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Swimming
- Thread starter WannaBEaP3gal
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They work you up during API from nothing at the beginning to the mile swim at the end, you get all sorts of practice treading, etc, They'll get you where you need to be, you shouldn't worry too much about it beforehand
smellyjelly
Registered User
as far as the mile, some people did the freestyle for most of their laps. my advice is: if you don't plan on breaking the record, don't bother wasting your energy. Another point, too....you are allowed to wear a t-shirt under the flight suit, and goggles. I didn't wear a t-shirt, and I was fine. However, I didn't try out my goggles before the mile and I ended up chucking them after lap 3 or so. Try out your goggles before the mile.
When you do the tread and float, you have to do 2 minutes of treading, followed by 3 minutes of prone float. When you do the prone float, you have to do it face down. They don't let you do it face up.
When you do the tread and float, you have to do 2 minutes of treading, followed by 3 minutes of prone float. When you do the prone float, you have to do it face down. They don't let you do it face up.
luscombepilot
Airport Bum
What is the record? Just something to aim for
smellyjelly
Registered User
i think that the record is like 26:45....pretty damn fast if you ask me. the fastest one in my class finished in like 40 something, and they were doing the freestyle the whole time. i thought that i was going extremely slow, and i finished in just over 60. time is not a factor. And if you are going slow, the counter will tell you.
The problem with swimming free the whole time is that your sleeves will start to twist around your arms, getting tighter and tighter with each stroke. That, and it's really hard to get going fast because even at a 40min pace you'll spend a lot of time passing people. Just don't be the guy who lubes themselves up with vaseline.
smellyjelly
Registered User
just the flightsuit. i think that the t-shirt thing is a personal preference. i would say if you plan on just doing the breaststroke, don't bother. you will get practice before the mile, so see if the flightsuit bothers you or not.
Prashant Patel
Registered User
I'm a decent swimmer after practicing for the last year and a half but I'm still crappy at holding my breath underwater. It seems silly, but maybe I'm just over-exerting or not breathing air in and out correctly, I dunno. Anyone got any pointers (besides practice) ?
sc_hokie
Mudhen WSO
Hey there, new to the forum. I did API about 2 years ago, so take this for what's it's worth.
The swimming is all mental. I suck at swimming, and I had no problems.
The longest I ever had to hold my breath was about 30 seconds, and that's just because of some numbnuts in front of me in the dunker. Watching people do the dunker before me was pretty scary, but once I did it I thought it was a blast. That was my favorite part of water survival.
The prone float sucked, but that's just because your heart rate is high from treading water.
About the only time the instructors were picky on technique was for the strokes test, and even that was pretty easy.
As other people have said, the key is to pay attention to the instructors, stay calm, and have fun. API is the easiest part of flight training, so don't worry too much. It's more an issue of not know what to expect. But just remember that if I can do it, so can anyone reading this post.
The swimming is all mental. I suck at swimming, and I had no problems.
The longest I ever had to hold my breath was about 30 seconds, and that's just because of some numbnuts in front of me in the dunker. Watching people do the dunker before me was pretty scary, but once I did it I thought it was a blast. That was my favorite part of water survival.
The prone float sucked, but that's just because your heart rate is high from treading water.
About the only time the instructors were picky on technique was for the strokes test, and even that was pretty easy.
As other people have said, the key is to pay attention to the instructors, stay calm, and have fun. API is the easiest part of flight training, so don't worry too much. It's more an issue of not know what to expect. But just remember that if I can do it, so can anyone reading this post.
I did the mile swim 2 weeks ago, it was much easier than I thought. Once you get going you forget all about the time and just swim. I was shooting for an hour, but finished in 50 minutes. No need for any tshirts, just make sure your flightsuit fits.
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