Bodyflight.Net

I understand, thanks for clarifying!!

I could completely agree... but then keeping with the original post then which/what habits are 'bad'? I know my experiences are different because of my source of learning, but what could be bad?I'm just trying to learn this new world too

I'm a point prover too ;) I don't think of freeflying like a recipe, 1 part hands, 2 parts posture, 1/2 cup of heading awareness.. It's FREE flying. I also don't think it's the assumed 'correct' position that expands your flying abilities, it's your brain that expands. The idea of moving from a lifetime of walking upright to laying it all out on 3 planes of dimension. Not something your body can understand without the expansion of your mind. Flying starts and ends with your mind and your perception. my .02 :)

It's funny you asked that question, I was just working with some pics of exactly that. I'm gonna try and attatch them here... lets see if this works... Now the pic is in the tunnel, but there are two of them to study and we all know how well our skills translate from the tunnel to the sky... photo courtesy of Joao Tambor

Hi Grega, Maybe I'm out of line on this, perhaps others wouldn't think I have enough experience to contribute here. However, I wonder, are you trying to become a superstar freeflyer? I mean, do you want to compete someday? If so, then you will need coaching for sure, but you can get similar coachin in a wind tunnel for half the cost of the same amount of time in the sky. Now if your not trying to become a 'pro' freeflyer, then I don't think you would want to worry about 'bad habits'. If your stable, then that is great. One thing I have learned over my years of flying is that not everyone has the same body position. Belly to earth looks different on most people. Your CG (center of gravity) is different than mine, so our positions would not be identical. Freeflying, I thought, is supposed to be FREE FLYING. No points to turn, nothing but unencumbered flight maneuvers. That to me, means that there is no exact. You must feel the air and go with it. I do however think there is a proper order to flying your body, belly to earth, right & left turns on heading, speed changes by getting bigger & smaller with your surface area, and yes forward and backward. After that it's tricks all the way.. Learn a T (one leg down, toe pointed) which will help you learn to displace body parts under you, then you turn that into a modified standup (both legs down still leaning over at the waist) once you have it. That turns into a standup (head up flying) when you straighten your back out. The point to stable flight is neutral yes, but that is different for everyone. There is much you can learn watching videos, talking to jumpers and with wind tunnel coaching. After all several dozen pro's use the tunnel for practice, maybe you could too! If you don't know where to find a tunnel, visit our site! There are lots of pics to see there too, illustrating most body positions. http://www.bodyflight.net

How awesome! Thanis for the tip, my friend Rags is at PD so he can help me get all the demo gear to try. I'll ask Bill how he likes his Sillouette next time I see him! Thanks again, verbally, I'm sold on the 7 cell, now I'll have to try one next week!

Call Skydive U if you have any questions really. The website itself is undergoing some work right now. (800) 891-JUMP They are no longer out of Sebastian and are in DeLand.

My vote is for Rigs n Things.. cost effective, good customer service and very nice people. They have been selling online for a couple of years at least that I know of. So far, I have gotten the best prices from them, oh and the Skydiving Outlet in DeLand. but it does sound like customs could be a problem, so consider that heavily too!

The short answer is YES. Once you get to the right 1:1 wing load you will notice an improvement on the ease of flaring. You are flying something that is probably pretty old now, kinda like not having power steering in your car. A newer, smaller, Z-PO canopy (as opposed to permeable F111) will respond better and will be easier to flare... like having power steering! Well, that's what I found anyway in my experience.

I have been hearing lately about the 'forgiving nature' of the 7 cell canopy, Spectre specifically. Since I'm so new, do you mind elaborating on it's flight characteristics? If I fly a 190 to test it, will a 170 act similarly? and how does it handle?? Thanks!!

Scott Miller, The Canopy School at DeLand. Scott went Reserve side with me on my 1st 2 jumps many years ago now. He since opened his own canopy school, see him on the web www.freedomofflight.tv and learn about it. He's cost effective and one of the best canopy coaches around!!!! He's also a big warm teddy bear kinda guy, AWESOME!!!

Ok, opinions please on this for sure! I am currently happy flying a PD190 or Navigator .. I feel very confident and do well.. I am considering a downsize to a 170 Sabre. I have flown this canopy 1 time and did well, although it was faster than I expected, I still landed well. My concern is (if you read my profile) that I don't have much experience under canopy only 23 flights so far. I plan on doing a few jumps with Scott Miller to get even better and ready for the 170. My question is, is there a LESS high performance canopy, that I am LESS likely to pummel myself into the ground with. I noticed that with the Sabre, I have to COUNTER a turn to stop it, with the navigator, I can just let up and it will straighten itself out.. I like the latter better, it seems safer to me. So the real question is, is a 170 Sabre, and a PD 170 or Navigator, essentially the same? Is it a size thing? Shape? What makes one stop a turn on its own and the other require a counter-measure to stop it??? The reason for my downsize is #1 I'm still underloading, #2 easier overall flight control with less bulk overhead #3 LESS BULK on my back. Besides, I'm nearly bored with the 190. Oh, and finally, is a Sabre 2 all that different than the original??

Hey South Florida Skydivers, I'm trying to find Steve. Last seen at the WFFC 02. He calls himself a red headed belly flyer and all we can remember is that he was in south florida somewhere, maybe Miami?? Well, if you know him or see him or ARE him, let us know, the 'tunnel rats' would like to say hi, and perhaps come down for a jump!!

I got a space heater once, from my s/o, cuz I am always cold that didn't work out so well soooo, the next year I got diamond earings

I made my first free fly jump on AFF, I'm on #24 and fine tuning my head down.. BUT I'm a wind tunnel flyer... so in my opinion, do it just above the ground before you do it risking your life!!! Take a vacation, go to a tunnel, it's worth it!! Check out my site if you don't know where to go!

to get a "real" track you have to gain lift from your body....To do that you have to move fast horizontally....You can't do that in a tunnel. You can move forward, but you can't move forward fast enough to gain lift...so the only way to practice that is in the air. I suppose by 'real' track you mean Skydiving Track. and the 'forward fast enough to gain lift'?? You can't be saying that you gain lift when tracking... if you are, then I still don't get it. Lift is opposing the pull of gravity, no one is accomplishing that on a skydive at any time.. you are always falling. Falling with grace and style maybe, but still falling. In the tunnel, you can maintain 'altitude', truly understanding the concept of lift, while using drag (like in skydiving) to pilot your body forward.

IMO it's not tracking at all. You need the forward speed to get the lift. Without that how can you possibly figure out what the right body position is? The airflow in a track comes from a different direction. Can somebody tell me the definition of tracking, because to me, it seems it's been blurred here. Tracking is the same as Forward. The only difference between Tracking and Forward is that when a skydiver tracks, he/she positions their body in a way that they are moving head down first in a flight pattern similar to a parachute 'down and forward.' Tunnelrats learned to fly horizontally, thereby eliminating the aggressive downward slope and replacing it with a more horizontal plane of flight. Can you practice this in the tunnel? Of course you can, but will you?