Last weekend (or, how Kate, Dominic and I got deeper in debt)

[billvon 2,470]

So there I was on Thursday, planning for our barbeque on Friday, poking around Target looking for those big barbeque tongs. That reminded me that I hadn't called Kate yet.

"Hey Kate, we're having a barbeque tomorrow if you want to come over."

"Cool! Yeah, I'll come by after jumping. They're demoing wingsuits tomorrow at Perris."

Wingsuits eh? That might be worth a trip up there in the morning. Never jumped a wingsuit.

So Friday morning I was up at Perris, looking around for the wingsuit guy. After a short search I found Kim from Birdman under a tree with a box of wingsuits.

"Can I try one?" I asked.

"How many jumps do you have? And have you jumped a wingsuit before?" she asked me with her very cool accent.

"3300, and only camera suits. And a massive 60's wingsuit, once."

"No problem then. Here, try this one." With that she gave me a suit and gave me a 30 minute lesson on how to use it. How to attach it to the rig, how to release the wings, how to deploy. She kept saying "sorry if some of this stuff is obvious, this course is really geared towards newer jumpers." Heck, I wanted more info, not less! Her instructions for turning were odd - "I'm not going to tell you how to turn because it's easy. Just look in the direction you want to go."

"OK, but how do I look at my altimeter?"

"Just look back at it."

"Won't that turn me?"

"Not if you don't want to turn." Hmm. Sounds like a contradiction. Oh well, it's not like I'm doing anything dangerous, I suppose.

Finally it was time to try it out, so I got on a load and sat in the front of the plane - wingsuits are last out at Perris. Perris has had the bad (and good) fortune of having the first wingsuit/aircraft collision, so there is now a procedure for wingsuit flyers - exit, go east, fly around by the tip of the triangle, then come back west around pull time. I didn't know if I'd even be able to stay stable, much less go where I wanted.

The RW groups, freeflyers, and tandems exited, and it was just me left. Jim was peering at me in the mirror, waiting for me to go so he could turn right (I'd turn left - if I could control the suit at all, that is.) I exited, arms and legs tight to avoid the tail. After a second I spread them out. Three practice touches. I could find the PC, but it felt evil and wrong to only pull my hand out two feet before releasing the PC.

Then I tried spreading the wings, straightening my legs, and tracking. And lo and behold, it worked! I shot forward as if I was tracking away from a big-way with big booties on.

Now, that turn thing. I looked towards the east. Nothing happened. I tried a tracking turn, and wobbled around until I was facing east. Checked my altimeter, and I could see it without much trouble. I got onto an easterly heading and tried to fuss with my body position. I was moving pretty fast, but not much faster than my best RW track.

At 7000 feet I wobbled my way through a 180 degree turn and pointed back at the DZ. Still couldn't seem to get that much speed, although freefall was taking forever. My protrack went off at 4500 and I did the waveoff-pull thing, then waited. Opening came pretty violently, with a 180 degree rotation from head slightly down to being on my back. I took the swoop cords off out of habit before I remembered I needed those to unzip the wings. Put them back on, unzipped, and unstowed my brakes on my trusty (and oversized) Silhouette 170. I was glad I didn't have my 119 for this first flight.

After landing I talked to Kim a little about how it had gone, and she said I could take it up again. I was up again half an hour later, a lot less nervous. Exit went fine, and I turned east again. I fussed with my body position some more, and then, for just a moment, I got it. It got quiet and still and I could feel the lift beneath me. For a moment I'd come out of that permanent stall that all skydivers fly in. Then it was back to the usual shaking and noise of freefall.

After landing I was really jazzed; so that's what it's all about! I really wanted to go up again. Kate had shown up, and Kim was giving her the class. I listened in, then manifested on the same load as them. (Me, Kim, Kate, the guy from PD and Tim, another jumper trying it for the first time.) Tim and I would go out solo, and Kate, as the VIP, would go out with Kim and the PD guy. Cool.

Kate was nervous sitting in the plane, which I'd never seen before. I realized, of course, that I was seeing myself two jumps ago, having the same argument with that rational part of myself that keeps telling me I'm gonna die. Then it was time to go, and Tim got out, followed by Kate's 3-way flock. I waited 5 seconds and got out. Once I was out I turned to look for them. There they were, maybe 500 feet below me. I kept my eye on them as I flew to the east, and I could actually control my position relative to them - speeding up to overtake them, slowing down, dropping a little closer. The odd part is that I have no idea how I was doing that; it was just happening. Maybe some RW or tracking skills translate to wingsuit flying.

I decided to pull at 3500 on this one, and was heading back to the DZ when I saw Tim pull well below and ahead of me at ~5000 feet. And I had the oddest decision to make - go over or under him, or avoid him altogether? I turned right and gave him a thousand feet or so of separation before passing him and pulling.

Afterwards I was hooked. Kate was intrigued. Dominic, who had just shown up, decided _he_ had to try it too. At the barbeque that night I tried to describe what it was like to people, but had to rely on the more boring parts of the sensation - how much ground I had covered or how much I rotated on opening. I found it very hard to describe.

