corpkid

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Posts posted by corpkid

  1. I don't understand how the market can support essentially 3 tunnels (the two new iFly tubes and this Extreme Flight competitor single tube). I'm all for it as it will hopefully help to keep prices down via competition, but I'm super skeptical of the Extreme Flight tunnel actually coming to fruition.

    On a positive note, YAY FOR AIR CONDITIONING! Flying in the Orlando tunnel on a very hot and muggy day is like flying in soup, and it gets damn cold some nights in the winter (which I actually love). Either way, I need to get lots of flying done in the old tunnel before the prices inevitably go up. :/

  3. Yup - we can kiss those $10 minutes goodbye my friend... But a faster, smoother, rounder tunnel is always appreciated! Anymore word on the overnight in Orlando at the end of the month?

  4. piisfish

    ***What would you say are the biggest real risks?

    from bruise to death, with cuts and broken bones in between.

    Yes you can die in a Wind tunnel. You can break your fucking neck. You can break your back. You can break your wrists (ask Olav)

    If you don't want to follow the tunnel rules because you are so good, well go to another tunnel, or better yet, build your own.

    Cracked two ribs in the tunnel when somebody I was doing a 2-way RW flew into my burble when I was on the net staring up at him wonder WTF he was doing. Couldn't get up and out fast enough and he dove almost head down onto me at full speed. That took about 4 months to get over and hurt like hell. Yes - you can get VERY hurt in the tunnel. It's a sport. I've seen people break wrists, fingers, bloody noses, etc.

  5. I couldn't imagine NOT having back flying down pat before sit flying (which I'm learning right now in the Orlando tunnel). Took me about 2 hours to get really solid on my back. I'm at the point where I sit fly for about 15 seconds and then cork... but I can get right back up (at top speed) in about 3 seconds and try again. It's exhausting but that tunnel time is VERY expensive so to everyone elses point - why would you WANT to sitfly at those prices only to be starting up at the fans for 75% of your flight time??

    And the instructors have always PUSHED me (I have about 15 hours in that tunnel) to try harder things. For example, after I got my back flying down - the pushed me to learn full, controlled barrel rolls, and then once I was good at those, they pushed me to do belly to back & vice versa transitions... They even had me do a few front flips (poorly) but point being - your experience seems unique or maybe it's just because I know all the instructors and they know my skill level.

  7. They are SO expensive to build and maintain you have to have a serious skydiving community and/or a very busy tourist base. Having even a "crappy one" in PF = competition which means a draw on sales for a new one = probably not gonna happen soon...

    Be like lots of my friends and just move to Orlando. 2 AWESOME dz's (Deland and Z-hills) and a decent (and very cheap) tunnel. :) Plus, the weather is skydive friendly pretty much year round.

  8. I'm about 220 and 6 feet tall. I have no problems in the Orlando tunnel on belly, back or sit (well, I'm learning sit but I can get off the net for a bit before bailing to my back - but that's just a function of my level of learning, not the wind to weight issue).

    What everyone else says about good body position is truth. On my belly and back, with the Orlando tunnel around 95% I can zoom WAY up and stay there (a good 5 to 7 feet above the glass). Just gotta make myself "big." I also have a pretty loose tunnel suit which helps catch the wind. I doubt you'll have much problem - especially if you are flying a fast tunnel (Orlando is pretty slow compared to the new ones). Have fun!

  9. I am just now learning sit fly in the tunnel so I'm by no means an expert, but not too long ago I was learning barrel rolls and the trick for me was to drop my head. Try this - get on your back and drop your head so much that you are literally looking at the wall upside down. Practice that a bit (the visuals are very odd and take some time to get used to). It's also not easy at first to stay stable and in one spot on your back doing this, but it gets easy pretty quickly. When you want to do your roll from back to belly, get back in that "looking upside down" position and don't forget to extend your arms to keep you from flying forward. It really helped me do nice smooth (and stable) rolls. Watching my videos I think it sort of forces an arch and that's what helps. Good luck!!

  10. hillson

    Get in touch with Ben Liston or Ari Perelman.

    They'll both be at the Skyventure tunnel meet in January. Anything you need to learn you can learn from them...plus I'm sure that they can give you a bunch of other people to contact that are local to the Nashua area.



    +1 on Ari - he's the guy who taught me how to belly fly. One of if not the best tunnel coaches. He's based out of Austin last I heard but travels a lot. Great guy and great coach! If you have the opportunity to fly with him make it a point to do so.

