Pre-requisites

In order to learn upward and downward movement while belly-flying, you first need to be able to belly-fly in a neutral body position, hold that position stable, remain on heading, and control any unwanted forward or backward movement.

Objectives

The primary objective is to be able to safely and successfully demonstrate upward and downward movements (slow fall rate and fast fall rate) while belly-flying, remaining stable, on heading and in the center of the wind tunnel throughout.

Preparation

You will start in the center of the wind tunnel, off the net, facing in a direction that does not point you toward a doorway or put a doorway behind you; this will keep you from hitting the doors during this maneuver. When signaled by your coach, you’ll first begin an upward movement. As you gain altitude in the flight chamber the speed of the airflow will gradually decrease at a specific height. Once you reach the peak of the upward movement where you can no longer gain more altitude, you will then start a downward movement and return to the initial altitude where you started. You should be stable and under control throughout both of these movements. Make sure that you use the skills you’ve already learned to maintain the correct heading and avoid flying yourself forward or backward toward the tunnel wall.

Post-flight questions / suggestions

• How did your performance match the initial objectives?
• Were you able to maintain stability throughout while moving up and down?
• What did you feel comfortable with and what can you improve on during the next session?
• Were you able to move and stop at a predetermined altitude consistently?

As you move on to learning the next skill in your progression, you can advance this skill by flying with your coach and incorporating different levels type drills.