Is Tunnel Time worth it? 17 jumps here.

[George_ORH 0]

Hey guys,
I am considering spending some time in a tunnel but am wondering how much of that experience will help me in the "real world".

Would it be more beneficial to spend the cash on jumps right now or?

***Due to recent cutbacks, The light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off***

[lolimfalling 0]

well i guess it depends on what ur doing, if theres something in particular that you are struggling with then sure why not. if so far you are learning everything nice and smoothly id wait until u are learning some movements or flying techniques that are more difficult and then get into a tunnel then to perfect them.
just my .02

[chuckakers 370]

Quote

Hey guys,
I am considering spending some time in a tunnel but am wondering how much of that experience will help me in the "real world".

Would it be more beneficial to spend the cash on jumps right now or?

Tunnel time is extremely effective, regardless of your jump numbers, and especially helpful for newbs. It won't help you with certain things like diving and docking, trackinig, etc., but for learning to fly relative, belly or freefly, nothing else comes close.

You will also find it most effective to get coaching from a tunnel rat. They can focus your time and money budget to your needs.

Freefall time equals freefall skill development. You can get dozens of jumps worth of freefall time in a weekend.

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[billvon 2,434]

Depends. If your issue is with doing RW, then it will help immensely. With canopy flight it won't help. Get good coaching if you do decide to use the tunnel! It will help prevent learning bad habits.

[cocheese 0]

Wouldn't you rather jump out of a plane?

Spend the money on coach jumps from a plane til you decide what you need to work on. Seventeen more jumps and landings sounds like a better plan to me. Keep it "real" bro.

[Chubba 0]

I say jump, get more canopy time and start saving for your first rig.

I would definitely rate staying current, staying safe under canopy and getting your own gear WAY ahead of any potential RW gain in the tunnel.

[simplechris 0]

I think I had 12 jumps when I went. I wasn't struggling with anything but I just wanted to get some practice to help get through the student program. I finished the aff/coach levels without any repeats so I guess it helped lol. I found it useful for things such as side sliding since its pretty easy to tell if your doing it correctly in the tunnel. I know I did 40 mins one day and 20 the next and man was I worn out. The coaching is definitely useful. The whole experience is kind of expensive but not if you compare it to the equivalent number of lift tickets. I don't think I will go back though until I decide on something specific to work on. As far as belly flying I'll just use my money for the real thing. Good luck.

[GaryRay 0]

the learning curve in the tunnel is 10x what it is in the sky b/c you dont have the falling part and you can have a person standing in the tunnel with you for 2min at a time giving you direct and at the moment coaching instead of doing hte jump unable to effectively communicate during a skydive and then debriefing afterwards. tunnel you can hop in for 2min, figure it out, get a quick debrief and 2min later you are back in working on what you already learned, it will be quite beneficial to you IMHO to hop in there.

JewBag.
www.jewbag.wordpress.com

[pinkfairy 0]

Tunnel time is worth it: you'll improve your freefall skills immensely, and when you start jumping with other people, it will show, and you'll be glad you learned to do it correctly the first time, so you don't have to unlearn bad habits.

But: It won't help your tracking, altitude awareness or canopy flying skills. Remember that when you get out there to show off your kick ass flying skills: you are still a beginner (So am I even if I have 290 jumps, BTW).

And: I think you should consider at least 1 hour to get some repetition and consistency in your training. And get a good coach.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[hackish 8]

For excitement level I find the tunnel is like sex without the other person. Having said that I still enjoy tunnel time when I have something I want to work on. It's a great learning tool.

[IMALSUTIGERFAN 0]

Def worth it, I did my first tunnel time at jump 10 and I took care of all my bad habits and learned some cool skills you would not have learned for a long time.