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etidie

Tunnel Before Cat D & E

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Hey everyone! Was hoping to get some advice. I'm currently going through my AFF and am loving it. Here's my progressions thus far:

Cat A- Went great, pulled on time and had good alt. awareness throughout. Standup landing.
Cat B/C - These were combined. First attempt went alright. Good alt. awareness and pulled on time, but flipped onto my back for a couple of seconds before I was able to flip myself back over. Had some trouble with right turns because I was "crunching" to my right when I was turning right instead of just twisting. Landed in a slide. Second attempt went much better and passed. Had line twists, managed to get out of them and landed on my feet unassisted.

I went back last Saturday for my Cat D & E, but had to leave and reschedule for this coming weekend. The next day I went to iFly in San Francisco and was able to get in 10 minutes of coached time. I was really, really hoping that I would leave there with more confidence in my overall stability and in my turning. I definitely feel better about it, but not great. After reviewing the video I can see how much I was moving around. I'm wondering what you guys think. My biggest concern is stability and basic control. Should I get in another 15-30 minutes in the tunnel before continuing on, or just press forward without anymore tunnel time?

Thanks in advance!

Tunnel Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Su9kYIHfbA&feature=youtu.be

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Can't really say for certain since i haven't seen you fly but coached tunnel time is never going to hurt you. Who is your coach?

I often suggest going to the tunnel to my students if they are struggling. It does wonders with a good coach.
My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

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If you go...focus on the basics. Good arch, good body position, stability at pull time etc. all of these are solid building blocks for the stability drills in cat e - of wherever they place them.

It is unlikely that they'll allow someone with just a few mins of tunnel time to drill barrel rolls and loops in the tunnel for a variety of reasons. In the end they're no big deal anyway...but are fun.

I was not a natural flyer by any means...the basics in the tunnel helped me and gave me much confidence.

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hookitt

Can't really say for certain since i haven't seen you fly but coached tunnel time is never going to hurt you. Who is your coach?

I often suggest going to the tunnel to my students if they are struggling. It does wonders with a good coach.



I'm uploading the very unimpressive video to YouTube right now and I'll post a link. My coach was Victor at iFly. He was great. Really patient, spent a good 30-45 minutes before and after the tunnel going over things with me.

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hillson

If you go...focus on the basics. Good arch, good body position, stability at pull time etc. all of these are solid building blocks for the stability drills in cat e - of wherever they place them.

It is unlikely that they'll allow someone with just a few mins of tunnel time to drill barrel rolls and loops in the tunnel for a variety of reasons. In the end they're no big deal anyway...but are fun.

I was not a natural flyer by any means...the basics in the tunnel helped me and gave me much confidence.



And that's all I really am looking to gain from any tunnel time right now is just more confidence. Really I just want to be relaxed during free fall. The biggest thing I was told during my tunnel time was that I really need to relax and not be so stiff. Going off of the notes I was given when I left "Relax, Relax, Relax" stands out the most.

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etidie

Okay, video added to original post.

Boy, they sure have you spend a lot of time on the net.

You look okay. Don't worry about back flips and barrel rolls. The real test is getting stable afterwards. I really don't care how sloppy the maneuver is. ;)

Tracking is not something learned in the tunnel either. Just concentrate on going in a straight line and work on speed later. :)

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I'm only a whuffo wanting to be a tunnel rat. I have 66 minutes in the tunnel in Orlando and am beginning to learn leg turns (much different than arm turning to me) and side slides but after the last 30 overnite camp I may slow my progression down myself to get better stability and turning skills which are real important basics from what I have experienced. I may have got ahead of myself wanting to progress.

Using myself as a comparison to you I would guess you would benefit from 30 to 60 minutes more to get real solid on belly and turns. Possibly investigate overnite camps or other discount options that may be available in off peak time frames to save money. I would predict that with 5 to 15 more minutes you will lock in good to belly flying. In my case it was like a bright light bulb going on at around 15-20 total minutes in the tunnel over 3 different sessions..

Best of luck.

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JohnMitchell

***Okay, video added to original post.

Boy, they sure have you spend a lot of time on the net.

You look okay. Don't worry about back flips and barrel rolls. The real test is getting stable afterwards. I really don't care how sloppy the maneuver is. ;)

Tracking is not something learned in the tunnel either. Just concentrate on going in a straight line and work on speed later. :)
Was that an abnormal amount of time on the net for a first timer? I've never been in a tunnel before, so I don't really have a point of reference go to off of. I assumed they were keeping me down due to stability.

