After my last set of jumps July 5th, I began thinking of what I needed to do to work on my “lazy leg” issue. Basically, that’s what folks call it when you are not keeping your legs extended with a slight curve at the knees. I did some practice at home best I could, but it just doesn’t reflect the environment this really needs to happen in.

So I decided to take a trip over the the IFLY wind tunnel over in Frisco. I think some skydivers have varying opinions on wind tunnels; it is place to practice, but also a place to pick up bad habits if you aren’t instructed by someone who knows skydiving too.

After I first arrived, checked in, and went upstairs, I just sat down and watched the session that was going on. The first question I had for myself was… am I too tall for this ride?

Talking to skydivers who were doing wind tunnels 10 years ago, today they (wind tunnels) have become more of a entertainment item. You have to look at it from the perspective that making it a more common experience (beyond training for skydivers) results in more wind tunnels and makes them accessible. The skydiver I talked with that had done this 10 years ago had to go to Arizona for wind tunnel time. I just had to hit the tollway and head over to Frisco.

We ended up with a group of 12 “flyers” for our wind tunnel session. We lined up on a bench outside the wind tunnel and waited our turn. We each got 2 turns, with most people getting 1 minute turns. I had 2 minute turns because I had paid for a total of 4 minutes. The wind tunnel instructor I ended up with (Tyler, who is also a skydiver) was excellent. He tailored my session towards working on my form/techniques over a “fun” time.

It is a bit weird leaning out of the door into the wind tunnel to enter a horizontal position, in a split second you have completely changed your orientation to ground. There are a couple of big differences between the air tunnel and the real thing. One, you don’t have the adrenaline from the ride up and getting ready to step out. This does keep you more calm so you can work on technique in the tunnel. There is also the obvious “safety net” of the fact you aren’t heading towards terra at 120 MPH. You do, however, need to stay aware of the walls. When in free fall, you aren’t going to bump into anything (other than another jumper if both of you aren’t paying attention) if you drift one way or the other.  You honestly don’t really even notice it (not at my level anyway). But in the tunnel, you are very aware of the walls around you. It didn’t take long for me to find one of the walls. As soon as I bumped it, I got loose with my legs.

My legs are what I was really there to work on. I felt I had done a lot better in the wind tunnel form wise, but watching the video after the fact, I saw that I still have a good bit to work on. Jasmine pointed out that anytime I get uncomfortable, like when the instructor grabbed me to move me to the door at the end of the first session,  I start “swimming”. My legs get loose, I start kicking, etc. If you watch the video of my first attempt at dive flow 2, you see the same thing. When the wind kicked me around, I started kicking. I guess that is a natural psychological response. I’ve spent 43 years using my legs as my primary tool to change my position, move, etc in respect to the earth. Now in flight, they are just one piece of the puzzle. I know I’ll get there, but it will take some worth to change those years of habits.

My second session, Tyler worked on some movement items with me. He was teaching me how to change my body position to move forward and backwards. Of course, I’m still doing those motions quick and jerky, rather than slow and fluid. It does make a difference. Check. Something else to work on.

I waited until everyone else had returned their gear and spent some time talking to Tyler afterwards. One thing about this sport I like is that there are a lot of friendly people involved. Sure, there are some curmudgeons, like there are in any thing you do or anywhere you visit. But overall, I still feel like fellow skydivers have a different take on life and their outer self reflects that.

Tyler also does private instruction, and it is $2 more per minute that regular, and you have the wind tunnel to yourself. I will be doing that in the future. I just have to figure out how to mix that in my already hectic schedule that I’m trying to fit in. I think it is worth the extra practice, especially once I start getting to jumps where I am doing “gymnastics” in free fall. I’ve got to do barrel rolls, front flips, and back flips before I can graduate. I think practicing those in the tunnel will pay off and help increase my chances of getting right the first time. And wind tunnel time is way cheaper than what it costs for a minute of free fall when jumping out of a plane. Speaking of, I’m sitting here at Skydive Spaceland Dallas, playing the waiting game with the wind.

Here’s my videos from the wind tunnel. Definitely worth doing.