NewClearSports

I forgot to write down the website that shows your ratings ect. Like when you get signed off for HD. Thanks for your help

Yes without a doubt I would rather have natural talent then money. Money is everywhere. Talent is Rare! If you have the talent and the passion, the money will come. All those people with money and no talent will be paying you to teach them to be like you. Even though they never will be!! If you want more money then work harder. Talent is much harder to come by. Unfortunitly I don't have either, I have to work hard for my money and even harder for my flying abilities. But that is just the way I see things I guess. Everyone is different. I guess what I hate is seeing someone with amazing talent and abilities and them not realizing the potential they have with that.

Money can't buy you natural talent. I've seen guys with tons of talent but no money, and I,ve seen guys with tons of money, but no talent. I would rather have the talent then the money. However that being said, every once and a while you have someone come up that has the money and the talent and its amazing to watch how fast things take off with both, BUT then it comes down to Passion. Often these guys drop off as fast as they come up. IMO the real skygods are the ones living in a tiny little trailer at the DZ, jumping every day, packing, shooting video, doing tandems to make a living. They are often kick ass swoopers, kick ass freeflyers and they live for the sport and take the good with the bad.

So I completed my 1st hour and 15 mins. Wow what an addiction, but I can see sharing the tunnel very soon which will bring the price down alot! In sit though not Head Down for quite a while. I felt the progression was fast though. It was something like this - but keep in mind for the 1st 30 mins I had coaching from the best of the best. The instructors, instructor. (I know I got really lucky with that!!) I did 6 - 10min blocks with 2 min flights Then 1 15min block with 2 min flights 1 min - Demonstrate basic belly control 2 min - Start Backflying 8 min - Transistions from Back to Sit 10 - 40 Mins work on several sitfly skills, including carving, sideslide, frontloop, +++ 50 mins - start Head Down on the net 60 mins - learning how to "Quickly" bail to my back when I sence I,m loosing stability (Don't wait to hit the wall, but I did smack it a few times) 75 mins - Lifting off the net docked with instructor and holding for a few seconds. I would bail to back whenever unstable, then quickly come down grab the net again and start over. So overall I was very happy with the progression. Forget everything I learned in the sky and start over - NO WAY! The skills are definetly transferable! (Although keep in mind I had some hi quality coaching + 1400 Freefly jumps in the sky). Things are different though, I,m not sure why exactily, how much is physological, how much is the air and limited space. Its crazy fun. You get imediate feedback to different body positions. There is Sooooooooooooo much to learn!! If I could I would want to fly in one every day! *** Good Coaching is a must - I had a couple sessions with no coach and didn't progress much I guess by just doing it I answered my own question, but I thought I would share my experience. I,m sure everybody is different. I had my instructor tell me he had one very talented freeflier zooming around in there on his head in only 12 mins. That seems crazy, but it just goes to show anything is possible!

This new Montreal Tunnel is amazing, and the staff are so great! Its funny but the rumor going around this summer was that there were only 1 or 2 instructors that could fly on their heads, but when I was there 2 weeks ago every instructor I saw could fly on their heads and were Kick ass Flyers too. No doubt Brian is the "Best of the Best", I was lucky enough to get free coaching from him too for the 1st half an hour. Not only is he an amazing flyer, but also an amazing instructor / coach. He really knows how to teach the skill sets, and then have you put it all together to reach your goals. To me the Montreal Tunnel is : 1. The best of technology - an amazing and very powerful machine 2. Built for Skydivers with Team rooms that have a computer with video playback of 2 camera views in each room 3. The best and friendliest staff 4. good management - Things run professional, smooth and smart

Do you think the 108 way Head Down Record would of ever been possible without the invention of the verticle wind tunnel? I know at least 6 or more that were on the record and each has ALOT of tunnel time. Although I was watching some old school late 80's Flyboyz videos and those guys were amazing, even by todays standards. I,m interested in hearing others opinions. I have to admit I,m doing my 1st hour at the Montreal Tunnel this weekend because I can't help but think these days you need it to stay competitive and current. Also it's winter so for me it's either that or fly south. Look forward to hearing from you. Cheers

