1st, please understand that my words are from that of a complete novice and someone who will use the tunnel as "someone just learning".
A - Welcome to the sport.
I live in Ontario, merely 6 hrs from the Niagara tunnel.
A - 6 Hours!!!! Where are you?
I'm going to NH tunnel with my coach (he has been skydiving a long time, his licence # is D472 and he is a world record holder so I trust his opinion and experience).
A- Good.
He told me directly that the tunnel in Niagara is not good for skydivers.
A- I disagree. If you can keep arching and stay in this column of air, there is nothing that can harm you in learning here. You will be arching, doing practice pulls, learning levels control and even recovering from instability.
It would have been better stated if your mentor said to you that SVN or others may offer MORE airspeed, but the air in Niagara IS CLEAN and it definitely is a great tool for learning.
To me it is critical there is clean air, air flow is consistent and simulates FF as close as possible.
A - DONE
Being complete novice, if I was to go into a tunnel such as the one in Niagara, I would be fooled by that experience and my AFF free fall will certainly be nothing like that tunnel experience.
A - How can you be 'fooled'?
I don't understand. Please re-read my previous response to your previous statement.
As a side note, which Canadian skydive centers offer AFF (instead of PFF) that are 6 hours from Niagara?
I would stretch to guess that going into a tunnel which does not give me a free fall experience as close as the real thing would be potentially dangerous. For I would not be prepared for "the real thing".
A- WOW! How can this be dangerous to a learning skydiver. Do you follow your instructors suggestions? Well don't fly outside of your capabilities and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS and you'll live the 'real thing'.
(Side thought. When has tunnel flying ever been the "Real Thing"? I thought that all of the world champion tunnel flyers were still mastering the ability to fly. Many have never made a skydive.)
Once I have been diving for a while, I'm sure I would not even think of the Niagara tunnel as an option...
A- WOW. I have 5200 skydives, 64 hours of freefall and a good amount of time in SVO, and I still appreciate my time in this tunnel.
We are always learning.
sorry for the long winded approach,
but what i really wanted to get across that ESPECIALLY a beginner should be learning in the most optimum conditions... skydiving is not forgiving for too many 'oops" moments..
Well, the parachute is what gets you to the ground.
I hope it opens for you and I hope that your coach is teaching you more about canopy control than freefall.
You surely have been taught this saying by your coach....
"Minds are like parachutes. They work better when they're open.
Mike X
allaxis.ca
