It's been great being back in the MK tunnel. There is just something a little Retro about it, it's what I've come to know and love. I guess it's not just the tunnel though it's everyone at the tunnel too. I'm always made to feel so welcome there, I'm not sure if that's just because I take them cake though!
Each week that I fly I feel a little more progression, it may not always be a lot, but every little bit helps. I'm still working on my sit flying, getting stronger each time, which is great. I'm still struggling with using my legs though. I seem to lock them in a position where I'm flying and that is where they stay!
As it's half term this week we opted for a couple of nice early flight on Tuesday morning, 10am and 11am, OK that doesn't sound too early but when you live 100 miles away that makes for a bright start. Early mornings are nothing new to me so when the alarm went off at 6.30am I was up and out the door! I thought leaving at this time I would hopefully miss alot of the rush hour traffic... WRONG! I caught a little bit getting out of the Forest and into Gloucester but nothing major, it was when I got to Oxford I got stuck! Flippin'eck! I used to think Gloucester was bad for traffic until I saw this. Needless to say I didn't get to Airkix when I was supposed to, I did make it in time for my first flight though... just! Thankfully Paul had the kettle on for a quick cuppa, I was parched!
In the 20 minutes I had in the tunnel, everything seemed to finally becoming together (well making progress anyway!) My back fly is alot more controlled than it has been, even when the wind got turned up. The sit fly is making small progressions each week, carving is coming along, I just need to avoid the doors! Even when I bail onto my back I can now get back into a sit without too much trouble and finally I can do the back to belly, belly to back transitions. These have been causing me jip for far too long now! All in all a good session this week.
Paul mentioned he was on holiday next week and suggested I just book up some flight night sessions to practice what we've been learning and we'd sort out coaching again the following week.
I'm booked in for 10 minutes of flight night on Tuesday...
Yesterday I got a phone call, it was Paul, he was ringing with news that I really wasn't expecting, he has himself a new job, closer to his daughter. I had never really thought about what would happen if Paul left and I was shocked by the news. When he rang he had already looked at different coaches and prices for me and let me know all my options. I wish him every bit of luck with his new job and hope he enjoys the additional time he can spend with his daughter. I can't thank him enough for all his help.
I know it's been a while since my last update, did you think I'd given up the blog, or maybe given up flying all together?!?
Well the truth be known I've been a little too busy flying and working to update the blog. Today though I've found my self with an evening to spare though so thought I would get typing!
My sit flying is still coming along great, now that I have the general position and balance it's just finding the right amount of leg and back to stay in the air. I still find myself drifting back down to the net, so this needs a little work.
We've also been working on my belly to back transitions, I tend to throw my self into doing them rather than letting the wind turn me over. Paul suggested breaking them down into three stages, for belly to back - belly, sit, back and for back to belly - back, sit, belly. With the wind low and close to the net I've been practicing this and it makes far more sense to me now. Hopefully when the wind gets turned up a little more again I can carry on doing the transition in 3 stages.
A few months ago while on the Airkix Facebook page I got chatting to a young lady called Tanya. It turned out Tanya was a regular flyer at the Manchester tunnel and was at a very similar stage in her flying as I was. We were tunnel twins! After lots of talking we decided to meet up and try flying together! This weekend saw this trip happen, I headed to Manchester to try out their tunnel. Tanya put me up for the weekend which was just brilliant, I can't thank her enough!
I headed up on Saturday afternoon and we spent the afternoon adding bling to Tanya's suit, we already knew we had matching suits, mine black with purple stars and Tanya's black with pink stars and of course the bling!
We headed to the tunnel in the evening where we were met by Mikie. Tanya had arranged for him to help us with our flying. Out came the white board and we decided what we were going to do in each rotation.
I shall let the photos and the videos do the talking for a little bit...
Showing off our suits!
My first ever flight in the Manchester tunnel -
Mine and Tanya's first flight together -
Our second flight together -
Me sit flying at Manchester -
Our third flight together -
Our last flight together -
My last flight at Manchester, more sit fly -
Think the smiles on our faces say it all in this photo -
Thanks again Tanya (and family) and Mikie for a great weekend!
I've disappointed the staff at MK this week as I'm not flying so they're missing out on cake! But I'll be back in my home tunnel next week to improve on everything and I have next weeks cakes already planned! I can't wait!
My first blog entry of 2011, where has the time gone?!?
I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year and hope this year is good to you all!
