VivaHeadDown

The physical risks in a wind tunnel are different than those in the sky. With skydiving, we worry about opening shock or hard landings. Although we can't control opening shock completely, we can take a more conservative approach to landings to ensure safety. In a wind tunnel, there is the danger of impacting the walls or net or even rolling over and being caught by the instructor (which is rarely an easy thing on the body). These are common occurences that people just don't have time to react to unless they are super experienced tunnel flyers prior to their injury. And even with that being said, it's usually the more experienced flyers who end up injuring themselves. It's nice that your doctor said you were good to go, but there's is a reason why the waiver at a tunnel specifically lists prior back, neck, and shoulder injuries as reasons you should not fly. Longer exposer to wind pressure, imovable hard surfaces just a couple feet away from you, and the potential to get lulled into a false sence of security are all dangers that people seem to over look when considering wind tunnels as a safe alternative to the sky. Be cautious, and make sure your insurance is up to date no matter what activities you take on after an injury. Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

But we can all agree Drew is a cool dude, regardless of where he is, yes? Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

oooo... I like Arsenal's I. Thanks! Ray, the flip twisty king. Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

That's the wrong way of looking at things man. It's not about the tunnel time, it's about the warm fuzzies you get being around team future. There is so much more to them than just their tunnel time. Did you know that Justin does a pretty good mime impression? So if you hope to be adopted, start thinking about what outside talents you bring to the team/family. Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

The mythbusters crew were a lot of fun AND they flew great! Super nice people. I hope they include more of the outtakes in a future DVD of the episode because they kept us laughing the whole time. It's always great to work with people who enjoy what they do. Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

Sounds like you are well on your way to becomming an addict. Welcome to the club, brother. Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

Dude, you just admitted that you spent $$$ on airfare, probably hotel, and who knows what else to fly in a slower, diffusing colum of air that doesn't simulate the same air as freefall. I think you need to be charged MORE than everyone else. Motivate yourself and find some friends before that $500/hr deal dissapears. Sounds like that guy who posted below you might be interested. Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

There is a lot that the picture doesn't tell. What does the Landing Zone look like? Are there any obstacles along the way? What type of outs are there? And then the angle of the Launch Area is difficult to tell. Without experience, I'd say no. With experience (and somone to assist with launch given all the snags and no winds) and further understanding of the site, it might be possible. Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

I'm new to the area. Been ground launching in SoCal for 5 years and have lots of experience. I'm looking for locals who know the area, because whenever I've found a spot there will always be hang gliders there and they haven't been very welcoming. multi-ways, high winds, no winds, whatever, I just want to GL up here. Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

You can find me these days in the Bay Area (opening soon) Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

I'd been an instructor at Perris since it had opened, and about a year had gone by. On a random Vegas trip with some mutual friends JTVal was nice enough to let some of us crash with him. We had the obligitory "so you work in a tunnel, eh?" conversation and he was a total tunnel noob. I smiled, talked a little shop, and we moved on to local fun stuff. He sounds like a guy who knows through experience more about tunnels now, and that is the only way anyone can make a decision about how relevant flying in slow air is. Personally, I consider myself a much more technical flyer than someone who only flies in fast air thanks to my time at Perris. My range of flight is much greater because of it. Spend some time in some slow air at any tunnel (the fast ones can be slowed down and the instructor has no problem accomadating you) and you actually start to learn your body. Don't expect for the same positions to work in faster air, but the elements that make them up are still there. If you try to sitfly at 200 mph you can't dock the same way you do at 150mph or at 130mph. But can you dock at all these speeds. Do you even know what similarities there are between the methods? You would if you'd taken the time to learn instead of insisting that there is only one true form that everyone must adhere to (but that's not what freeflying is all about, is it?) Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