I had 2 in a row during a swoop comp. I decided it wasn't meant to be, so I dropped out. After the 2nd I took the time to inspect and test jump the gear in different configurations with the help of my rigger and found out it was my Pilot Chute. Not enough pull / snatch force and it was spinning and bouncing like crazy. Its amazing what a difference a good PC can make on openings. Anyway the lesson I learned that day is to Maintain your gear, and each and every time you have a mal, try and figure out why it happened. Don't ever take the attitude that - oh well shit happens - Figure out why it happened and fix it !! Investigate it! Go talk to your rigger, instructor or anyone else that you know will help to make sure you don't have a 3rd any time soon. Now it could be something with the gear, but it could be you too. Maybe get video of you at pull time on your next jump, how is your body position, how is the opening sequence. The video will tell you (or someone experienced) alot about what might be happening. Hope this helps Cheers

Thanks everyone. Well I will be going to Montreal next weekend to do an hour and see how it goes. I guess I will know better then. You don't know untill you try .. right? As for keeping expences down, its about an equal drive to Newhampshire and I think they have some discount rates. I will have to give them a call. No responce from e-mail yet. Montreal is not really offering anything right now because they are new and everyone is rushing to check it out. Montreal is 14Ft and Newhampshire is 12Ft. When you are 1st starting out, does it make any difference? How much extra would you pay for the added 2 feet? Again thanks everyone for you time in posting. It's winter here so no jumping. Just time to read these fourms and daydream. Cheers

10 hrs = over $10,000 Unless you are super rich, how could you afford to "Start as a student" I would like to fly 3-way or 4-way HD or Freefly with my friends in the new montreal tunnel from time to time, but if it's going to cost me 10 grand before I can even start than I won't bother to start at all. (I can't afford a new addiction like that) See if you can share the tunnel then it becomes affordable. $1000 / 4 = $250 each / hr. I can afford that, but that initial investment is a killer. Any other suggestions from people with a limited budget? How long typicaly to get to sit fly? Thanks

I have a question for the freefly coaches on here or others that have learned head down in the tunnel. If you are a proficient head down flyer in the sky, ie. you are stable, can fly close, down the tube, take docks ect. but have little to no tunnel experience how long would you expect to fly in the tunnel learning how to be safe before attempting head down? I have heard everything from 1/2 hour to 10 hrs? I have also heard the typical progression is belly, back, sit, then head down. I also heard that Olav broke his arm or something like that because he was allowed to go straight to head down without learning the other nessessary skills. So i am eager to get on my head in there, but I don't want to break any bones. Any info would be appreciated Thanks

What,s up with the crazy heat the tunnel produces? Is this normal? If so how do the rest of you Instructors out there deal with it? Here is the senario. Nice Spring day in Niagara Falls, maybe 65 - 70F RED BULL buys 2hrs for all the Air Raid Girls OH And talking about HOT, this was 45 of the most smoking hot girls on the planet! We have 3 Instructors on hand. I take groups 1, 4, and 7, with 7 being the last group. Group 1, no problems, group 4, starting to get hot, guessing at 100F, by the last group it was an oven in there. I'm betting it was 120 - 125F. I wasn't able to make it through my session without several stops to just get out of the heat and drink some water. By the end I felt sick, very sick. This is the next day and my sinus and throut feel burnt from the inside. So obviously, I suggested there might be a problem with the tunnel. I,ve been told it just needs to be calibrated for the warmer weather, as the unit was set up in February at sub 0 temp. Somehow I don't think that alone is going to fix this problem. I know the friction of the air creates some heat, but I don,t think this kind of heat is from that, I think the engine is getting really hot. Will calibrating it really make it run that much cooler, I guess I will have to see. This is a Flyaway style tunnel. Any input is appreciated cheers

jtval ---- I only said Vegas STYLE tunnel. I'm not talking about the one in Vegas, I,m talking about the one in Niagara Falls CANADA. It's the only one in Canada, so unless you want to cross the border it is this or nothing.