On Saturday I was back at Perris doing some very good 8-way with the Bonitz group. I talked to Kim some more about buying a wingsuit. She was suggesting a GTi, naturally I wanted a skyflyer.

"Suppose I buy a used Classic, and put 40-50 jumps on that; would that prepare me to fly the Skyflyer?"

"Yeah, that should work," she said. "Can you get a used one?"

"I'll have to look around," I said. I took a quick look on the DZ.com classifieds via the computer in the Bomb Shelter. One classic for a 5'8" guy, one for a 5'10" guy. I asked Kim how critical the fit was for these suits.

"An inch off is probably OK. Where did you see those suits? Dropzone.com? Yeah, that's a good place for . . . wait a minute, are you Bill von?"

I had to admit I was. Never know what's going to happen when I admit to that. Would it be followed by "you liberal greenie scum!" or by "excellent nude jump story!" ? Kim just said "Cool," and explained the sizing issues.

Dominic, meanwhile, came by wearing a wingsuit, and explained that he'd cut a deal so he could try the suit for a week or so. That dog. Between the three of us we may have just doubled the wingsuit population at Perris; if so, it won't be long before it doubles again based on people's reactions to the demo suits.

Just before our last jump, Kim stopped by again. "Hey, if you want to buy that demo, we could probably give you a good deal on it. How does $490 sound?" Given that they're around $700 new that sounded pretty good to me, actually. She went off to check with Jari, and just before I left, she gave me the suit. That was fast. I had no idea I even wanted to do it on Thursday morning, and now here I was with a slightly worn, black and red wingsuit. Yet another detour sign on the long strange trip I suppose.

On Sunday I went to Otay and made one jump on it. Terry, our pilot, is pretty deaf, but I think I managed to convey that I would go right and he'd go left after exit. I got out after the last tandem (it's nice not caring about the spot!) and headed across the lake. I got to the far side, turned around, and flew back to the DZ. I pulled around 3500, this time getting massive line twists on my 119. And, once again, I took off the swoop cords _first_. Fortunately my Safire is quite well behaved, and gave me time to screw around with the zippers and get out of the line twist. I have to work on that.

After I landed a few people asked me how it went. It went great, I said, adding that I'd gone to the far side of the lake and back. They were shocked and amazed. I wasn't; the lake is only a mile wide, and that's just over a 1:1 glide, which I can almost do in an RW suit. It did make me think about the possibilities once I get good at this stuff.

The timing is just about perfect for this; I'm going to spend three weeks on the road this summer at boogies, and I'll be able to make 40-50 jumps on this thing even with the organizing I'm going to do. It should be a fun summer.

[LouDiamond 1]

AAAHHHHHH HA! YOU LIBERAL GREENIE SCUM! I knew you couldn't be all bad Now you know what every other Birdman knows and why we do it over and over again. Welcome to the flock. I think I remember kims call to Jari about the suit now that you mention it. I took a total of 4 people on First Flights this 4th of July holiday and they all had the same WOW look afterwards. The flock at Raeford was growing every load.

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I did the waveoff-pull thing, then waited. Opening came pretty violently, with a 180 degree rotation from head slightly down to being on my back.

The usual culprit for this type of opening is you were turning or started a turn as you deployed(did you look any direction other than straight ahead and up?) and not closing your leg wing down completly or simultaniously with the arm wings. Staying symetrical is crucial especially during deplyment.

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I could actually control my position relative to them - speeding up to overtake them, slowing down, dropping a little closer. The odd part is that I have no idea how I was doing that; it was just happening. Maybe some RW or tracking skills translate to wingsuit flying.

Thats the hardest thing to get people to believe but once they learn to feel the suit it all happens almost unconsciously, you just start doing it

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I decided to pull at 3500 on this one, and was heading back to the DZ when I saw Tim pull well below and ahead of me at ~5000 feet.

Just some friendly words of advice. I, as well as Jari and skyone will tell you that you need to be pulling by 5000, especially since you only have a few flights and you already have admited to taking the thumb loops off prematurely. If something goes wrong you are going to want all the extra altitude that pulling at 5000 gives you until your post opening sequence is well ingrained and you can consistantly have everything "done" in less than a 1000 feet after pulling.....then think about taking it lower.

Simple things to improve your flights can be as simple as relaxing a little bit and letting the suit fly itself. Wobbling is usually caused by being too rigid. A slight bend in the knees, a little bit of an arch from the hips and rolling your elbows forward(like shrugging your shoulders towards your ears) all help with making it more efficent and less sketchy. Going into a slight arms back dive for a few secs and then "poping" the wings and dearching will get you MAD lift. Play with it and have fun cause thats what it ALL about. Now that you've flown you know that skydivers simply fall from the sky

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[Deuce 1]

Nice tale, you liberal greenie scum.

I haven't met anybody yet who hasn't had that reaction, so I put off flying one until I could afford to buy one. I'm looking for a used GTi my size raht now.

We should have a pretty nifty flock by the time we get to Eloy this winter.

