Itchy

iFLY Meadowlands... it was already in the works but with the sports complex never getting completed, neither did the 2 side by side 10ft tunnels... Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

Cape Canaveral is an hour away from the Orlando tunnel which is also the only tunnel in FL... it is all highway so the travel time goes quick and 528 is usually never that busy, but there are a couple of tolls... Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

the thing here is every instructor teaches it differently, but the fundamentals are the same... before trying it, ASK YOUR INSTRUCTOR and take on there way of teaching it as it can be a dangerous maneuver as simple as it may seem, and the instructors are there to help keep you safe... first make sure you are 100% comfortable on your belly to back transition and back to belly (Backloop) as the transition can be very disorienting at first, because your head is tilted back as your body follows. with that said... the way "I" teach it is... from the belly position extend your arms fwd smoothly and at the same time "push down" so as to apply pressure on the wind. this causes the wind to counteract your push and push your upper body up instead of back. as you do this, extend your legs smoothly, which is going to push you up. from this point on, your head stays cocked back and chin up throughout the whole rotation (your body follows your head, and if you freak out and bring your chin to your chest halfway through the transition it could potentially be a bad day for you) as you start getting vertical, fan out your arms slowly and yes, smoothly, as if doing a backstroke while swimming. this will help give you balance as you start transitioning into a HD vertical position. by the time your body starts coming around to a predominantly HD position and you are face to face with the glass, your arms should be at your sides (this should give you an idea as to the speed of your "backstroke"). as your head comes around back to the starting position you finish off the "Backstroke" and compensate for your momentum, so as not to launch fwd into the glass or eat the net (do not reach down to try to avoid hitting the net... you will just hit it faster, instead, extend your arms fwd to create more surface area if needed). when you think of what it should look like, think of this maneuver as if it were a slow constant flow around a big hula hoop with your body shaped around it. hope this answers your question and once again... make sure you talk to your instructor first be4 you just try to whip one of these as you WILL need to be spotted or you WILL get hurt. Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

the answer to your question is yes... there are many differences in the characteristics to each style of flight. * in skydiving, you are falling regardless of the wind conditions. the air is smoother and feels thinner/ weaker which requires more body input, as opposed to a strong wt, in order to cause a reaction (i.e. turning or moving fwd/bkwd) *a "sucking" wt creates a smooth strong air stream with a constant even pressure throughout the diameter of the tunnel (with the exception of some tunnels that "choke" if you get too close to the edge/ perimeter). [however, many tunnels vary in this aspect as far as the strength of the wind at different altitudes, i.e. iFLY Orlando's wind gets noticeably weaker the higher up you go, due to the widening of the tunnel's diameter past the glass (~ 1st 12ft). whereas, Paraclete XP's wind has a larger area's worth of constant even pressure.] keep in mind: a wind tunnel is designed to replicate freefall, therefore, it must create strong winds in order to keep you afloat, as opposed to naturally falling at terminal velocity. these strong generated winds require less body input than skydiving in order to cause a reaction, which makes the wind feel stronger. * a "blowing" wt, usually creates a vortex/ cone in the center of the wind stream in which the air is stronger, leaving a weaker air stream around it. the moment you leave that cone it feels as if you were getting spat out. AAC in my opinion is the one exception to the cone (as far as the "blowing" tunnels i have flown in so far go). the wind stream there is constant so long as you stay within the red circle on the net which gets trickier the higher you go... *in my opinion AAC or a "sucking" wind tunnel would be your best bets... good luck with the tests at the L1 at AAC. you will find that not only is it a great place, but also the staff (including the owner) is great as well. I am sure you will feel welcome and have no problem with any help you may need (so long as it is all ok and regarded as safe by the staff) as John and Keith are 2 of the nicest/ chill pple I have met in the sport. anyone feel free to correct me on any mistakes or wrong info i may have posted, I hope this helps. *Itchy Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

i`ll see wat i can do as far as a pic... it may be a few days though as i am currently out of town... Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

It all depends on the tunnel you will be working at, not sure if they are holding open training sessions... It costs A LOT of money (thousands) to become a level 1 rated instructor, however, if you have that kind of money to spend, I recommend it 100%... your best bet would be to contact [email protected] or you can browse the site, www.tunnelflight.com hope this helps and good luck to you... Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

