Vertigo

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

I've done 3 tandems (2 at Skydive Chicago) and the other at Mile Hi Skydiving in Longmont,CO.."they" have both said that you shouldn't feel the acceleration of the freefall. ie: plane is at 100 mph, and ff at 120 mph...I Feel the acceleration, as if I'm being sucked into a tunnel. I'm now in the AFF program and my coach said it's probably vertigo. Anyone else experience this and is there anything I can do to reduce the sensation? or "just deal with it?"....
Thanks!

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[sundevil777 93]

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is there anything I can do to reduce the sensation? or "just deal with it?"

I wish I could enhance the sensation.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[tombuch 0]

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I've done 3 tandems (2 at Skydive Chicago) and the other at Mile Hi Skydiving in Longmont,CO.."they" have both said that you shouldn't feel the acceleration of the freefall. ie: plane is at 100 mph, and ff at 120 mph...I Feel the acceleration, as if I'm being sucked into a tunnel. I'm now in the AFF program and my coach said it's probably vertigo.

I doubt it is vertigo. Vertigo is a loss of orientation due to confusion of signals to the brain. It usually manifests as a feeling of turning, rolling, or spinning when no turn is happening, or a feeling of turning in a different direction or rate than is actually happening. There are some elements of vertigo that may feel like pitch changes, and I suppose inappropriate sensations of acceleration/deceleration could occur, but that would be unusual.

Vertigo happens when the brain receives odd signals from the balance portion of the ear, or conflicting signals from the ears and eyes. It is mostly a pilot issue that causes loss of aircraft control, generally in instrument conditions. The key pilot response should be to use the instruments and disregard the feelings of movement presented by the body.

Vertigo can happen to skydivers, and in fact I sometimes enjoy doing a series of flips out of the airplane with my eyes closed, then getting flat and trying to control direction without opening my eyes. The directional confusion and feeling of vertigo is unmistakable, and it always brings a smile to my face.

I experienced a seriously threatening vertigo under canopy once when I was jumping with a deep head cold. I made a steep front riser turn from downwind to final, let up on the riser which should have presented a straight-in approach, and it did, but my brain was sure I was still in a steep turn. I desperately wanted to yank down on the opposite toggle to stop the turn, but the visuals and toggle positions made it clear I was flying straight. Of course it all happened unexpectedly and at high speed close to the ground…very confusing. Fortunately I had been through vertigo training as a pilot and recognized the problem, so I simply flew toggle positions, disregarded the feeling of a turn, prepared to PLF or slide the landing, and hoped I was right. It wasn’t a pretty landing, but within seconds of landing the vertigo disappeared, and I walked away with a new appreciation of the dangers of flying with a head cold.

With all that said, I think you are probably feeling the acceleration through the changes in air pressing against your body as the freefall speed increases, and the wind moves from horizontal to vertical. Feeling the wind is important for orientation and helps us figure out where we are in relation to the relative wind, which in turn helps us control our bodies. As long as you are feeling acceleration when you are accelerating, it isn’t a problem and isn’t vertigo. It’s interesting that you are aware enough to feel this sensation, and that should help you as you grow in the sport. My hunch is that the feelings of wind speed and exit acceleration will decrease as they are internalized and used more directly by your brain for orientation control.

So, enjoy the feelings of acceleration and know that your awareness level is unusual at this point in your training.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor (AFF, SL, IAD, Tandem)
Commercial Pilot (IAMSEL,G)
Author JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[Flygator 0]

One quick question... Do you drink diet drinks? The artificial sweetener could be a cause if so. Look it up on the internet and get the correct spelling off the side of the bottle. (Phenolynine)

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

I haven't ever been much of a soda pop person..so nope, no diet drinks. I agree about the artificial sweetners.

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[RkyMtnHigh 0]

Thanks for your feedback. My 5 senses have always been really strong. Sense of smell is the strongest, but I'm very in tune to how my body responds to my environment, which I guess could be good with skydiving.

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