in a tunnel for 10 , 15 or more minutes or it's to hard ? If you want to be able to move the next day, I don't recommend it I did 20 min. almost non-stop (very few breaks, a couple back to backs) and I was so sore the next day I couldn't move without wincing.... but it was fun! JenArianna Frances Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
