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NewClearSports

Typical progression to Head Down?

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I have a question for the freefly coaches on here or others that have learned head down in the tunnel.

If you are a proficient head down flyer in the sky, ie. you are stable, can fly close, down the tube, take docks ect. but have little to no tunnel experience how long would you expect to fly in the tunnel learning how to be safe before attempting head down?

I have heard everything from 1/2 hour to 10 hrs?
I have also heard the typical progression is belly, back, sit, then head down.

I also heard that Olav broke his arm or something like that because he was allowed to go straight to head down without learning the other nessessary skills.

So i am eager to get on my head in there, but I don't want to break any bones.

Any info would be appreciated

Thanks

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Forget what you know and start over as a student, thats my best advice.

Don't be in a hurry to get on your head. Learn everything completely, before you jump to the next stage.

Took me about 10 hours, to get on my head. Had 1200 freefly jumps before the tunnel.

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10 hrs = over $10,000

Unless you are super rich, how could you afford to "Start as a student"

I would like to fly 3-way or 4-way HD or Freefly with my friends in the new montreal tunnel from time to time, but if it's going to cost me 10 grand before I can even start than I won't bother to start at all. (I can't afford a new addiction like that)

See if you can share the tunnel then it becomes affordable. $1000 / 4 = $250 each / hr.

I can afford that, but that initial investment is a killer.

Any other suggestions from people with a limited budget?
How long typicaly to get to sit fly?

Thanks

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How do you fly your headdown in the sky? (Straddle, daffy, shelf/mantle, etc) Tunnel instructors prefer you have daffy or shelf to start out, so if that's how you fly now, it might not take too much time to adapt and fly solo hd in the tunnel.

How is your backfly and sitfly? Since they are your bail out positions, they need to be controlled enough in the tunnel that you won't accidently turn into a meat missle.

How many tunnel hours it will take you to reach the level of skill you want to fly safely hd with 3 to 4 other people in the tunnel will vary by alot of different factors. How often you go to the tunnel, and how much time you do when you go can really affect how long it takes to develop/maintain the muscle memory.

You might already be in a good position and progress quickly to where you want to be, or you may find yourself having to unlearn alot of bad habits that came from the sky.

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I have a question for the freefly coaches on here or others that have learned head down in the tunnel.

If you are a proficient head down flyer in the sky, ie. you are stable, can fly close, down the tube, take docks ect. but have little to no tunnel experience how long would you expect to fly in the tunnel learning how to be safe before attempting head down?

I have heard everything from 1/2 hour to 10 hrs?
I have also heard the typical progression is belly, back, sit, then head down.

I also heard that Olav broke his arm or something like that because he was allowed to go straight to head down without learning the other nessessary skills.

So i am eager to get on my head in there, but I don't want to break any bones.

Any info would be appreciated

Thanks



Definitely take your time. I used to see jumpers come in with thousands of skydives and bounced around like a pin ball on their bellies let alone start back flying and head up flying. It sucks, and it sounds like a huge investment to get to the point where you can safefly fly head down in the tunnel, but it is definitely worth it. You will be all the more better flyer. And please remember the instructors and staff are just concerned for your safety. These guys know what they are talking about, so listen to them when they tell you they want to see XYZ first on your belly, and then XYZ done on your back and in a sit before you can be signed off to start head down on the net. Until you are comfortable bailing out to your back and all the other positions I really wouldn't be slap happy to get in that bad boy and go straight to my head IMO.

(ps-- I think I was about 10 or so hours before I was starting to try HD on the net. I had about 125 skydives before I started in the tunnel.)

Edited to add-- also, make sure you get some good coaching if your eventual plan in the tunnel is to do some serious freeflying and eventually get to your head. I don't know who is up at Montreal, but I am sure there are good staff up there who can help you out.
Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

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I was sit flying after 1 hour of tunnel. Did about 2 hours of sit flying then they let me get on my head. Now Ive got 5 hours total and I work on all body positions Hd, sit, belly & back. Im still not off the net on my head yet but it will be soon.
As far as financing this other addiction well I just set money aside for it on the regular and keep and eye out for good deals my tunnel offers occasionally.

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Thanks everyone.
Well I will be going to Montreal next weekend to do an hour and see how it goes. I guess I will know better then.

You don't know untill you try .. right?

As for keeping expences down, its about an equal drive to Newhampshire and I think they have some discount rates. I will have to give them a call. No responce from e-mail yet. Montreal is not really offering anything right now because they are new and everyone is rushing to check it out.

Montreal is 14Ft and Newhampshire is 12Ft. When you are 1st starting out, does it make any difference? How much extra would you pay for the added 2 feet?

Again thanks everyone for you time in posting. It's winter here so no jumping. Just time to read these fourms and daydream.

Cheers

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When you are starting out, especially headdown, they usually just have you stationary on the net. Since you aren't really moving around the tunnel and flying solo, a smaller tunnel makes more sense, because you're not paying for extra room that you won't be using.

I did my first few hours of headdown training in Colorado's tunnel, even though Paraclete is closer to me. It was a special deal at nearly half the price in comparison, for a coached tunnel hour ($660 vs $1150). You could try contacting an instructor at SVNH for a special deal if possible.

Also, if you plan on doing an hour, try to break up the flight times to something like 7 1/2 minutes per half hour. Otherwise you'll end up belly or backflying the rest of your time, because your muscles are super fatigued from flying too much in a small amount of time. Plus it helps to get some actual verbal feedback from the instructor between sessions, and watch your footage.

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So I completed my 1st hour and 15 mins. Wow what an addiction, but I can see sharing the tunnel very soon which will bring the price down alot! In sit though not Head Down for quite a while. I felt the progression was fast though.
It was something like this - but keep in mind for the 1st 30 mins I had coaching from the best of the best. The instructors, instructor. (I know I got really lucky with that!!)
I did 6 - 10min blocks with 2 min flights
Then 1 15min block with 2 min flights

1 min - Demonstrate basic belly control
2 min - Start Backflying
8 min - Transistions from Back to Sit
10 - 40 Mins work on several sitfly skills, including carving, sideslide, frontloop, +++
50 mins - start Head Down on the net
60 mins - learning how to "Quickly" bail to my back when I sence I,m loosing stability (Don't wait to hit the wall, but I did smack it a few times)
75 mins - Lifting off the net docked with instructor and holding for a few seconds. I would bail to back whenever unstable, then quickly come down grab the net again and start over.


So overall I was very happy with the progression. Forget everything I learned in the sky and start over - NO WAY! The skills are definetly transferable! (Although keep in mind I had some hi quality coaching + 1400 Freefly jumps in the sky). Things are different though, I,m not sure why exactily, how much is physological, how much is the air and limited space.
Its crazy fun. You get imediate feedback to different body positions. There is Sooooooooooooo much to learn!! If I could I would want to fly in one every day!
*** Good Coaching is a must - I had a couple sessions with no coach and didn't progress much

I guess by just doing it I answered my own question, but I thought I would share my experience. I,m sure everybody is different. I had my instructor tell me he had one very talented freeflier zooming around in there on his head in only 12 mins. That seems crazy, but it just goes to show anything is possible!

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I also heard that Olav broke his arm or something like that because he was allowed to go straight to head down without learning the other nessessary skills.



That's incorrect. He was specifically told not to try head down by the Eloy instructors but did it anyway. As a result, he broke both his arms.

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