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[billvon 2,470]

> The usual culprit for this type of opening is you were turning or
>started a turn as you deployed?

No; and it wasn't a rotation in yaw, just in pitch. No problems with off-heading openings until I jumped the smaller canopy. I may not have been keeping my legs together enough though, since I'm used to dead spidering when I open during RW.

>, as well as Jari and skyone will tell you that you need to be pulling by 5000 . . .

Sounds like a good idea. Thanks.

[Zenister 0]

wow!

i'm thinking there is some grand birdling conspiracy going on...the number of people jumping wingsuits lately is really spreading the disease..

ive got one burning a hole in my gear bag again, but with switching to new canopies lately i figure i better stick to single changes at the moment... as soon as my mirage gets repacked i'll make another birdman jump (my beer one at kapowsin) and i'll certainly be down for the NW fun to play with the flock...looks around wonders when dan will want his back...

ive only done 5 and ive been tempted to suck it lower, just for the loooong extra seconds of flight, but all the squirlly things to undo, the interesting openings i've was getting not to mention all the great advise i've gotten here and from birdpeople on the ground props to the ManBird convinced me that 5k was good idea for a while yet...

by Eloy i hope to have 50-60 birdman jumps i wonder how big the flock will be then??

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[mjosparky 3]

Bill,
I came down on Sunday to try one but could not find Kim. After reading your story I'll go nuts waiting to try one.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[PhreeZone 15]

Bill, Save yourself for at least 1 flocking jump at WFFC

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[wmw999 2,167]

You liberal greenie scum! Just what I like in people

I'm so jealous -- Chuck can confirm that I was just asking him about how close the fit has to be; I'm not nearly as common a size for used wingsuits, after all... Enjoy it.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[LouDiamond 1]

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I'm not nearly as common a size for used wingsuits, after all... Enjoy it.

Wendy, don't give up on it. I spent more time than normal trying to find a suit for each of the three women I took on their first flight course because I wanted them to know how great the experience is. Women's bodies are harder to fit than a guy since the same size man isn't as wide in some areas as women and vicea versa. I think I had those women try on every suit Jari and chuck had before we found one that fit each of them well enough that it was possible for them to fly them correctly. I had to use rubber bands one one womans booties just to be sure they didn't accidently slip off because of a few extra inches in the foot area. Her flight went fine and she was happy with the whole experience. I spoke with Jari about maybe producing a woman's cut for demo suits to accomodate say small/large women with hips and breasts bigger than a man of similar size. It's not impossible for women to get demo suits that fit but it can be a challenge in some instances, such as was the case this weekend.If you keep an eye out for used suits and try on as many as you can I'm sure you can find one that would work for first flights but once you decide to get a suit of your own it would be a good idea to have one made to your measurements. Pilotchick had her measurements taken after her first flight for purchasing a suit, thats how much she liked it.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[wmw999 2,167]

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Pilotchick had her measurements taken after her first flight for purchasing a suit, thats how much she liked it

That's what I'm scared of... I need to get work done on my house, too, and I know how the priorities'll be re-set...

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[diablopilot 2]

Welcome to the world of winged body flight!

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Between the three of us we may have just doubled the wingsuit population at Perris;

I'm back and to stay this time and brought my new S3 along, let's go flock....

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[gus 1]

Welcome to the flock dude, nice job.

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nice not caring about the spot!

I like to see how long I can wait after the last group's got out and still make it back! Never not made it yet.

Gus

OutpatientsOnline.com

[andy2 0]

wow, thats the greatest first WS flight story I've ever read. Only 188 more jumps before I start begging skyone to teach me!

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let my inspiration flow,
in token rhyme suggesting rhythm...

[diverdriver 5]

You know Bill, there are support groups and rehab for being a crack addict. You just have to take the first step and admit you have a problem. I think you've taken an important first step. Good for you!

You liberal greenie scum!

[VectorBoy 0]

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Between the three of us we may have just doubled the wingsuit population at Perris;

[usedtajump 1]

Damn Billvon, reading your wingsuit story is enough to make an old skydiver want to come out of retirement

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[dreamsville 0]

So, LGS (meaning of acronym obvious by now), I needed to say that the reason I didn't try one when I had the chance at ZHills when Colon Berry was selling them was because I was afraid I'd like it and not be able to resist, just like your experience. Then I'd get antisocial onaccounta the wing suit 'cause I'd be doing all these solos. I say that since I know almost no one that has one.

Now I'm thinking about it again because of this thread.
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I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane.

Harry, FB #4143

[katecooper 0]

Yep, darn it. Hooked into yet another aspect of this sport. Does any of it suck? I had two wonderful flights (and yes, I was nervous on the first one).

I've been measured for my suit, but am agonizing on what model to purchase. I tried, like bill, to purchase the demo I was using, but I guess my size is in higher demand than his....

long flights
k8

[VectorBoy 0]

[I was afraid I'd like it and not be able to resist, just like your experience. Then I'd get antisocial onaccounta the wing suit 'cause I'd be doing all these solos. I say that since I know almost no one that has one.

Now I'm thinking about it again because of this thread.
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