I heard they were interviewing for instructors Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

no, it is not safe to assume it will be under powered. There is no question that it'll be just fine. a 12 foot recirculating with 1000hp doesn't even use all it's power, so smaller with 800hp sounds plenty capable. Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

no Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

Let's play a little numbers game. A conservative one based on the 6 million people within a half hour's driving radius from the tunnel in the bay area going up. Pretend only 10% of the people are going to try it. That's 600,000 customers. Let's say it only operates for an average of 8 hours of first time flyer business a day. One class every half hour with only 10 people per class (it's a guestimated average since weekends fill up with the full 12 or 13 per class and week days will have some slower, smaller classes). That's 160 people a day. 600,000 / 160 = 3750 days or a little more than 10 years to get through all that business. Even if 5% go through that is still 5 years of continuous business. All living within 30 minutes of the tunnel. Then you figure that populations change, people come in and out of town, repeat business like Colorado's Leagues, and the meat and potatoes of local skydivers who buy 15 minutes to a couple hours a day for camps. That's not even tapping into the tourists that heavily. There's practically an endless source of business when you build near or in a big city. I think the big tunnels will have to compete for camps (because bigger = better is a simple marketting ploy), and everyone will have to compete for a good coaching population (these guys really do the selling for you when it comes to skydivers), but local population will always be changing and there will always be curious folks who want to try something new. Tunnel saturation? Is it even possible? All I see is more options and variety for skydivers and an industry that can be self sustaining without us jumpers which means that it'll still be there for us even when we cut back on our check books for a few months at a time. How much more could we ask for? Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

If you can hold out a little longer, SV Silicon Valley is a 10-15 minute drive south from OAK

who won??? --- oops, wrong weekend----- Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

I did too! And I'm a thousand miles from CO! I wonder if they'll hook me up next week? Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

Wayyyy too many considerations, for example (but not limited to): Most time standing on the net Most time hopping from door to door Most time with feet in the door and hands in the wind Most time holding onto someone as they try to track into a wall Most time blah blah blah I guess the point is, logging tunnel time is difficult for anyone who might be in contention for this award. It'll be an instructor at a tunnel that's been working for a good part of their life. It'll be thousands of hours of flight time (personal and trianing), tens of thousands of instructing time (if not more), and the cummulation of every bit from a third of a second to continuous hours. I think the most fun question would have to be... HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE YOU PERSONALLY SPENT ON TUNNEL TIME IN YOUR LIFE? [just organizing time doesn't count, the money had to come out of your pocket, account, or some other nondescript location] Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

What was it that gave you this impression? SkyVenture is fairly simple in it's rules regaurdless of the facility or it's location: capable of controlled body flight (hold a heading, controlled motion and turns in place) before attempting to fly with another person. Age doesn't matter. There may be fallrate issues, but I've personally flown a larger suit just to do 2-ways with a 9 year old. At Perris there is a kids club that has had kids 11 and 13 flying two ways, we have kids in their teens who have enough control in their sitfly to not only fly with their parents, but their brothers and sisters as well. In Eloy, I've seen two girls well under 10 years old flying verticals and cats and turning compressed formations. So, through experience, I can say that some of my favorite flyers at Perris are kids, and we've never compromised safety in their developement. Perris may only be a couple years old, but we have plenty of experience here and flyers of all ages on a daily basis who continue to blow my mind with their potential.

Amy and Skydive AZ put on a fun competition. From everyone who participated from Perris, thank you!

The SV design can be affected by outside air in non-recirc ones, but it comes across as turbulence and it takes 30+mph crosswind at the intake before most tunnel rats (sensitive to thier environment as they are) can even notice it. The bobbing up and down is caused by a completely different event (one that newer generation SV tunnels have just about cleaned up and is easily worked around at the older versions if you understand what is causing it). Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

Aerodynamically there is no difference where you place the fan with regaurds to what produces your lift. Either way, the air is rushing up past you, which is what lifts you. However, on the "up" side of the fan, the air is not always as clean because of turbulence caused by the fan blades. So, although the forces are no different, a fan up top creating that flow has the potential to create a more realitic freefall envinonment (because in freefall there is nothing to create bumpy air except your buddy). Many horizontal wind tunnels place the "fan" after the test chamber for the quality of air it produces. The ones that don't typically don't use fans at all, but rather fill up a resevior of high pressure air and then release it into the flight chamber (a blow down tunnel). These are short test periods, but very high speed when enough presure has been built up. A fan placed far enough ahead of the flight chamber has the potential to produce equally clean air as an upper mounted fan, but I don't have any practical experience with those models (just some basic theoretical). In the end I'd recommend not thinking about any of this and just flying your body, you can convince yourself that you feel anything regardless of the actual physics involved. It's been proven that you can learn in a wide variety of environments so have a good time.

Can I start a baseless rumor that Bling will be organizing in Perris that weekend, or is that just wishful thinking? Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

group 2 Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words