Paul Towmy

Thank you Tim. Yes, I would like those recommendations please.
A quick search online results in only "how to become a coach" & nothing for "how to find"

On 8/31/2015 at 5:50 AM, Dopamine_Junkie said:

That last part is a little confusing. You are Type 1 but you had your pilot's license before you became diabetic??? Type 1 is juvenile onset and almost always shows up way before you could obtain a pilot's license. If you became diabetic later in life you are Type 2.

Type 1 is NOT juvenile onset. It OFTEN is, but not always. I can testify to this because I am T1 but was not, until my late 40's. 

On 2/10/2019 at 11:54 AM, NWPoul said:

It's really hard to judge the situation without video...

As WT Instructor I can say that the "I am a skydiver!" category of WT firsttimers is often the most difficult to deal with))

It's quite often when they start demand to increase the speed while trying to push the air and lift up at the same time which makes them very unstable so:
  - you can't give them more speed coz
 - they can fly normal at setted speed and it's make them even more stiff and unstable

 IMHO if there is enough time (more than just 1-2 minutes as firstimer) instructor should be able to deal with it ether slowing down\lay student on the net\relax them or get out and talk etc...
But again people are different so as the situation so without video it's really hard to make a conclusion))
 

Yes, "without video" a real problem. Sometimes you don't get what you pay for!?!?

Thanks for helpful your comment.

On 2/7/2019 at 5:36 AM, dolphinka said:

Paul, I am sad to hear about your experience. I’ve been flying at Milton Keynes for a year now and never had any issues, but I was a complete newbie and started with the position they told me to, I didn’t mind as I didn’t know any better. It took a while for me to stop flying with straight legs, and I suppose if you don’t want to become a tunnel rat, you don’t want to spend that long on relearning. I know one thing for sure, I had tons of fun, straight legs or not and really liked the instructors at MK who know how to pump up your enthusiasm. 

Moving now between different tunnels and coaches, I noticed that first 2-4 mins they always spend on basics to test your skills before they give you higher speed. It is like skiing... a ski instructor will never take you to black slope without first testing your skills on blue, no matter what you say your experience is. They call in “let’s warm up”:)  

I wish you’d try it again, and go for 10 minutes at least, it will make a huge difference too! 

Kind words, but tunnel is over for me. If I can't have the speed I want to try it out, I don't trust it. I have to force a "wrong" body posi to get to a stage where they will let me progress. It's a screwed up process. But if works for the newbie/tunnel only, good luck to them. I don't recommend it at all, to experienced skydivers, sadly. 

They most definitely are encouraging the wrong position imo. But as a 

From my 2, & sadly for me, bad experiences at iFly Milton Keynes,UK, it does seem that the body position encouraged, is more in line with safety than good flying. 

And it's impossible to complain or query it - there customer service is dreadful. They simply don't respond. 

It's not possible to fly the box position as a beginner, as far as I can tell, because they insist on a set speed which is too low to support it. I managed to figure that out after my first flight. Having previously done 300+ real skydives, I was able to figure that out. After 10+ years out of the sport, I had hoped it might be a sensible route back for me.

I asked them to increase the speed, but they were adamant on their ways. The body position they insist on is too unstable & rigid, especially on a speed that only just supports it. 

My 2nd flight was worse & to make matters worse they didn't film the 2nd one, despite me having pre-paid for both - so I was unable to look at it later to be sure of my theory. They only filmed a small part of my first flight too & despite several emails to complain, there was no response. I gave up in the end & sadly, that is likely the end of my indoor skydiving life & maybe the end for my skydiving in general - all because of that body position versus silly speed rules. How can I work with the air speed when it's 30% lower than it should be unless "I" fly - stiff as a board. 

Cauliflower rice - ain't rice & Halal beef-burgers - ain't beef! 
It's a bit of an insult to call it indoor-skydiving - a great marketing tool I guess, but it's a world away from skydiving.