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wan2doit

I'm only a whuffo wanting to be a tunnel rat. I have 66 minutes in the tunnel in Orlando and am beginning to learn leg turns (much different than arm turning to me) and side slides but after the last 30 overnite camp I may slow my progression down myself to get better stability and turning skills which are real important basics from what I have experienced. I may have got ahead of myself wanting to progress.

Using myself as a comparison to you I would guess you would benefit from 30 to 60 minutes more to get real solid on belly and turns. Possibly investigate overnite camps or other discount options that may be available in off peak time frames to save money. I would predict that with 5 to 15 more minutes you will lock in good to belly flying. In my case it was like a bright light bulb going on at around 15-20 total minutes in the tunnel over 3 different sessions..

Best of luck.

I think you may be right. I started feeling more comfortable and relaxed the last couple of minutes, but then it was over. Will probably need to invest in some more time for it to really click.

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etidie



Was that an abnormal amount of time on the net for a first timer? I've never been in a tunnel before, so I don't really have a point of reference go to off of. I assumed they were keeping me down due to stability.

The tunnel I go to attempts to fly you, off the net, first minute in. The results vary from student to student. Starting out on the net can be easier to control for the instructor.

Only my opinion. I'm not a tunnel instructor.

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JohnMitchell



The tunnel I go to attempts to fly you, off the net, first minute in. The results vary from student to student. Starting out on the net can be easier to control for the instructor.

Only my opinion. I'm not a tunnel instructor.



My observation is that SF Bay tends to be pretty conservative on that. Some of it may be the close proximity of the walls in the 12-foot tunnels... students can bash into them pretty quickly. You guys are spoiled with your 14-footer up there. Even with my 4-way team, which is very tunnel-experienced, we sometimes have to beg for enough air to do verticals safely.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Quote

Was that an abnormal amount of time on the net for a first timer? I've never been in a tunnel before, so I don't really have a point of reference go to off of. I assumed they were keeping me down due to stability.



For general reference: I work at a facility where all of our students do 20 minutes prior to their first one-man AFF jump out of a tailgate aircraft. Ten minutes (two minutes per rotation) doing basic body stabilization with only a jumpsuit and another ten minutes (again, two-minute rotations) with a dummy rig on to work on bottom-end sequence (wave-off, practice touches, pull sequence). We put them in for their first rotation with the air turned down so we can manipulate them into a good body position, get them to turn left and right, then forward and back with their belly on the net. If they are squared away then I have them turn up the air and get them off the net right away. If not in the first two minute rotation, definitely very soon into the second rotation. I'm in the wind with them walking the net or flying with them every second of it. Ultimately, the sooner you get a student off the net, the better. Also: it's ALWAYS better to be coached by tunnel coach who is also an actual AFF instructor.

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SkymonkeyONE

Quote

Was that an abnormal amount of time on the net for a first timer? I've never been in a tunnel before, so I don't really have a point of reference go to off of. I assumed they were keeping me down due to stability.



For general reference: I work at a facility where all of our students do 20 minutes prior to their first one-man AFF jump out of a tailgate aircraft. Ten minutes (two minutes per rotation) doing basic body stabilization with only a jumpsuit and another ten minutes (again, two-minute rotations) with a dummy rig on to work on bottom-end sequence (wave-off, practice touches, pull sequence). We put them in for their first rotation with the air turned down so we can manipulate them into a good body position, get them to turn left and right, then forward and back with their belly on the net. If they are squared away then I have them turn up the air and get them off the net right away. If not in the first two minute rotation, definitely very soon into the second rotation. I'm in the wind with them walking the net or flying with them every second of it. Ultimately, the sooner you get a student off the net, the better. Also: it's ALWAYS better to be coached by tunnel coach who is also an actual AFF instructor.



Thank you for the reply! I was told that they do have a rig there that I can wear next time if I wanted to. Being that I've put 10 minutes in, would you recommend I wear it next time? Or just kind of play it by ear and see how things go?

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If and when I skydive for real I would consult with tunnel coach/staff and probably defer to them if the time is correct for the progression to wearing a rig in the tunnel. Doing that makes perfect sense at some time to as closely as possible duplicate the experience of freefall with a rig on which I would assume (at my risk) is noticeably different than w/o a rig. I have read here that arching with a rig on can be more problematic due to good or bad rig fit as related to a persons physique.

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