Exits-plane vs. tunnel

[MomDaBomb 0]

To get in the wind tunnel, you know how you arch and kind of lean into the wind....well is that at all anything like the student exit from the plane. I understand you have to be facing the wind and arms and legs in proper position and all. It just seemed like such a smooth transition from the door to the stream of air in the tunnel. I was expecting so much worse. I'm curious if it feels the same when exiting the plane. I imagine it to be way more intense.

[bcmin 0]

In the tunnel, the wind is going vertically, but in the plane it will be going horizontally at first. So no, you will not exit the same way, and yes, the first few times, it'll be way more intense. In a good way!

[MomDaBomb 0]

Thanks!

[L.O. 0]

It will be way more intense, thats a guarantee. The tunnel will make your first step into the world of skydiving much easier, thats for sure. As has been noted already, you will start out vertical and move to the horizontal plain. The picture will be very different in the sense that you will be falling vertically as you leave the air-craft. Unfortunately the tunnel doesn't do the best job of simulating the slow end of the spectrum for air speed. In comparison, the air as you leave the plane will feel mushy and your control will be very slow.

As great as the tunnel is for learning, it can't even begin to represent the real world. A real skydive will make your tunnel experience pale in comparison.

Get ready. It sounds like you have taken all the right steps in preparation. You have made the right move by doing a little time in the tunnel. Now prepare for the real thing. It will be the most powerful experience you have ever had. Have fun.

Oh yeah, it feels very similar but the open environment as apposed to the closed tube makes it feel completely different.

HPDBs, I hate those guys.
AFB, charter member.

[moto89 0]

I went for tunnel time for the first time at 15ish jumps, and I found entering the tunnel to be much more difficult than exiting a Cessna. With an exit from a plane you are out in float position and you basically let go, arch and you're golden. You're belly is already to the wind, all you have to do is find your stable arch (which with tunnel time shouldn't be a problem). Entering the tunnel the first few times was awkward for me since you have to make that transition from being vertical to horizontal while pushing yourself into the airstream which is sorta "fighting back".

Less talking, more flying.

[hackish 8]

I've never done the tunnel thing but I did have a lot of trouble getting the plane exit down pat. I think that a plane exit introduces different variables. For example if you do a wing exit (like on a cessna) you'll already be sorta hanging in the relative wind so there is no marked difference between hanging there and once you let go.

For me it took a bit to really "feel" it. The other point that screwed me up was thinking about the ground 10,000' below. This always caused my feet to pedal and me to dearch.

-Michael

[UDSkyJunkie 0]

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I understand you have to be facing the wind and arms and legs in proper position and all. It just seemed like such a smooth transition from the door to the stream of air in the tunnel. I was expecting so much worse. I'm curious if it feels the same when exiting the plane. I imagine it to be way more intense.

There are similarities and differences between the tunnel vs. the plane.

The similarities are basically what you describe... in both cases you are going from no wind to a lot of wind, and the physical sensations are similar if the aircraft exit is smooth, though many jumps aren't so smooth.

The differences are more in your head than physical... the obvious heigtened adrenaline is one big difference as pointed out. The other big difference is visual. While a good aircraft exit feels similar to a good tunnel entrace to me, the relative wind coming from the horizontal can be distracting and disorienting until you learn to ignore the horizon and focus on where the wind is coming from and where others are in relation to yourself. Also, in the tunnel there is no "hill" where the wind starts slow and then speeds up gradually.

Finally, it depends a bit on the aircraft and what slot you're exiting from. If it's side-door and you're exiting from the outside, then you're already in the wind before you "exit". If you're exiting from the inside is more similar to a tunnel. If you're exiting from a tailgate (casa or skyvan) the sensation is VERY similar.

"Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

[Jewels 0]

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The other big difference is visual. . . . . [T]he relative wind coming from the horizontal can be distracting and disorienting until you learn to ignore the horizon and focus on where the wind is coming from and where others are in relation to yourself. [\reply]

I particularly agree about the visual differences. I have a lot of tunnel time and very few jumps but have already noticed that one of the things I need to pay better attention to in the air is what's going on around me BEYOND the confines of where my tunnel walls would normally be. I'm improving, but that's definitely something I want to be more aware of.

As for exits, everyone is right in what they're saying but I thought I'd also mention that I have door fear and don't remember most of my airplane exits--at least, those few seconds between standing in the door and then transitioning to terminal. I'm getting better. On my first AFF jump, I could remember nothing other than wondering if I was really going to go when the count actually reached THREE (I did); the next time, I noticed that the bar you hang onto in the door is yellow; and the third time, I was surprised to discover that it's windy out there.

Anyway, my point is just that you get a lot of sensory things going with an airplane exit that you don't have with the tunnel--and that's just for the floater exits I've been doing. It's definitely not the same experience. I would suggest looking at the tunnel as a free fall tool, but not expecting to be able to equate it to the exit.

TPM Sister #102

[billvon 2,396]

>I'm curious if it feels the same when exiting the plane.

Similar, but from a different direction (90 degrees forward) more bumpy (from the prop) and slower than the tunnel.

A warning - do NOT try to replicate the tunnel exit in the air. That will result in you trying to force yourself flat prematurely, potentially leading to instability. As always listen to your instructors and try to do only what they tell you, rather than think about what you felt during entry into the tunnel.