jockbauer

I hear this question a lot - seems everyone wants to jump a Freak or a Strix. My first question to all of them is why? Here in the UK, at most DZ's there will be people jumping Phantom/Shadow sized suits, and a few maybe on Havocs. There may also be a couple training for performance/base on big suits. So if someone is to buy a Freak, they'll either constantly shutting it down to fly with smaller suits, or doing solos. A lot of people seem to be sold on the marketing campaigns which show super-talented people doing really cool things with other super-talented people. Reality is, these suits aren't so much fun when you're the only person in one. For my money, the Havoc Carve (or a Funk, to stop brand wars...) is all the suit most people will ever need. I have nearly 300 jumps on mine - I'm still learning it and it just keeps becoming more fun.

Dude, all anyone is saying is that if you're going to post a video in this forum, make it about wingsuiting. Anything else is just spam, whether it's a good video or not

It's definitely a different case for different people. I find freeflying harder in the tunnel than in the sky, but my girlfriend is the total opposite. The way I think of it, is that in the sky you are always falling (obviously), whereas in the tunnel you are effectively always trying to get lift. As has been stated already, that makes the sky more forgiving, but good skills in the tunnel will make you much more efficient in the sky. And don't worry about finding backflying difficult - I can sit pretty well in the tunnel, but on my back I'm terrible!

I don't think anyone's seen Bryn Chaffe and 'Skydog' in the same place at the same time...

From my (limited) experience, it seems smaller jumpers actually have an easier time learning to freefly. I find it much easier to go faster rather than slower, and as a big guy - 6'3, 220lbs - that's what I find myself having to do more often than not. In fact I've even got a suit with extra layers of material to help! You won't have this issue, nor will you have the same issues as me in the tunnel, where I have to have the power cranked right up and before I got this suit, I was constantly fighting for lift. This is possibly a technique thing too, but it does seem easier for the little guys.

I've been using Black Knights as my home DZ this year due to being based up north, and honestly I can't think of a bad thing to say about it. If it was a tandem factory before, it certainly isn't now Paul is CCI. I've been down on numerous occasions where conditions have been prohibitive for tandems, but the centre stayed open purely waiting for a window to get a lift up for fun jumpers. There's always something to do here as well - in the past 3 months I've gained FF1, done my first CF jump, and a big-way skills weekend. There's also a strong wing-suiting contingent, so there really is something for everyone. If you're in the area, it's well worth a visit.

+1 I used to almost dread my openings every jump on my Sabre 1. Just switched to a Sabre 2 and my troubles have gone, love my new canopy

I did my AFF here last year and don't have a bad word to say about the place. The instructors are second to none (I did an AFF elsewhere a few years ago and the standard of instruction was immeasurably better at FFU), as dilligent as you could ever wish for and they really do their best to get you through the course as quickly as you are capable of - but never sacrificing safety for a quick pass. I've been back since and my next trip is booked, I've jumped a few other DZ's but I'll always keep coming back here. The only negative is the lack of options for bad weather days, and the fairly quiet nightlife, though if like me, you've come to jump as much as possible, this isn't a huge deal. However the accomodation has recently been relocated to a larger town so maybe this will have a positive impact on the nights? Can't recommend highly enough.

I did my AFF here last year and the instruction I received was fantastic. I'd previously done an AFF course 7 years previously in the USA (didn't get consoles completed in time) and the difference in the standard of instruction was like night and day. I've been back since and am booked to go again as a fun jumper, and though their primary focus during the week is AFF and tandem, you can be fairly sure there will be some other experienced jumpers (mostly British) whenever you're there - in fact I've been there one weekend with 30 British jumpers, all there separately. Yes, it does suffer from the lack of options at night and on bad weather days, but the latter are infrequent, and the move of accommodation back to Aranjuez may solve the former. But really this is the only negative point to what is a great little place. I've jumped at other Spanish DZ's, as well as a couple in the UK, and I'll keep coming back to this one. Yes it has it's minor flaws, but the pro's massively outweigh the cons.