Ok, So I'm a skydiver that is working at the new Niagara Falls Tunnel. In the few weeks that we have been open, I have only seen a hand full of skydivers. Of those people I can think of only one that did more then just the 3 mins. It is the off season and I am puzzled that more skydivers aren,t taking advantage of this new toy of ours. I know it,s not a skyventure, with perfect wall to wall air, and freefly airspeed, BUT it still is ALOT of FUN! Really! Tonight I just had a 10 min play time that was a blast (no pun intended). We were bouncing off the top net, busting out rotating T's, Freek flying / Chair flying, Back flying. Little 2 way RW ect. FUN FUN FUN. For me I,m just looking at this as a whole new sport in of itself. What I know is hard for the experienced skydiver is to initally go in there and think you can bust out some bad ass moves, but then quickly realized it is alot harder then it looks. My 1st few minutes in there I sucked big time, I could hardly stay in the air and was falling out all over the place. Hey wait, I got 1250 Jumps, I was on the Canadian HD Record, Why do I suck so bad. AGAIN Remember it,s a new game, different rules. Don,t worry, you will figure it out quickly. Give it 10 mins or 15 mins. I can asure you, that you will be WOWing the Wuffo,s. Heck if you can go up / down and turn you will WOW them. So you might look silly for 3 -5 mins. Get over it! Another thing I,m hearing is "I will develop bad habbits". Again it is alot different. I personaly don,t feel it will have any negative affect to my skydiving, but I guess I can't say for sure untill Jumping season starts up again. I'm learning things I never even thought of trying in the sky, but on my next jump you can bet I,m going to be trying some of them. Anyway, I'm just looking for skydivers input or thoughts on this subject. Let me know what you think, and what your experiences are. Cheers Mike

That would be Sam from South Africa. Was your friend a jumper as well, or was he a 1st time flier?

Hey bfd. Do you remember your instructors name? Did you fly your skydiving suit or one of the tunnel suits? Glad to here you had fun! Cheers Mike

Hi All, I'm one of the new instructors for Niagara Freefall. I am a freeflyer with about 1250 jumps, Profecient in Head down, sit, stand. I was on the Canadian HD Record. I love flying this tunnel, and well I can honestly say I suck compared to the other guys with previous tunnel experience. I would also like to say, I'm not a natural talent, I had to work hard at getting good in the sky, and it is a little hard to not be able to bust out big moves in the tunnel, but I have realized it is a brand new game. The new game flying the tunnel. Here it is - You have to fly in only 12FT diameter of air, and about 20 FT of Height, and most importantly fly with a fixed "fall rate" or air speed. (In the sky we can pick wichever speed suits us) This is alot harder than you might think!!! Really. I have such a new respect for tunnel fliers. These guys are Bad Ass! They are so dialed in it will blow your mind. When your in the sky and you do a flip, you think your down the tube, but when you go in the tunnel you will quickly realize your not! One last thing I like about this tunnel, is those SOFT CUSHONS. I know without a doubt, that I would have hurt myseft big time had I been in a Skyventure. Its IS alot of FUN, You WILL LEARN alot about flying your body. Hope to see you at the tunnel! Open today (Saturday, March 8th, 08) From 2pm to 7pm. Grand opening day. Walk in's are wellcome.

Hello, It will be open any day now. Just need that last piece of paperwork to come in. Those of us that are training for instructors are skydivers for the most part, and it sounds like there will be experienced skydiver packages at a discounted rate. Hope to see you all at the tunnel soon!

Yea, right now it tops out at about 125 mph. I,d say you need 150+ to freefly in a regular freefly suit. Our trainers can do head down while carving, but definetly couldn;t hold a stable head down. Sit fly can be done with a BIG suit. The owners are already talking about some mods that can add some wind speed. How much more I'm not sure, but possibly in the near future they could have verticle flight.

