VegasBrad

Hey All! Beginning May 3rd each week Flyaway Las Vegas will be holding Thursday Night Flight School. All USPA members with a current membership card are invited to fly at drastically discounted rates. For years Flyaway has struggled with an intensely hot wind tunnel, however owners Keith and Chris Fields recently made an upgrade to the air conditioning system that has made a HUGE difference. On top of that we are extending our hours to 10am to 10pm 7 days a week and we’d like you to be able to take advantage of it. Every Thursday from 8 – 10pm USPA members will get $20 flights, $5 DVDs and 25% off retail. That’s 15 minutes of flight time for just $100. As always coaching is free and will be available from senior instructors like K8 Sommer, Mikey Silva and myself. So stop by and have some fun next time you’re in Vegas, we’d love to fly with you. If you’re not able to make it in on Thursday nights come in and ask about regular USPA discounts, we’ve recently cut prices for USPA members any day of the week. Brad Hess Manager Flyaway Vegas

It sure does make a difference, especially if you're tall and lanky like me, I feel MUCH more comfortable and safe in Eloy than I do in Perris. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Wow, they're going to have a high injury rate until they figure out what they're doing. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

If you learn to fly well in the slower, choppier wind at Flyaway you can fly anything, especially considering you can fall off the column of air. Many dismiss Flyaway as just a ride for wuffos, but the more time your body spends in the air the more muscle memory you will gain. Besides, whats wrong with learning to fly slow??? freefall doesn't last long enough as it is. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

I would have to say that typical is very hard to define. It all depends on the flyer's experience in the sky (or other tunnels), their goals and attitude, and coach. I've seen tunnel virgins with 200 jumps sit flying within 20 minutes, and skygods with 2000 jumps struggle on their belly. The most important part is to have fun, that seems to be when people learn the most. Don't get frustrated if you don't reach your goals right away, the more time you spend in the air the more muscle memory you will build. If you only get as far as back flying then at least you know you have a stable position to revert to if you cork out in the sky. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Sounds like you didn't have the best experience because he wasn't a very good coach, not because he doesn't jump. One of our best instructors/coaches has only made two tandems. He has a good knowledge of the sport and is great at teaching jumpers and non jumpers. A problem that we run in to is when a skydiver does not communicate their goals to their instructor before getting in the tunnel, and they understandably don't have the best experience. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

This is a pretty common problem. Personally when I spend too much time in the tunnel I get an annoying influx of boogers, sorry if that was too much info... We used to have an instructor here that would put earplugs up his nose every time he went in the tunnel, funny looking but effective. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Turbulent air and balloon suits does not mean that you won't learn anything. Just make sure to communicate your goals to your instructor(s). We help tons of people get through AFF here in Vegas (nearly identical to PF tunnel). The more time your body spends in the wind the more muscle memory you will develop, modern wind or not. The L-1 is a incredibly fun wind tunnel to fly, but I have to say it is more of an experienced flyer playground. I have flown in 7 tunnels and it was by far the most challenging, but again the most fun. The most important thing is to just relax and have fun! Good luck. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Hello, My name is Brad and I'm a wind tunnel junkie. I've been working for Flyaway Las Vegas for almost 4 years now. I'm addicted to flight, and flying different wind tunnels. The difference in tunnels is fun to learn to adjust to. ~60 hours Flyaway Las Vegas 10 minutes Perris 30 minutes Free Fall Xtreme New Zealand 45 minutes Eloy 15 minutes Flyaway Tn ~1 hour AAC 30 minutes Denver It's been 5 days since my last flight and the withdrawl symptoms are nearly unbearable. Anyone traveling to Vegas should contact me, I'd love to fly with you! Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

