adamUK
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Record Reviews posted by adamUK
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Skydive Arena is a 14ft tunnel to the North East of the city centre. The pro-flyer rates are really good - $730 (€536) per hour including GST/VAT as at 26th May 2014.
Pros:
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It's great value for money.
The airflow is smooth and there's no diffuser to there's power all the way to the turning vanes.
There's enough power that even fatties like me can fly head down.
It's easily accessible via budget airlines - you can get to Prague for €120/return from the UK, for example.
There's a good restaurant on site which also sell cold beer.
Pro-flyers and coaches are on hand all day.
Cons:
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I can't think of any other than it's not right outside my house.
Other things you should know:
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The holding area where you wait between rotations is quite large and there's a monitor with a 2 minute delay so you can review your performance.
The viewing area has a few sofas and bean bags plus also some toys/games for the kids to keep them occupied when mom and dad are enjoying their play time.
You can download footage on to your own USB sticks in the changing room.
There are showers available for those really sweaty summer sessions.
There's a small selection of helmets, goggles and other bits and bobs for sale if you forget something.
The changing/locker room has a marked out area for dirt-diving.
There are lockers available, you get given a lock and key when at reception.
There's a decked area at the top of the restaurant including a bar, barbeque and a jacuzzi for those late night parties.
It's right next door to a shopping centre to get those essentials you forgot.
When I went I didn't have a suit or a helmet so one of the instructors lent me his suit and we blagged a helmet from someone else - so kudos for the lads for that.
Prague itself is an achingly beautiful city, the beer's cheap (if you avoid the main tourist areas) and the food is great. Pork seems to be the staple diet for the Czechs!
There's a few DZs about an hour's drive away.
Summary:
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All in all an excellent tunnel and well worth a visit. It would be ideal for team training if you're booking a lot of time as, I believe, lower rates are available for large block bookings. -
This was a previous Ministry of Defence testing facility so the both the location and the design of the tunnel are a bit incongruous when compared to modern tunnels.
Pros:
It's a big big tunnel and powerful enough for freeflying in too. Great for 4 way as most blocks can be flown in there.
The vibe is really laid back. Once you've signed your disclaimer you can do what you want in there, pretty much. They not insistent on you following the IBA progression.
There are excellent onsite facilities, a bar, a good cafe (the full English breakfast is recommended), accommodation that's great value for money if a bit basic, a flowrider, climbing wall (good for kids but not a hard-core bouldering wall or anything) plus spa, gym, pool, sauna and steam room. There's a gear store and they are also dealers for boogieman if you want measuring up for a new suit.
Cons:
The air is much more turbulent than modern tunnels. They're pretty open about this but it does take some getting used to. It's well worth doing a few minutes solo before group flying if you've never been in there before just to get the hang of it.
The burble at the door is quite bad and again, it really pays dividends to carve 4 or 5 feet above the net to avoid it.
Other stuff:
The fan is straight above the top net and can be seen from the flying chamber. This makes the strength of the air greater as it gets higher. It's not uncommon to get stuck on the top net which is really weird. The corollary of this is that just above the net the air is a bit weaker so again it pays to fly a bit higher than you would at a skyventure tunnel. There's no diffuser.
For higher wind speeds it takes a bit more time to get up to speed than modern tunnels.
The location's unusual - it's not really near any population centres being an ex-MoD site but there are a few nice pubs close by. If you're into 1950s ex-military derelict architecture then this place would be amazing [;-)] -
This is my home tunnel. It's a 14ft skyventure unit. Airkix were once independent but have been bought out by iFly.
Upsides:
It's a really powerful unit with a smooth airflow. I think it's a 1600hp (i.e 1.2MW) tunnel.
There are team rooms with monitors which are useful to review footage.
The staff are super-friendly. It's a great vibe and they're very welcoming. There are some really good coaches and most people are signed off L4 instructors for all those tricky spotting duties.
The tunnel rates are good (certainly comparable to US tunnels despite 20% VAT in the UK). For regulars they have super user accounts which offer great rates and there's no monthly fee like other iFly tunnels.
They'll give you rotations (i.e. 2 mins in 2 mins out) even if you're the only person in the tunnel.
The Trafford Centre's just close by which has everything retail plus great places to eat and stay.
Manchester airport is 15 minutes away. It's just off the M60 so the transport links are really good.
Downsides:
If you want footage you have to get a DVD. For pro-flyers it's free but most other tunnels you just give them your memory stick and they copy it over. It means you have to rip the dvd to your pc when you get home.
If you have to use the tunnel suits they're low quality and not worth flying in. They don't last long. One size fits most... i.e. no matter what size you try on, it won't fit!!
Other stuff:There's some vending machines but the coffee's terrible! They're opening up a bistro on site though soon (late Spring 2014) An italian bistro has been installed right at the viewing area. This is run by an external company that also has a restaurant in Manchester and is excellent
Walk-in's are allowed (despite the details held by dz.com) but don't expect the tunnel to be free. It's very busy! It books up usually 2 weeks in advance.
Summary:
All in all a smooth, powerful tunnel with great staff and a great vibe.
iFly Seattle
in United States
Pros:
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This is the 14ft, 1600hp (1.2 MW) skyventure unit so has plenty of power for HD flying and as usual it's got smooth airflow and only a small burble by the door. It has a diffuser which means that the airflow speed is reduced as you go higher in the tunnel.
The staff are friendly and very customer-focused. From the guys I spoke to the technical standard of the instructors appears to be high and they are super-stoked tunnel flyers & skydivers.
Cons:
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The tunnel suits are okay (well, better than those at iFly tunnels in the UK) but a very baggy (one-size-fits nobody) size. Use your own stuff.
The only refreshments are from vending machines so if you think you're going to be hungry then eat beforehand. There's plenty of places close by.
The viewing area is quite small.
Cost-wise it's not massively expensive (for tunnel rates at least) but it's not cheap either. They do have pro-flyer rates.
The booking system is a bit clunky, for example the group booking date field resets when you select the tunnel location despite the date field being placed before the location field. The site also could not process my booking, claiming that the time had already been taken. A 'phone call to the tunnel clarified that the site was wrong and time was available so I booked over the phone. It's probably just best to book by phone.
Other stuff:
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There's a couple of creeper areas marked out with a 14ft ring but this had been taken over as a meeting or events room. Creepers are available.
I could find one team room for use by pro-flyers for briefing/debriefing.
There's a screen that's on a 2 minute delay available in the holding area to review your rotation.
There's an electronic waiver/disclaimer/don't sue us system which appeared to be a tad contrived but otherwise okay. The reception desk did seem exceptionally busy.
It's really close to the SeaTac airport.
Summary:
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The tunnel itself is great for flying in. The guys are super friendly and super stoked. The onsite facilities aren't class-leading but that's no biggie if you're prepared.