  11. DEFOGit was the ticket! Seems to work like a champ so far, but haven't tried in super high humidity yet (been lucky). I always used to get a little fogging when I was on my back, but that night it was near 100% humidity and it was a deal-breaker - basically ruined my whole (expensive) 15 min block. I've since applied the DEFOGit (without any of that crazy crystalizing crap happening) and it doesn't fog at all anymore. I can't wait to try this on my ski goggles in a few weeks! Thanks man.

  12. Here's what I did in the Orlando Tunnel... I flew a lot with different instructors and all were good, just some better at that particular thing I was working on. So one coach might be great for X while another might be great for Y, and further, having different people coaching you on the X or Y can offer some new tips/tricks/perspective. So it's tricky like that.

    For example, I sucked on my back (it was fear of going up too high and I'd ball up and fall back to the net). Enter Preston - aka Sgt. Kick Ass and he wouldn't let me leave the tunnel (I had the whole block to myself) until I stayed above the lights on my back for one minute. By minute 4 or 5 I was so exhausted I just fricken' did it to get out of the tunnel and rest! So that worked and that fear is gone and backfly is pretty easy now.

    For advanced belly stuff - I found Striker is my go-to. He's always challenging me to play tag with him, etc. Keeps my precision on point.

    Etc. Benji seems to be my sit fly guy - we'll find out in the overnight in a few weeks (booked an hour to learn this now that I have back more or less down). You get the point. I know in the Orlando tunnel we have lots of seriously talented instructors - not sure about NH... My advice is work on back - it's so foundational. You really can't move forward with VFF until you have that down solid. It's your "dump position" when a sit fly or transition goes bad and being able to control yourself keeps your noggin from smacking the walls and lets you get right back into the position you were working on without flailing and bouncing around for 15 seconds. :) Feel free to PM me for some tips that helped me get back flying to "click" (finally). :) GOOD LUCK!

  13. I just want to let people know the Fogtech DX almost ruined my visor! I put it on after washing it and all seemed fine, then all of a sudden it started crystalizing like frost and went from the top two about 3 inches in before I started furiously scrubbing it off. Not cool.

    I think it may have reacted to the anti-fog applied by the helmet manufacturer. Either way I was able to save my visor but would not advise using this product. Was pretty freaky to watch happen all of sudden - literally looked like my visor was "freezing up" the way a car windshield does!

  14. degeneration

    I use this stuff - http://www.amazon.com/EK-Ekcessories-10003P-AM-Anti-Fog-Cleaner/dp/B002BHWZFI - for anti-fogging of my visor on winter's jumping here in the UK.

    Does the job for me... it's cheap, so worth a try?



    Wanted to add - I have that stuff and have tried it on my ski goggles and it didn't work for me. Like I said, I run hot when I'm working pretty hard (skiing/wind tunnel) so that's probably why I need something "stronger" - hope these wipes work out! I'll try the advice of cleaning my visor before applying. Have 15 mins Saturday in the tunnel and hope it stays cool like it is now (Orlando is an open-air tunnel) but we'll see!

  15. Absolut

    There are those Anti-Fog wipes you can order from chutingstar, been using them and they work great! They also always ship one with any G3 you buy. Hope that helps.



    Ah yes - the Fogtech DX wipes - thanks. I will give them a try. FYI - they are like $10 PER WIPE at chuting star - and you can get a 12 PACK for $9 - $15 from Amazon.

    Thanks again everyone.

  16. Playing lots in the Orlando tunnel lately and last time on my back my Phantom X visor fogged up almost immediately - had to keep cracking the mask open to get just enough visibility to know where I was relative to my coach. Totally sucked. I don't really have this problem in any other position but back fly it's a deal breaker and I love this helmet. Someone mentioned to me a spray you can use? Anyone have any advice? I run hot anyways and add Orlando and humidity and I need industrial level shit. Thanks!

    PS - same crap happens to me when I ski with goggles. I"m thinking of dropping the FF helmet and moving to aero type goggles? But let's start with the spray. LOL

  17. You are gonna love it. Those new tunnels are the bomb! I had the pleasure of flying one in Austin and couldn't get enough of it. I went up to the DZ this morning - too cloudy and high winds at 3k so guess where I went with my buddies? LOL It's a blessing and a curse to have a tunnel so close - my credit card hates me. hahaha Have fun and do be careful of the burble like Want2DoIT says - cracked two ribs doing RW with a buddy (there is a hard bottom and if someone doesn't know how to fly in that they will come slamming down on top of you and you then slam into the net). That set me back 3 months. B| Have fun and let us know what you think.