We are in training now to be instructors at the brand new tunnel in Niagara Falls. It's not a skyventure, but it's still alot of fun! Should be open any day. http://www.niagarafreefall.com/

Hey Jeff, Thanks for that post. Just last night I decided to goto Eloy anyway, because most of my friends are going there and sharing Hotel, Car Rental and all that just makes sence. Well please let me know the dates for your Camps. Are you also avaliable for 1 on 1 coaching if I can't make the Camps ? Blue Skies, Mike. newclearsports@hotmail.com

OK - Here is something everyone needs to know about flying a Canopy! (This info is shared from Brian Germain's Course) Keep the Lines between you and your Canopy Tight! How do you do this? Positive G's What does this mean? Our only way to control our Canopys is by pulling on strings - Pushing on a string will do nothing. We are Puppets and Puppet Masters, Who is Who depends on how well you fly your Canopy! We must always remember this when flying. When your flying straight at full flight you are at 1G, it is your body weight keeping the strings tight, at this point you have GOOD Control, if you start a turn slowly and slowly speed it up, you will start to pull more G's, maybe say 1.5G's or even 2G's. You will now feel heavy in your harness. This is a GOOD THING because you have even better control of you Canopy. You can do some amazing radical manuvers when under High G's. Now if you stop you spin / dive and apply the brakes, you will feel much like the Canopy is Climbing and your G's might even spike higher, and this is still good, you still have good control, BUT when you release the brakes and the Canopy surges forward, you suddenly feel LIGHT in the Harness, you are now at less then 1G, maybe .7 or .5 G's. This is the DANGER ZONE. This is the time you have the least control of your Canopy. If at this moment you make a sudden directional change, your Canopy will be glad to do what you ask, but at this point you are LIGHTLY conected to the Canopy, so it is very likely that your Canopy will turn as comanded, but you will stay in place. That is untill you canopy has a chance to make a couple of revelutions, putting you into line twists, and at this point you start swinging outward creating positive G's, but your lines (Your only control) are all twisted, and you might not get out! I know this was a long post, but I felt it is important to share. Brian is really an amazing teacher, if you get a chance take his course, you will learn so much! Blue Skies Mike

I'm a Canadian looking for a good Southern DZ that will allow Swooping and possibly have a Canopy Course or Swoop Coaching Avalible during January. Any Recomendations? Thanks P.S. I was planning to goto Canadian Invasion at Eloy because I have alot of friends there, but because of there ban on Swooping I thought I should look at other options.

I did try to figure this out for myself, but my eyes are getting tired reading old posts. What containers are now offered with Skyhook? Thanks for the help. Mike

One little thing that might be causing a bit of confusion. Is the turn / dive created with a toggle input or front riser input? The differences ... If the turn was created with a toggle and then suddenly you realize "Oh Crap" I'm too low, your imediate responce should be to pull down that other toggle - untill matched with the one you already have down and then continue pulling the two together to continue to dig out so not to impact and if you get to level flight - bonus. - This senario would be 1st arresting the turn (And some dive too) then pulling out. If the turn was created with front riser and you suddenly realize "Oh crap" im too low, you should imediatly release the risers and stab both toggles. At which point you will then most likely still have to counter with opposite toggle to level your bank or stop your turn. - This senario will most likely 1st arrest the dive or decent before stopping the turn. These are also good points for practicing carving front riser turns instead of toggle turns.

Thanks guys! I got was I was after. I allways check the visual, and that has helped me a lot. It's just spooky when the alti says 500' and I go: "..umm..hell NO!" I learned something this year about regular dial altimeters. I got mine wet, and it worked ok for that weekend, then the following weekend it started to read inaccurate. I landed and it still read about 1500 ft. It would climb fairly accuratly but it was way off in freefall. (I wear 2 audibles) Anyway I took mine apart and got to see how it works.... Basicly it is a steel diaphram that pushes against an arm that is conected to a little gear-set that moves the needle relativly. When you go up in the plane the diaphram expands and moves the needle to give you the altitude, however when you are in freefall coming down it is a small amount of spring tension countering the diaphram that moves the needle back down. SO - you are much more likely to experience a problem with your alti on the decent as there is no direct link between the diaphram and the needle, it is dependent on the spring pressure to keep the lever tight against the diaphram (The true altitude detecting part of an altimeter) The fix for my alti was a couple drops of penitrating oil on the pivots, gear-sets, and coil spring - and letting if fully dry out. It now works great again. I was glad mine was SO FAR off, because I knew for sure it wasn't working, however my audibles (One of which has swoop beeps) confirmed this well before getting to my final leg. I tend to think we could all use a back-up alti of some sort, since this is a fairly important bit of data we need doing what we do! Just sharing what I learnt this summer. Blue skies Mike