Christmas was spent at home with the family of course I ate too much, I'm paying for that now though! I was pleased with my gifts though as I got a Gath helmet for use in the tunnel (I couldn't wait to try this out, think the parents thought I was mad sitting here in my chair with it on my head!) They also got my a jokey present of a Bratz Doll, but not just any Bratz Doll, a skydiving Bratz Doll, how cool! On top of that was a Wii fit, which has been great, the weather has been to cold to go out on the Gym so this has been a god send and I feel great for using it every day!
That's all the Christmas stuff out the way so lets get back to flying...
I missed flying over the festive period, it was very strange not making the weekly pilgrimage to MK, but some how I survived!
Tuesday saw me return to the tunnel for the first time in 3 weeks, I guess the break was going to have worked one of two ways. I was either going to be extremely rusty and have to recap lots to get back into the swing of things or I was going to jump back in the tunnel having spent the time off thinking about how to improve and be a little better/stronger.
I made good time on the journey up, think this may have something to do with the fact that the schools were still on holiday so there wasn't quite as much traffic. It was great to be making the trip again, I was going to fly! I couldn't believe how quiet it was when I got there though, the car park was relatively empty there was no one in the tunnel when I was waiting for Paul and no one waiting either, very very quiet.
It wasn't long before Paul appeared and after talking about Christmas and New Year we started discussing my flying. I had an aim for this session but if I didn't succeed it wasn't a major issue but I wanted to. Paul suggested we mix it up a bit with rotations of back flying and attempting sit flying, just so I could give my shoulders and my mind a rest!
There was just time for a quick cuppa before the first session. I was going to be the only flyer in the session but we were then joined by Team Euphoria. This worked quite well as it meant we had some rotations and I got to watch in envy of their skills!
This first session saw me do 6 minutes of back fly and 4 of sit fly. While doing back fly we were working on my turns and side slides (which I failed miserably at last time I flew!) Thankfully my co-ordination was much better this time and I began to get the hang of it. It still wasn't perfect, but it was a lot better than before. The sit flying saw me bouncing, trying to find my balance and get some lift, again this was much better than before! Maybe the break was proving to have done me good!
I came out of this session feeling very pleased, pleased I wasn't rusty after the break and pleased I had made a little more progress!
Time to put the kettle back on and have a little rest before flight night. While I drank my tea Paul went to have a chat with the other flight night fliers and I was amazed to find out there was only one other, why was it so quiet? Once I drank my tea I sat on one of the benches watching the live action TV screen, I do like watching and learning from other people.
Before long it was time to go back up to the tunnel. We had opted to split my time, 2 minutes, 2 minutes and a minute. Two minutes of back fly, 2 minutes of sit fly and 1 of belly flying. The sit flying was getting stronger and stronger, surely I could fly next time? The side slides on my back were getting better as well, no so many co-ordination issues! Some fun was had with the belly flying too, Paul got the speed turned up so I could try going higher in the tunnel. It started low and slowly got increased, I increased my arch to stay low and then you reach a point where you can't arch any further and you head upwards. I seemed to reach a point though where I couldn't go any higher, think I need to work on de-arching a bit more to get a little more lift. It was cool to go a little higher though!
Back downstairs and the kettle goes on again, this time accompanied by a mince pie, probably the last one before next Christmas. I suggested it my turn to make brownies for next week, I got a unanimous yes from the staff, so guess who's going to be baking on Monday night!
We were supposed to be flying at 9 but as the tunnel was empty again we opted to go up a little bit earlier and make a start. After the first 2 rotations (with myself) Joels group appeared on the other side of the tunnel. We thought it would be a good idea if Joel and his group joined us so we had some rotations, so they stopped the tunnel and let them in.
The last 3 rotations were 2 of sit and 1 of back. With the back I had to try and stay on my side of the tunnel, with Paul on the other side and mirror him by going up and down. To begin with I managed to stay put but it wasn't long before I had turned and my feet were facing him, I'd turn back and would be fine and then I'd end up turned back again! Little but more work required!
As for sit, things really started to fall into place and I finally found my balance and confidence to fly! This is what I had been aiming for for weeks and finally I had it! What a way to finish the evening and to put my total tunnel time up to 3 hours! I must of looked like the cat that got the cream!
Thanks to Paul for helping me so much! I still have a lot to learn but hopefully this is a step in the right direction!
What a FANTASTIC first flight of 2011! Let's hope it's the first of many more to come!
I'm booked in for more flying Tuesday and the following Tuesday and I've also booked my first flight at the end of the month at the Manchester tunnel with my tunnel twin, Tanya!
I'll be sure to update you all after next weeks flight!
