NeedToJump

Sounds great. We're going to start playing around with the dive pool and see how it all goes. I hope that this is accepted and recognized as it will surely increase the level of freeflying. Thanks for all your effort Missy.

In the Orlando tunnel, 86% (which is what they will regularly operate the tunnel at for freeflying once you have shown that you are capable) works out to about 130-135mph. Last spring and summer they were testing 95% which worked out to about 165 mph - it's fun but too much. Right now, I was told the most power they will give is 88% which is about 140 mph. Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

Music - I went to a conservatory and dual majored in jazz and classical performance on trombone and was taking all but classes for a minor in jazz and classical piano but decided not to declare two minors on top of two majors I went from that to computer programming and skydiving Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

Way to go Clay! And nice job riding me Paige! Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

Paige showed me those and I couldn't stop laughing. Here's another good one off that site: Secret Celeb Exposed Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

I think I was probably about 12 years old when I flew in that tunnel. I had no idea it had anything to do with skydiving, all I knew it it was fun! Once the weather gets a bit warmer up north I'm going to try to make a tunnel trip and revisit the tunnels I've been to now that I know what they are as well as try to add some new ones to list. Tunnels are fun!

Once I learned how to pack I packed for myself almost every jump. At this point I still pack for myself unless I am doing training jumps or am just feeling lazy

Welcome to freeflying, sounds like you enjoyed the jumps

I completely agree with both statements and see your point. I'm coming from the perspective of seeing AFF students go through the standard AFF program and a tunnel AFF program and I have seen better all around success (including canopy control) from tunnel AFF in general. I believe it is because the tunnel training sets the student up for success during the freefall portion of the skydive which transfers to confidence under canopy. The student is then able to focus completely on the canopy control and not dwell on the messed up skydive. I think in an ideal world (with egos kept in check and students listening to the experienced skydivers out there) that this is the way to go. However, we've all seen too many students think they they're special and downsize too quickly and get hurt. I think that both tunnel training and canopy coaching early on is the way to go. If it has to be one or the other than I completely agree with you that canopy coaching is more important both for the individual's safety as well as the safety of everyone else in the sky. Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

You can wear your own suit, but if you decide to I'd recommend bringing one of the tunnel's baggy suits into the chamber with you so you can put it on over your suit if you want some more drag. I don't remember the numbers but I *think* the max speed that you will generally get in the tunnel (at 86% power) is around 136mph depending on weather conditions. Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

Obviously the tunnel will not teach anyone canopy control skills but I believe it can still assist in setting up a student to learn canopy control. It will help out the student with the freefall portion of the jump so once the student is under canopy he will be confident from having a good skydive. I think this will set the student up for having an easier time under canopy. Think of it this way: if a student is unstable and cannot turn in the air and thinks that he had a horrible jump, those feelings will still be with him under canopy. Would you rather have an upset student or confident student under canopy? There is a huge mental aspect to all parts of skydiving. The tunnel, in addition to helping freefall skills, will help give a student more confidence in his / her abilities. I definitely think that everyone should get canopy coaching as well. Just my thoughts

I have just under 1300 jumps and have about a 1.45 wingloading. Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

Here's my list in order: Mobile Aerodium - Vernon, NJ - an outdoor tunnel that I don't think is there anymore Flyaway - Las Vegas SkyVenture Orlando The first two were before I started skydiving and even realized they were related so I don't really count them... Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

A sponsored athlete, in additional to believing in his or her gear, also probably knows a lot more about it due to the sponsorship and dealing with the manufacturer. When looking for gear I would want to talk to sponsored athletes and get their more informed view. Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

