wan2doit soon 2 B done did it

[wan2doit 6]

Well I will finally get to IFly Orlando on Mar 16 at noon. I have also convinced 2 sisters,3 brothers in law (all of us well over 60) and one niece from 4 different states to also risk becoming addicted. Couldn't convince the wife though. LOL
Personally it wouldn't bother me if some local tunnel experts looked us up to give my relatives a bit of confidence. I'll be the skinny old guy with gray hair. I have been looking forward to this since registering here back in Aug 2013 and can't wait. I am hoping to become a semi regular so as to become good at flying in a tunnel (e.g. tunnel rat).
? - Does tunnel flying remove the whuffo status? LOL

[mattjw916 2]

Quote

Does tunnel flying remove the whuffo status?

Nope

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[wan2doit 6]

I was afraid of that. LOL

[jumpsalot-2 3]

Sneak out by yourself .... shhhhh .....and get a tandem jump first. Don't drag, or even ask, your friends or family to come with you. Sneak out for yourself (it's your dream). No more Wuffo. Then become a tunnel rat. Have fun.

Life is short ... jump often.

[wan2doit 6]

Ha Ha - Believe it or not 2 friends have already offered to fund my 1st tandem just to see me do it since this type stuff is about all I have been talking about 7 months. In fact one wants to do it when I do. This 65+ is seriously considering it. Can't sneak out this trip though too many family things to be done. This whuffo hears you!

[smertzen 0]

It's your dream, you have been rambling about it for months, AND you have external funding in place. Excuse me, sir, but what the *beeep* are you waiting for?

[wan2doit 6]

What can I say - I'm a procrastinator.

I look to the tunnel as a preview of the freefall experience and have spent the rambling period to get myself into much better physical condition as preparation for the tunnel and tandem.

Plus back in the late 1960's got scared off this by seeing a jumper before me and my friend were to jump nearly hit a power line and broke his leg by landing in a ditch. That caused me not to do the $10.00 static line jump. Then my friend did it and had the main and reserve both pop out due to him pulling the reserve handle instead of the dummy ripcord he was supposed to pull.

Bottom line - I'm looking real deep into this rabbit hole before I jump in.

[stayhigh 2]

I'd say get good at flying in tunnel first, get good enough to share time.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[wan2doit 6]

stayhigh

I understand the 1st part but what is referenced by the "get good enough to share time" ?

Is there time sharing in tunnel time?

Does one have to attain a certain level of proficiency prior to "sharing time" being available?

Thanks

[ianyapxw 0]

Yes, it exists. Basically you have to be a competent belly flyer so that you don't end up crashing into others but once you're competent you can have 2, 3, 4 etc... people in the tunnel.

Do formations, a routine, your own stuff in half the space, up to you.

[corpkid 0]

The tunnel is a lot of fun. It will give you the basics of freefall but OVER doing it led to me getting tunnel legs on my first solo jump (basically I can fly in the tunnel with crappy form and have fun now but put a 20lb+ student chute on me and that don't fly so well - literally - legs were almost on my butt! ) Either way - enjoy the tunnel, and yeah - get decent at it (RELAX is key) and then share time and blocks with me! I'm there all the time. . It's much cheaper (but still very expensive) that way.

[wan2doit 6]

Well Did It Now - Happily Hooked for sure.

What a great bunch of folks working there - So Helpful - Much thanks to Curtiss, Gabe, Kylie and Benji

1st minute was real good - got somewhat stable and dearched and ascended then came down pretty much on my own I think - hard to tell sometimes.

2nd minute turning was more challenging - said hello to the wall. LOL

Went back the next day w/o the family for 3 - 1:20 flights. For some reason it was much tougher to do what I wanted to do - mainly belly fly and work on stability. Alot seemed to go wrong - couldn't get much above the mat even by dearching a lot.. Then when I reviewed the video I saw I did finally rise when the instructor gave the signal for more air. Then I felt better. I also learned what it is like to have air knock your feet out from under you - not as bad as I thought but my instructor was there to save me. Ha Ha All in all both days were fantastic and can't wait to return.

I had imagined the flying part would be the highlight of it all but I was surprised at how much I loved feeling the immense volume of air flowing all around me. It was as if it was a semi solid invisible force that I could drop into and ascend from. I don't really even know how to put it into words except that I want more of it. LOL

Anyway - 1 Question - Can a whuffo possible future tunnel rat participate in an iFly Orlando tunnel camp if they are still a whuffo?

Fingers Crossed

[FlyingRhubarb 0]

I'm a whuffo tunnel rat who attended an Orlando tunnel camp. It's lots of fun and they will take good care of you. Go for it!

[corpkid 0]

You certainly can participate! You should think about spending about 10 more minutes in there and then getting a private coaching session for 15 minutes. It's a little pricey but you'll walk out quite proficient on your belly most likely. Also be on the lookout for deals from iFly - like them on Facebook. They often have "last minute" deals where you can score 1/2 price time or the like. I go up to LiquidSky saturday to get fitted for my very own tunnel suit fitted - THAT'S how much I love the tunnel. So glad you enjoyed it! Wait till you do it when it's cold out - the wind gets "thick" and it's a whole 'nother experience....(albeit a pretty cold one!)

And if it's raining - Oh just you wait for that moment. Dove in there not realizing it was raining (hard) once and thought little pebbles were being sucked up into the tunnel and right into my face at 120mph. I did that twice before getting a full face helmet. :)