I would assume that can be arranged. Your best bet would be to contact a W/tunnel directly and let them know your intentions and how much tunnel time you would like to purchase you can log on to www.skyventure.com for a list of contact numbers and/or email addresses for each of the Skyventure and iFLY tunnels. I know how hard it can be to get a visa, so if the visa for the US does not turn out, you could always try to get one to go to the Montreal, Canada tunnel. If tunnel time is all you want then the UK and Russia have some nice tunnels there as well... good luck. Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

flying in the tunnel works out so many different muscle groups at once that its hard to pinpoint a particular group to work out... however, i would recommend trying non-conventional exercises... think of the relative wind and where it is hitting on your body in a certain body position... drawing this out (stick figures) in the position your body would be in helps a lot as a point of reference, then draw vertical lines (as if it were the wind) throughout to see where the wind would be hitting your body... after that, come up with an exercise that would counteract the "wind" ex: for working out your shoulders for sit-flying: hook up resistance bands/ bungee cords to the roof which in this case would simulate the wind (2 for each arm ) one band goes around your forearm and the other around your bicep with your arms bent at a 45-90deg angle(put padding or wrap the bands with a towel, so it doesnt kill your arms) then squat down as if you were sitflying, causing the bands to stretch and pull up... remain in the sit position and move your arms up and down at a slow speed, as if you were flopping your wings doing repetitions... by remaining in the sit position, it would also help you develop those upper back/shoulder muscles you never knew existed and will work out your thighs... I hope this helps... let us know what you decide or what ends up working for you... Blue ones *Itchy Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

you can give this a shot... start off tracking... and start taking the pitch steeper and steeper while staying relaxed until you feel you are vertical. do it a few times til you start feeling comfortable and start working it faster (but still controlled). it will help you start feeling the wind as opposed to trying to fight it... try doing it with another flyer as it is hard at first to judge when you are vertical, without a point of reference... another fast way if you feel comfortable on your head is as a front flip which is the easiest way for many... start off sitflying and instead of trying to do a front flip, think about putting your head in between your legs and as you feel your bodys rotation pop your hips fwd (which will straighten your body) and just snap into your HD position... the trick is to learn to correct for overcompensating on the rotation... one thing i tell all my students is, "the more you think the dumber you get", once you start feeling the wind (and i mean really feeling it) you'll know it and you'll be able to do whatever you want without having to think about what to do. Hope this helps, and keep us posted... Blue skies, *Itchy Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

Mike Cumming... former instructor from skyventure orlando, great flyer and coach with a one of a kind personality and style. Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

Nick was from South Africa Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

I was just living in that area and spent quite a bit of time researching and reading about it... the project has stopped and resumed many times, but it is currently at a stand still. it is one of those things that the state of NJ may just never open... The complex ended up being more money than initially anticipated and in order for it to keep open, a ridiculous amount of people would have to visit it on a daily basis... so I am going to guess that that the guy i spoke with last year (in my post from last year) was either not who he claimed to be, or it just so happened that was one of the times the complex project was back up and running and so was the tunnel... not much to do now but hope and wait, unless you can afford to open one... Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

it is not premature at all... it is very smart... the hardest thing to do in the sport is break a bad habit, and the tunnel helps you from building bad habits... in the past they didnt have tunnels, so the progression was slow... take advantage of the tunnel everytime you get a chance, it is worth it, and if you get a chance, do coaching sessions as you will see that you learn much more than thinking you can figure it out on your own... i strongly suggest current or former tunnel instructors as that is what they do, they spend or have spent hours upon hours looking at flyers to the point that they/ we can see things happen before they do... dont get me wrong there are many good coaches out there with no instructor experience at all, as there are many instructors that could be good coaches but have a hard time explaining things... if you find you cant afford coaching, bring your own DVD or buy one then go back and actually watch it, pause it at random moments and look at your body position and guess what will happen next, then hit play... it helps train your mind... and the one thing i have always told my students to never forget it "the more you think, the dumber you get" feel the wind, dont fight it... blue skies Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...

As a tunnel instructor, I must say i agree with most of what davelepka says, aside from forgetting your tunnelskills... get the skydiving portion down then concentrate on fine tuning... the tunnel is a GREAT tool and can make you an amazing flyer, but it cannot teach you altitude awareness and canopy skills... however, whenever you do use the tunnel try to put yourself in a battle training mindset, dont try to think of everything you do step-by-step, instead, feel it and go with the flow, it might feel weird at first but it will start feeling natural eventually... always think of the relative wind... it comes from below, so if you increase surface area on one side of your body it will move you in the opposite direction (i.e. if you extend your legs, it will make you move fwd, but if you also extend your arms at the same time you create more surface area and even distribution which will keep you in a neutral position causing you to fall slower), what i am getting at is, dont try to remember everything you are taught just because thats what you were taught... think of what effects your movements will have before you fly and then just go with the flow... the best way to progress is feeling the wind and going with it as opposed to trying to fight it... not sure if i veered off the question but i hope this helps... *Itchy Life is all about experiences... Luck, is when opportunity and preparation meet...