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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 31/01/2007 15:55:02
Posts: 139, Visits: 348 |
| | Some folks will tell you that Flyaway Pigeon Forge is the worst tunnel for training. It's hot, it's slow, you gotta wear big suits, etc. I think they are wrong! A great many of tunnelrats have come out of the Flyaway tunnel in Pigeon Forge.. most of us owe a great deal of our expertise to this particular tunnel. There is something to be said about learning to fly in slow air... imagine this scenario... your building a house, you have no power tools.. so you hammer away relentlessly
then one day your building another house but you have been given power tools, pop pop pop and your done I think it's the same. Learning this way, in a more difficult environment, prepared me for ANYTHING. Basically if you can fly well at this tunnel, you can fly anywhere! Although the positions and techniques are different than a high speed tunnel, the skill set is the same and a great deal can be learned. If flyaway is an option for you, don't discount it, it's a great place and the staff are there because they love it! Many of them have been there longer than 5 years and in fact most of the staff has been there longer. They care about what they do and that's very important. The low speed has benefits, especially when learning new things, you can rely on yourself more than the airspeed to make things happen. This is important to note.. high airspeeds make you fly easier for sure, struggling for speed can give you a good amount of respect for it and makes learning to do things easier in that you don't get slung around as easy when you mess up. Being able to fly a good range of speeds is very important to me, as I really enjoy flying with 80 pound kids without adding more suit! Flying in groups at Flyaway is a challenge as well, but we've done it for years, 3 and 4 at a time! Anything you want to do, you can do at Flyaway for sure! Visit, have a great time, experience the HISTORY of the sport and where it started! It's SO worth it! It DOES get hot in there,(can't argue with that) always best to be there first thing at opening... the cool air feels so good! You have about 30 minutes before the tunnel gets too hot.. take it and then come back tomorrow If you go, give us a shout, we'll come play with you! We live equidistant from AAC as we do Flyaway PF
Dawn Suiter
Bodyflight Network Vertical Wind Tunnels Worldwide
www.bodyflight.net
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| | | Forum Guru
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| I second that! If you really love this sport, like any other you should start to know where it came from. If it wasn't for Flyaway, I seriously doubt, OK No I will say It, I KNOW bodyfying would not at all be where it is today. People were flying in Pigeon Forge in the mid 1980's holding headdown. Really, Really holding it. In one spot, just like "today's standards" I have video to prove it. What if Flyaway was never built? It would've never given people like Mike Michigan, Gus Wing, Norman Kent, Olav Zipser ( and I could go on) a place to practice, and further the skydiving sport. Each one of them made huge innovations in Flyaway Pigeon Forge learning from kids that just loved to teach, and fly nothing else. Without Flyaway maybe, just maybe Bill Kitchen would've never thought to try and do it better, and there would be no Skyventure Orlando, which would mean oh my god, no Skyventures at all. Maybe even no VWTs for bodyflyers at all!!!!!!! So thank you Mr wind tunnnel designer Jean St. Germain, for selling your patent, and giving us something to talk about today! Thank you Flyaway for shaping our sport.
Shane Tully
WindWorX Productions
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The Boss
Group: Administrators
Last Login: 23/10/2007 12:58:29
Posts: 115, Visits: 547 |
| Dawn .. Shane ..
This is really interesting stuff, thanks for posting that. On my next visit to the states I think I am going to visit every single tunnel and am looking forward to going here. IS this place still popular .. what I mean is .. are there plenty of people flying here and if so are they predominantly tourists and locals tunnelrats? Just trying to get a feel for the type of place this has grown in to ..
J |
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| J,
No problem, if you ever want to know about the history part of our sport,please ask. I'm a bodyflight history buff I guess you could say.
Plenty of people still fly at both Flyaway facilities. Now they are primarily for the tourist market in both locations. I know for a fact though that a bunch of my tunnel rat friends locals in Pigeon Forge/Vegas or not who have been flying for most of their lives ALL still frequent the flyaway wind tunnels at some point throughout the year if not on a regular basis. They are for many of us "Home". I love both of the Flyaway's they are such an awesome part of the sport's history!
Shane Tully
WindWorX Productions
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 19/04/2007 11:40:32
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| Great post Shane! Thanks for the history, that's good stuff. I've only spent a few min. in Piegon Forge but I love Flyaway Las Vegas and had a great time in TN. I'd be so sad if there were no tunnels, esp. no SVO. Whooooooooo to Pigeon Forge for starting it up and getting it going.
It was great to fly with you last night, I hope you had a good time  Thank you so much for coming. I was hoping for a better turn out but hey more free time for those of us who came
~*~Spread Your Love & Fly~*~
Paige Rudolph |
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Supreme Being
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 09/04/2007 21:16:23
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| | Hi Dawn, I'll add one caveat to your "you can do anything in PF". Some of us lard asses can't do stalls without killing ourselves. But I do love the place. It looks like I'll miss my annual visit this year (sniff) - my collarbone is not healed up enough.
Regards,
Rusty |
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