I haven't heard when the next one will be, but I'll be sure to be there

The price of 60 minutes being about equal to the cost of 35-40 skydives is only one advantage of using the tunnel to train. It it pretty reasonable to do an hour of tunnel time in a single day, two hours if you are used to being in there a lot. If you split up the time so you do only 15-20 minutes out of each 1 hour session and take breaks between sessions (like a tunnel camp) you can end up flying a lot in a day and be making progress the whole time. Let's say you do 30 minutes of tunnel time in one day - I have a feeling that most people would get a lot more out of this than trying to do 30 skydives in one day. Not only is the cost per minute less, but you can do a lot more of it and still have it be beneficial. There are a lot more benefits to the tunnel as well such as the coach being able to physically shape your body, immediate feedback, debriefing quickly and being back in the chamber quickly as well as others. No, you can't swoop in the tunnel and yes, you are entitled to your opinion of thinking tunnel time is overpriced. I'm just pointing out that there's a lot more to it than just cost per minute of flight time. It's also fun as hell Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

Yup, guilty, whenever I hear "tunnel" I always think SkyVenture Orlando, oops That sounds really cool and is something I'd love to try when I make it to a wall-less tunnel. Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

Don't know about tethered tunnel flying, but there's a few ways I know of to practice tracking that all work - - you can go up against a wall and gradually increase your track - track against a person or have a person hold on to you while you track - put your feet in the doorway and track Hope this helps you out

The amount of tunnel time someone has is definitely not meaningless. Yes, it means something different then the amount of air time someone has or the amount of jumps someone has but it is definitely not meaningless. Not having tunnel time does not make someone's advice useless, it just means it has to be taken in a different context when talking about tunnel related issues. If I want to learn how to run up a tunnel wall, back flip and run down the other wall I would want an answer from someone who has done that in the tunnel. No amount of skydives will teach someone how to do that, only tunnel. Since this is a tunnel forum I would expect people to ask at least *some* questions related specifically to the tunnel. For these types of questions I think the amount of tunnel time someone has is very important. When it comes to tunnel flying there are certain things that you might be able to do perfectly in the sky but not at all in the tunnel. Someone who has never flown in the tunnel or only has a limited amount of time may not realize this and inadvertently give advice trying to help but may in fact be the wrong thing to do in the tunnel. In any case, I don't think that having a tunnel time field in the profile would hurt. I feel that the more you know about someone's flying experience (jumps, air time, ratings, tunnel time) just helps people make better informed decisions. Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

I think now that there is a tunnel forum that adding tunnel time to the profile would be helpful. If I go into a forum and post a question about skydiving, I want to be able to see what skydiving experience anyone who answers my question has. Likewise, if I ask a question in the tunnel forum I would want to know how much tunnel experience someone who answers my question has. Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

Vinny, the only people I've seen backflying really come easily to are kids age 8 and under. It's amazing seeing a 4 year old in there kicking and screaming on his belly and then the instructor flips the kid over to his back and the kid it perfectly stable and can fly! One of the things I've found in there that makes back flying "hard" is the fact that you want to have your head back which means you are looking at everything almost upside-down. I found this to be much more disorientating in the tunnel than in the sky since there are fixed references. Like anything else it just takes time. I have found the three biggest things for learning to fly anything in the tunnel are: Confidence - trust that you were taught properly and what you were taught will work. Feel the air - Really try to be aware of what the airflow feels like on every part of your body. When you move a part of your body try to feel how the air reacts to that. Relax and have fun! - Definitely the most important thing - flying in the tunnel serves no real greater purpose. If you're not having fun then why do it? Just take a deep breath, relax and smile.

Thanks for creating this forum and thank you SM1 for moderating it, I know I will be in here a lot. Any chance of adding a tunnel time field into the profile? In addition to "crack house" maybe we should call this forum "the sewer" since it's where all the tunnel rats will be congregating Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

Congratulations Luis!! Now get your ass down to the tunnel with us Congratulations Martin, always good to see a fellow tunnel rat doing well

I've competed in the Florida league this past year and I just a Katana 120 loaded at 1.45:1 I'm not winning the competitions but I'm not getting last - I've been about middle of the pack beating some of the cross-braces out there. Unless there's a head-wind I can do pretty well on my standard 9 cell and there's definitely still a lot more performance I can get out of this canopy. Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com