In response to ZigZag's remark about Flyaway Vegas being more of a "ride" and not teaching skills useful to skydiving. This statement could not be further from the truth. We often get this reputation because most of our customers are tourists looking for a one time thrill. Such is the nature of doing business in Las Vegas. This can also result from a flyer not communicating his or her goals to an instructor that is used to giving wuffos "rides". Just because we are flying a dinosaur here doesn't mean we can't help with free fall skills. The fact is if you can learn to fly our sometimes choppy 12 foot collumn, you can fly anything. I don't know what you've heard about the one in Vegas... so maybe you've got some better gouge them me... but I've heard that the one in Vegas is more of a "ride", where as the ones at say Perris or Eloy are more about teaching skills useful to skydivers. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Great stuff Bowen, those Eloy boys are NUTS Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Great to be able to fly with you Bowen! Thanks for the kind words, and don't be a stranger Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

I jump in the Las Vegas area (42 jumps now) and have a been a Flyaway tunnel rat for 3 1/2 years. I'm originally from San Jose and will be back in the area Sept 18-23. My birthday is the 20th and there is nothing I would rather do than jump my ass off. Which DZ should I go to? I'm not familiar with any DZ in the area, and I don't want to drive more than 2 hours or jump a cessna (got one at home DZ). Thanks for the help! Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Bowen you rock! Myself and three other Vegas rats took a similar trip in May. We hit up Eloy, Pigeon Forge, AAC, and Denver, and had a goddamn blast. I look forward to flying with you on Friday. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Pigeon Forge and Vegas were built at the same time. Forge was supposed to open first but a small fire set them back, so technically Vegas opened first. The faster the wind is the easier it is to fly...so our wind is slow, it just takes a little more practice to get good at it. But of course I'm biased, I fly about 20-25 minutes a week. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Check out www.bodyflight.net Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Always fun flying with you JT, even if it's hot as crap Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Paige you already are Superwoman The VH1 thing was filmed a few months ago Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Dave McMahan and his now ex-wife were married in the tunnel. The tux and dress suits were custom made by our seamstress. We keep them around for when couples come in on their honeymoon or anniversery. We've got a gorrilla suit and a Superman suit now, and we're anxious to film a battle royale in the tunnel! Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Good question, hopefully they will be open to experienced flyers. We cater to the tourist market as well, but we offer discounts to local jumpers, and huge discounts to our Frequent Flyers. In the busiest seaons we'll have late night flying sessions for our regulars. Hopefully Niagra adopts a similar policy. Just today I got wind of another project in Quebec. Apparently it is open air and ready for testing. I don't know if it is a new facility, or a rebuilt older one. Keep your eyes on BodyFlight.net for news. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Check out http://www.niagarafreefall.com/ Just today I spoke with the guy who is putting the place up and he hopes to be open for business in spring 07. I have nothing against Skyventure, I love flying their tunnels, but I'm excited to see a new facility open up that is NOT Skyventure. Variety is what makes flying different tunnels fun. Hope I helped. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving

I came into Flyaway Vegas having never gone skydiving before. I flew once and then filled out an application. I certainly can't speak for other tunnels, but getting a job here is a lot easier if you have a good referal from a current employee. It's all about having good communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal. If you're coaching jumpers then you probably have the skills. Brad Hess Manager Flyaway Las Vegas

First off thanks to Paige for giving all the great info on Flyaway. I've been a Flyaway rat for three years and my best advice to George and his goals is to go with SV. Hone your skills at SVO, and come back to Vegas in the fall or winter to have some fun. And it's not just hot in the summer, its busy as hell. Flying that amount of time while working around the masses of tourists comming through here in the summer would be tough. My $0.02: Wind is wind, and while Airzona Airspeed is not going to train a championship team in LV, the more time your body spends in the wind the more muscle memory you will gain. Besides, what's wrong with learning to fly big? Brad Hess Manager Flyaway Las vegas

I have a two piece FireFly freefly suit that I have flown in 4 different tunnels from Flyaway Vegas to Skyventures to the Appalacian Amusement Center. The suit flys great and is holding up really well. The two piece is great for skydiving but the jacket likes to ride up in tunnels. Other than that we all love ours. The staff here at Flyaway Vegas all wears the FireFly freefly pants while instructing and everyone likes the way they fly and we havn't had problems with durability. Customer service was excellent. Brad Hess Manager Vegas Indoor Skydiving