GrahamClarke

I would tend to agree that 2 hours in 4 days is a lot if you've never flown in a tunnel before. However it does depend on how fit you are, your skill level and what you are working on. Some higher power positions like head down and sit flying are much more tiring than others like back flying. I attend tunnel camps in Spain and do 2 1/4 hours in 3 days and am pretty tired by the end. I've got over 100 hours of tunnel time and am of moderate fitness. I have found that it gets less tiring as you improve because you use the wind rather than fighting against it. Before commiting to 2 hours, if possible see if you can do 10-15 minutes in a tunnel to gauge how tiring you have found it.

Another potential safety issue is power cuts. If you are high up in a tunnel and the power goes you have very little time to make it back down to the net. Worst still if you are right at the top of the tunnel and make the mistake of grabbing hold of the turning vanes. I heard an (unsubstantiated) rumour that this had happened in a US tunnel. I do know that several tunnels have experienced power cuts so it isn't that unlikely, unfortunately.

http://www.superflynetwork.eu/ Including a 5.5M (18ft) tunnel in London, UK. Am guessing that will be the biggest world wide? Graham

You'll find as you get more comfortable in sit flying that you tend to fly it with your back, not your arms. Agree that it is extremely tiring when you first learn it.

https://vimeo.com/55170769

As you're clearly doing advanced flying I'd recommend a full face helmet, particularly if you are flying with others, simply from a safety perspective. I made the change a couple of years ago and since then I've been hit in the face maybe 2-3 times. Once was hard enough that with an open face helmet I probably would have sustained a broken nose. With a full face, no injury!

Both Alberto Fuertes and Fabian Raidel also arrange tunnel camps at Prague: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/alberto.fuertes.5 http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/fabian.raidel.7 Both are hugely experienced free flyers and tunnel and skydiving coaches. Also Josh O'Donoghue works there and is the lead coach. Not sure whether he coaches private clients, but you could ask. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/josh.odonoghue I've flown with all three and have known them for some years (Alberto has coached me for 4 years) and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

Looks fine according to http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/www.youtu.be

Tunnel flying isn't cheap and never will be. Cheapest way to do it would be to become a tunnel instructor, however there is lots of competition for such positions and the pay isn't fantastic as for most people it is a labour of love. You can get some discounts if you buy in bulk (multiples of 30 minutes), but while the price per minute is less, the overall cost is still more.

Many are good, but for different reasons. Skydive Arena in Prague is a nice new facility, 14ft tunnel, pretty tall, great restaurant too. Bedford in UK is a big tunnel, 16ft, although not particularly tall. Paraclete XP in Raeford, North Carolina is a 16ft tunnel, nice and tall but gets very hot in the summer months. There are also many 12ft SkyVenture tunnels in the US (I've been to iFly SFBay, SV Colorado, tunnel in Ogden, Utah AirKix in UK and 14ft SV tunnel in Manchester, UK) and they are all very very similar. Bottrop is also a great tunnel. Graham

Yes, flown there on several occasions. Pretty standard 12ft SkyVenture recirculating tunnel. Fast enough to fly all free fly positions.

OK, a question for the tunnel junkies out there. How many tunnels have you flown at? Can anyone beat my total of 10? (No, I don't work in a tunnel either). Which are in order: Flyaway Vegas Airkix Milton Keynes Bodyflight Bedford Perris Paraclete XP iFly SFBay Indoor Skydiving Bottrop Airkix Manchester Skyventure Colorado iFly Utah

Thanks. Did you have any problems with the visor opening unexpectedly in the tunnel? Is yours a Freezr 1 or 2?

Anyone using a Paratec Freezr helmet for free flying? Any problems with it, or heard of any problems?

Anyone using a Paratec Freezr helmet for free flying in the tunnel? Any problems with it, or heard of any problems?

Agreed 100%! It takes a while to stop fighting the wind and instead to go with it. I've done 4 hrs over 3 days recently without any issues, when I first started even 15 minutes was tiring. Several times now I've also flown 30 minutes without even leaving the tunnel.

"How long till you started flying off the net on your head?" This is the topic of the thread NOT "Talk shit about other peoples flying ability" STAY ON TOPIC ASSHOLE Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise that you owned this system and therefore controlled what everyone can talk about. Silly me, I must have mistaken you for an obnoxious idiot.

Ultimately I think that comes down to your own definition of what head down is. I've got around 40 hrs tunnel time and can back carve, out face carve (badly) and stall. My interpretation is that they're not HD. I've been learning HD for a while now and can maintain a stable position, fly up and down, backwards and forwards and take grips (badly). Now *that* is HD. But hey, you decide what you think it means and just go out and have fun!

Hmm, looking at that (great flying by the way!), I saw stalling, out face carving and back carving, which arguably I wouldn't call head down and certainly not statis head down!

Yes, that does help, thanks. Although getting a free flyer to stay within the glass section is a bit constraining!

svnh - so what is your policy on those who DO disclose shoulder dislocations? I dislocated my shoulder badly in a tunnel in 2007 (was inexperienced but not a first time flyer) however have since done 30+ tunnel hours without any problem. Hypothetically, if I turned up at your tunnel and disclosed this, would you let me fly?

Will be there next year! Say hello to Bernd, he used to coach us at Bedford in UK.

The tunnel at Bottrop's been open a little over a year now I think. It's a 14ft tunnel, apparently very fast and smooth, great for head down work.

Alberto coaches us (the person who made the video). He used to work full time as a tunnel instructor at Bodyflight Bedford and narrowly missed out winning their World Challenge this year. Yes, he's a fantastic flyer, he likely has thousands of hours of tunnel time. He's also a brilliant coach. He does tunnel camps there along with boogies in Spain. http://www.volare-freefly.com/ Here's some footage of Alberto, myself and Fabian Raidel from last week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnLZxku-0cE Graham

If you're moving forward when you push your legs down it could be that you are pushing your hips forward when moving your legs. This would tend to drive you forward. Flying backwards is difficult! You need to lean forward so that you catch wind on your chest and move legs back slightly at same time. You can also throw your arms forward to speed it up, but be careful as it's very easy to find yourself rocketing backwards across the tunnel, out of control. Might be better to focus on body position and SF stability before attempting to fly backwards. Graham