Hi. I'm going to spend about hour in the wind tunnel in Orlando. I'm a beginner, only 26 jumps after AFF. I'm just wondering if anyone here have a clue about how much a beginner could learn. I would like to learn the mantis, side slide, up and down, leg turns, center turns, in short everything you can do while bellyflying :D
So is an hour to short to get the basics ? and do you have any suggestions about which coach or does that even matter if I'm just going to learn how to bellyfy?
you can call the tunnel and see if there is any organized camps coming on the schedule and maybe you can join one - or Chromy can usually arrange a tunnel camp for anyone and he's a great coach and the tunnel can help you find him - the tunnel has some excellent coaches too - you have some of the top skydivers in the world in the florida DZs - call them and ask for a good coach and if anyone is doing a mantis camp, they'll know people - etc, etc etc - maybe Kurt Gaebel (skyleague.com) knows of teams coming down for camps...Ron (here) is a great coach, heck I've taught the camp about 8 times now and I'm only a 'fair' diver. the key is the 1 on 1 attention and someone that'll correct you early so you don't develop bad habits.
do your homework - start with the tunnel and ask about pros for hire and organized mantis camps. Of course, they'll start with their own coaches (plenty good enough for a 1st camp, and depending on the coach, plenty good enough for any followup camps too - but hire the coach for you, don't expect the tunnel attendant to do double duty and still give you the camp you need).
you won't have any issues
maybe the tunnel classifieds have some people looking for someone to join a good mantis camp too
there.....lots of options, much better than soliciting DZ.com
good luck, it's a great learning experience IMO
I REALLY like a 4 student/2 coach lineup. You get to buy the whole hour (6 hours - 4 students at 90 minutes each - all non-consecutive over 2 days), and you learn extra by watching the others, and you eventually start sharing time by the end of the camp. And the coach gets a good workout too
(This post was edited by rehmwa on Sep 23, 2009, 12:07 PM)
Dude, I JUST flew down there this past weekend for the same exact thing you're wanting to do! It was so worth it. I did 15 my first day, and a 30 the next, had a big break and did another 15....that's an hour total over two days. Boy was I sore on the third day. I'm sure others here will tell you that you need breaks (trust me, you do), listen to them! I only have 8 jumps total as I'm still on my AFF, but decided to do tunnel time because my instructors recommended it and I was failing L3 like 4 times cause of my arch and failure to maintain a heading. The tunnel helped me tremendously! The key is finding a good coach...don't just get the tunnel time, get a coach too. Call and ask for Peter...he's awesome and really patient. If you just aren't getting something, he'll stick with you until you do but still make the most out of your time in the tunnel. I'm actually really pumped about going to the dropzone this weekend to put my hour in the tunnel to good practice in the sky!
One hour of time is great for learning and advancing your skill set but you also need to go in with the understanding that it is not going to instantly make you an expert or anything like that. Just wanted to say keep that in mind. Ari Perelman is my coach and he is fantastic. Good both on his belly and at FF. He is on tunnelcoach.com so you can find him there. If you want any more info just PM me.
One hour of time is great for learning and advancing your skill set but you also need to go in with the understanding that it is not going to instantly make you an expert or anything like that.
This is so true...at least for me. I thought I'd be "better" than I was at the end of the hour, but in reality I had slightly unrealistic expectations only because of my lack-of-knowledge about just how much time and investment it takes to become super good. I have the desire to continue getting better, but have to accept the fact that NOTHING takes only an hour to master. Flying your body takes work, patience, and acquired skill...my hour was well worth it and I'm certainly plan on coming back for more, but I'm no expert and won't be for many more hours in the tunnel or sky. My hour gave me a BIG jump start into controlling my body much better than I had with my previous 7 or 8 jumps, I wouldn't trade it for anything! I love learning from people, so that just gives me something to work towards!!!
cause of my arch and failure to maintain a heading. The tunnel helped me tremendously! The key is finding a good coach...don't just get the tunnel time, get a coach too. Call and ask for Peter...he's awesome and really patient. If you just aren't getting something, he'll stick with you until you do but still make the most out of your time in the tunnel. I'm actually really pumped about going to the dropzone this weekend to put my hour in the tunnel to good practice in the sky! 