  18. If you haven't done tunnel it's a great practice tool by the way. It's pretty much the same as diving out of a plane except for a few things:

    1) There are walls - like 12-14' wide chamber... Everything is under the microscope. Trust me - I had a huge backsliding issue that was diagnosed in the tunnel.

    2) There is a bottom - a bouncy net - and you can either use that to your advantage or not (e.g. stay away from it to simulate true freefall/skydiving or use it to stand on to practice advanced body flight, etc.) Be aware that walking and standing in the tunnel takes practice.

    3) You have to fly yourself into the tunnel out of an opening/door and there is not relative wind transition - it's straight up the whole time - you'll be standing when you do this (and avoid the openings/doors when you are flying).

    4) When you go to exit the tunnel, my advice is to just do a belly arch or de-arch slowly to just above the door, about 2 feet away, then arch and fall forward and down about a foot and grab the sides and go to standing pulling yourself out. This is usually the hardest part for most people but it's total instinct if you have any jumps...

    5) NO WEATHER DELAYS! I have jumped enough to know I want to be a tunnel rat. I like jumping - just like the tunnel more and it's literally 5 mins from work and 5 mins from home. LOL And it's always running.

  19. Quote


    What kind of money are we talking about? (How much)




    Each tunnel varies. The orlando tunnel happens to be one of the cheapest just because they get so much volume (tourists) and it's an older model - meaning the outside weather comes into the tunnel (rain, heat, humidity and even rarely very cold). I checked the prices on iflyworld.com and selected the Rosemont and Naperville tunnels in Chicago and both are the same... 30 Mins - $525. 60 Mins - $975. That's without coaching which again, gets weird because you'll get like a 10 to 20% discount on the actual tunnel, but then have to pay the coach which is between $100 and $200 typically.

    In Orlando the price is 30 Mins - $420 and 60 - $645. But again it's an older tunnel though it gets the job done (if it isn't raining!) = wind brings rain straight up into your face at high speeds. Not a great feeling.

    Either way I aim for about $10 to $15 a minute as being a "good deal"... without coaching.

  20. DustyP

    I've been considering this as well (I've never been in a tunnel). How does the pricing work? I'm interested.



    Don't know the exactly how it works at ifly chicago, but here in Orlando at iFly you typically go in on a block of time which is then split. For example, I typically do a 15 or 30 minute block for two people or an hour for 3 to 4. You rotate in predetermined increments (we usually do 2 1/2 minutes). You fly all your time at once - meaning you can't do 30 minutes then take time off and do another 30 - you'd have to buy 2x 30 min blocks to do that which is more expensive.

    You'll always have a "door guy" who can give basic coaching, but is not required to do so - he's there to keep you from hurting yourself first and foremost. We usually hire a coach which is useful if you are learning new skills (back flying, RW, layouts, sitfly, head down, etc.).

    Finally, sometimes if you buy less than 30 minutes (e.g. 15 mins) you'll be integrated into another group... usually wuffos / first timers... Orlando ifly works on a 30 min block schedule. So when I go in solo for 15, I'm almost always flying with novices who do 1 min rotations. I kind of like it because I get a little more "down time" between flights...

    Doing 2 1/2 with 2 1/2 off back and forth for an hour (that's 12 times) can get absolutely exhausting, especially when you are sit flying or doing more advanced stuff.

    Coaching prices vary, as do tunnel prices (e.g. if you have coaching, they can usually get a slightly cheaper per block price). Check the ifly site to see what the going rate is for Chicago.

  21. I have a lot of time in the Orlando Tunnel and this all good advice so I won't rehash it other than to say my friend who I skydive with learned in the NH tunnel and recommends you coach with Rob or Tanya - both are very very good. Good luck - you'll get it and it will get easier until you need to learn something new and more advanced (e.g. backfly, RW, etc.). It's a constant growth and challenge, which is why it's so much fun! :) Happy flying!

  23. Probably more like 17 or so... I'm a slow learner and have a gimp leg (long story)..... LOL And yeah - he got me good. I had ever muscle tightened ready for his "fat ass" to crash on me! LOL He feels like crap about that. And I am not gonna hang it over his head. 1 or 2 months and back at it.

  25. My "idiot" best friend - well he feels like shit, as he should Nobody here claims to be an expert. I'm just saying that fucking burble caught us up. That was our first RW in the tunnel. That said, I was wrong posting this. I'm gonna re-post the vid for educational purposes. WE sure learned a lot. I'm mending and can't wait to hit the overnight next month. That said - now I am reading all your posts. :)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeXcERUtY30 (first try)