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I think there is a wave of birds on the way that will amaze everybody. The first time I saw one I had to do it, and I've met a lot of new skydivers that feel the same. The expense keeps a lot of people out, I admit. If somebody asked me, I'd say it would cost about $15k to become a proficient WS Pilot, assuming 100 WS flights. I'm not trying to start a debate about how proficient that is, but I'm hoping to be half way decent by then. Another thing this has me wondering is how many older fliers there are. How big could a Flock over 50 be? I've met a few, and I am. