I did 1 hour great Canadian Tunnel Coaching at SVNH! (Vincent Lemay near Montreal)

[mdrejhon 8]

Hey all!

I did an hour of tunnel time Friday! At Skyventure New Hampshire!

...You Canadians, check CANPARA!
There is an article about Canadian windtunnel coaching now available! There are roadtrips by a Montrealler tunnel coach (Evolution team - one of the top ten 4way RW teams - the Lemays)... It's well worth it! Also, check the two page spread article about the 2006 rainbow boogie that just got published.

...CANADIAN tunnel coach, yes!!!
Yes, Canadian. That's right... We have no open-to-public operating windtunnels in Canada (yet!). So getting to fly with a tunnel instructor that's a member of a champion Canadian RW skydive team, we finally have good made-in-Canada tunnel coaching. Word need to be spread to other Canadians, especially Ontario and Quebec which is within same-day driving distance (and if you leave roadtrip from Montreal - no overnight stay in USA is needed!)

Same-Day Both-Ways Roadtrip From Montreal
Today a group of us made a small roadtrip down to Skyventure New Hampshire. (It was only 4.5 hours drive from Montreal - we didn't spend a single night in the US, I'm typing this on my laptop on the way back to Canada.)

...Went For 1 Hour, Rather Than Half...
I paid for one full hour of tunnel time plus coaching (Canadian coach at that!). I originally paid for half an hour of tunnel time, but two days go I doubled my time to one hour, because I had a hunch that just half an hour was not enough. Am glad I made that decision.

...Clumsy First 15 Min, I Think One Hour Is Necessary
One has got to get used to the confine of a windtunnel, and fly a little more of a praying-mantis position. Leg/Center/Chest turns gotta be more precise, or you hit the plexiglas walls. The first 15 minutes took getting used to, especially when I was trying to fall slower due to insufficient fan speed, putting me in a bad dearch habit... I learned to bellyfly the net, to get the tunnel operator to crank up, better do this early, not to get into a nasty habit of trying to fly slow air - or waste my time dearching too much. Eventually the tunnel operator will trust me not cork to the very top, and my arch is better. So you really need to "waste" the first 15 mins. No wonder why some skydivers hate the tunnel if they don't buy one full hour! They just find the sky more comfortable and hate the nitpicky coach distracting from just having fun in the tunnel, and flying terribly (I flew kinda terribly in the first 15 minutes, more or less - I felt far more comfortable in the sky).

...Each cycle was 15-mins in the form of 2-minute sessions
I fly 2 minutes, then exit the tunnel, someone else flies, then I enter the tunnel. This happens 8 times (until my total 15 minutes is up). So I spent half an hour to fly 15 minutes - its like jumping out of the airplane seven or eight times in a row, getting bonus two minutes of freefall time. One does not have time to forget learning experience of your last "jump" (eight LONG "skydives", as if jumping from 25,000 feet)

...The Four Separate 15-min Periods Was A GREAT Idea!
That means one has time for debriefs and video. Relaxation, rests, and more. I got an hour or more rest between sessions to watch your tunnelfly DVD video (included in the price!). The coach personally goes over everything and gives a plan for the next series of "jumps" in the tunnel.

...While waiting, Use The Creepers, If Doing 2-Way!
SVNH provides creepers which is very useful for dirt diving with skydivers. We could also do final stand-up dirt dives in the waiting area.

...Now I Think Even 500-Jump People May Have To Be Patient if first time in tunnel (or almost)
I learned what I wanted to learn, but only in the FINAL half an hour. I sure had fun in the first half hour, but it was a little humbling at first since I didn't fly as well as I expected (my only prior tunnel experience was 15 minutes in Orlando). I think if you want to do speed 2-way in a windtunnel on your first visit, you got to buy at least an hour, since if you never visited a tunnel, you may not be doing 2-ways in your first half hour. The sheer confines of plexiglas really confuses a first time tunnelflyer, but you can quickly become good if you got lots of preexisting good sky RW experience, just may not be during the first half hour or even first hour. Subsequent visits to the tunnel will require less acclimation than the first visit. You can't just trial 15 minutes and then hate it... At first I felt like at first I flew worse than my 100th jump, then towards the end, I flew much better than many 300-jump people... (It took me a moment to integrate my sky skills in the windtunnel, but you don't need as many "jumps" to catch up).

...The first minute and last minute of 15 mins series, I asked to keep fun/easy stuff...
Give me time to quickly re-adapt to tunnel, and allows me to end on a confident note (I don't want to really stumble on the last minute, feeling bad about the 15mins, especially as it's the first hard-spent "one hour" in the tunnel.

...Okay, Okay, What did I do????
Seem like I did a lot.
- Begin Simple
- Stay center in tunnel
- Just play a bit and feel my arms (tunnel flying specific)
- Things like levels, turns, sideslides, forward/back, etc.
- The above took half an hour (two 15min cycles). To get used to tunnel. The below was the more interesting "second" half hour (two 15min cycles)
- Things like diagonal movements (sideslide while going up/down)
- Things like touch tunnel wall where he touches (at different altitudes too)
- Tag, chase the leader, chase the erratic leader. That was fun when he flew all over the tunnel and I had to chase him around to dock.
- 3D flying, flying above and below coach, turbulence flying. I flew past above him 2 feet above, without losing balance. Should help next time someone flies under me in the sky!
- Slow RW (VR-2). Emphasis on smooth and accuracy without bumping into things or losing balance, or momentum bumps, etc...
- Speed RW (VR-W) (I counted 24 points in one 60 second period according to video - cat-180-cat-compress-180-compress, easy but it meant I actually had to fly between every single point, and match levels too). I think it wasn't bad considering I only have 200 jumps and this is within the confines of a tunnel. One 10 second sequence had five points.
- I requested the last two "jumps" to be tag (chase the random flyer). I found it fun to try to become faster at chasing. Eventually I was nearly simultaneously staying level everytime he suddenly corked or fell and to the side (to challenge me). I got more than 10 feet above the net sometimes, which is fun when the tunnel operator feels comfortable with their ability to fly that high above the net!

...Don't Forget to Bellyfly Touching the Net!
It's easy to go into a dearch habit in the tunnel, to compensate for the cautiousness of the tunnel windspeed operator, they only crank it up slowly for unfamiliar people. You gotta bellyfly touching the net as the signal to the operator to pump up the wind speed, even if one of your upcoming objectives is to match the coach's level - it's immediate proof you can handle a bit of faster air, and wastes only 5 seconds at the start of each 2 minute session. It may be annoying to some but it wasn't to me, just fly for 10 seconds on the net, you'll feel the operator juicing the tunnel speed eventually. Soon, the tunnel operator will do so in the first 5 seconds - but don't be surprised bellyflying the net a bit often in the first 15 minutes, just to get a wind speed that doesn't force a nasty dearch. It's a bit dangerous when a skydiver bounces the walls and tumbles from 15 feet up, hitting the net at bruising forces even if you are a 300+ jumper. I lost balance a few times 3 feet above instead, so a good reason. Yes, an easy reason to hate the tunnel. Just grin, bear it, fly fast touching the net until the tunnel operator trusts you... Then the big points and 3D flying will come later within the same hour.

...Don't fly all at once!
Put an hour between your 15 min sessions, spread it out. That way, an hour of tunnel fly is less tiring than a full day's skydiving (at least it was for me). And any frustrations of a 15 min period can be worked out during debriefs, rather than trying to quickly fix something that seems unexpectedly difficut to do correctly...

...Had some special request fun "jumps" (2minute sequences)
That was chosen by me, not by the coach. So I don't feel like I'm in AFF all over again, feeling like I'm being coached to death.

...Had some tunnel "jumps" (2minute sequences) be criticism free.
Just to play, to feel, to concentrate on oneself.

...Briefed on common sign language
You know the thumbs sign for "Arch!" (Using hips, of course). But its useful to brief on all of the signs. The sign for "pull" obviously doesn't apply here, and pointing is usually to tell me which direction to slide. Different coaches may have different languages.

...Asked the instructor to allow me to make a few mistakes.
We learned a new sign language for "I know what I did wrong, don't tell me, let me relax and then try it again.". (The sign language was tapping my finger on my helmet.) That relieves some distraction of a coach trying to repeat the same thing over and over. You can always debrief later. You should listen - but it doesn't have to be EVERY 2-minute "jump". It's your EXPENSIVE tunnel time. Forget about sensory overload of trying to understand a coach that's just frustrating you. (It only happened on two "jumps" but it worked beautifully). I think 10 percent of the tunnel time can easily be made distraction-free this way - if you wished. Allow you to think, just relaxing for a few seconds in the center of tunnel, and starting over with no pressure, to reset body position before starting a task again that you just messed up.

...Was It Worth It?
Most definitely! I learned far more close-quarters bellyfly than if I spent the equivalent money on a full boogie weekend of skydiving. Sure, I learned absolutely zilch canopy experience, no tracking, but close-range RW has improved more than a similiar expensive weekend of skydiving! So a bargain after all, when done correctly...

[Jewels 0]

WOW! I'm glad you had fun and that the time paid off in terms of the skills you wanted to work on. Sounds like you had that post-tunnel high that is so very euphoric! I'm sure that will be the first of many trips back over the border for you.

TPM Sister #102

[gravitywhore 0]

contact info ??? prices ?? inclusive ? could you give me some more info please.... would be interested

[mdrejhon 8]

Contact him at lemay_evolution [at] hotmail [dot] com and ask about Skyventure NH tunnel camps. He's in Montreal.

If you are a member of CSPA, just look at this month's CanPara magazine. The contact information is already written in the magazine!

[skypuppy 1]

How much was tunnel time, and how much for coaching?

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[mdrejhon 8]

Sent you a PM. I don't know if I'm allowed to quote prices, but the tunnel time AND coaching combined was still cheaper than Skyventure website prices (without coaching), because some kind of tunnel instructor or frequent flyer discount that he has. (He has spent 50 hours there already)

[jose 0]

So, I'm just curious here.....why is it that you prefer a Canadian tunnel coach as compared to a tunnel coach of any other nationality? Does it really matter that much to you...to limit yourself to a small handful of coaches, based solely on their citizenship? I find it quite narrow minded and you are, in fact, not going to get the best coaching based on those parameters. What's next....your coach has to be Canadian and gay as well? I really think the self-imposed segregations of our sport goes against what I find is quite possibly the most incredible part of our sport...the diversity of people and cultures without having to define ourselves at every opportunity. We are all skydivers.

[mdrejhon 8]

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So, I'm just curious here.....why is it that you prefer a Canadian tunnel coach as compared to a tunnel coach of any other nationality?

Firstly:

(1) I do NOT OWN A CAR. Bingo - I save $200 USD off a car rental, and probably $50 USD gas, by carpooling with a Canadian. Granted, I did have to catch a train (or, sometimes bus) to Montreal to meet with the carpool group, but that's well under $100 roundtrip and less than 2 hours.

(2) Many Canadian skydivers of under 100 jumps have really never heard very much about wind tunnels. Most Canadian skydivers have never jumped in a windtunnel, even the 1000+ jumpers! Sad but true, we are the country that used to have Aerodium in 1979 -- the first tunnel open to public. Canadian coaches are local who will spread the word and make windtunnels more popular, which means more business by all coaches, Amercian and otherwise.

(3) I have nothing against American coaches. I trained at Skyventure Orlando for 15 minutes. Do you know why I only paid 15 minutes -- I was already out of money because I paid for the flight down, and was visiting Deaf World Record 2005.

(4) Rainbow Boogie is not exclusively gay. While our aim is to attract gay members, we all successfully pulled off a 34-way formation skydive on the first try, thanks to the great people at NouvelAir and our load organizer who happens to be an AMERICAN. Kirsten Johnson from Spaceland was our official load organizer, who came to organize the jumps for our Rainbow Boogie. (See formation photos in CanPara magazine, this month's issue - an article was finally submitted over Christmas). It became NouvelAir's second biggest successful formation skydive, no pratice jumps were made except for various single-plane formations (mostly 10-ways and 15-ways). Only about 10 jumpers in that formation was gay. We actually had almost a dozen straight jumpers from down south, including Carol Clay, come to visit us - since a president of a skydiving club was gay and he brought along his entourage.
Therefore, I should point out you are making some baseless assumptions. Shame on you. Yes, it may be true that other Canadian skydivers may prefer a Canadian coach, but for me it was more a matter of convenience. Well intentioned in a certain way, but obviously a slip because of not knowing the facts.

Hey, it's OK. Everyone makes mis-assumptions now and then. Now, if an American coach wants to come pick up a few Canadian skydivers (some of whom don't even own a car), come and pick us up so we can save money on a flight or long roadtrip.

[Paulipod 0]

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we finally have good made-in-Canada tunnel coaching.

is a little at odds with the car pool theory.

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Hey, it's OK. Everyone makes mis-assumptions now and then. Now, if an American coach wants to come pick up a few Canadian skydivers (some of whom don't even own a car), come and pick us up so we can save money on a flight or long roadtrip.

To be fair - most of the statements in your first post are nationality based rather than travel or logistical, so you can understand the assumption... lol

But - also to be fair nothing wrong with a little national pride every now and then either

Bodyflight Bedford
www.bodyflight.co.uk

[mdrejhon 8]

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is a little at odds with the car pool theory.

Fair enough. I neglected to mention the roadtrip convenience at first.

Mind you, a large Canadian population are concentrated in the "Northeast corridor" (the highway 401 corridor), the majority of which is within one day's drive of Boston (near where SVNH is). Though eventually there'll also be Niagara Falls, if their tunnel is any good when they finish building it... (Not a SkyVenture model).

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But - also to be fair nothing wrong with a little national pride every now and then either

Well, that too - yes I think we need at least a little more Canadian "representation" in various skills -- I think it's the first time we really have good regular domestic tunnel coaching. So that, everyone gotta give us a little slack there, because of that. Wind tunnel use is underrepresented in Canada.

[brettski74 0]

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Well, that too - yes I think we need at least a little more Canadian "representation" in various skills -- I think it's the first [Beer] [Wink] time we really have good regular domestic tunnel coaching.

I don't know about that...

Actually, there are several Canadian FS coaches from both Alberta and Ontario that I know of that do tunnel coaching. If you're thinking of doing some tunnel time, just ask around. You might be surprised what you can find. I hadn't heard of Vincent LeMay doing tunnel coaching before, but I haven't been out to NouvelAir or met him personally, though, so I'm not terribly surprised by that.

I don't yet know anyone from Canada who does freefly tunnel coaching, but like others have said, there are great coaches from other countries and they had plenty to teach me. [Cool]

[vince_evolution 0]

Hi everyone,

I am that Vincent Lemay of who it is question. Normally I don't read dropzone forums, but Skyventure New Hampshire told me about that discussion. I coach Belly flying at Nashua since last October and I have accumulated more than 30 hours of coaching since.

I am please to coach in that tunnel because the staff is nice with us and every one is doing their best to make sure we have a great time. Also, the flow of air is awesome and it is great to fly in that tunnel with re-circulated air.

If you don't know me yet, after the next Canadian Nationals you probably will! I am member of Canadian team Evolution and we are now composed of my 2 brothers, Martin 21 and Benoit 16 with my father Michel Lemay. We just came back from a camp in DeLand with Shannon Pilcher as a coach, who by the way was awesome!

You can also have a look at NSL web site where they talk about us once in a while.

If you want more information about our tunnel camps, you can contact us at [email protected]
and I will be pleased to answer to your questions if you are willing to try Canadian coach!

[DougH 270]

Vincent what would 30 minutes of coaching for a non Candadian run me?

I already have a big block of time at the NH tunnel, but I am allways looking for new coaches that can teach me stuff that another might have left out.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[vince_evolution 0]

Canadian or non Canadian won't make any difference !

I am heading down to the tunnel 6-7-8, 13-14-15 of April and maybe 23 - 24 of March.

If you really are interested just e-mail me and we'll make it work !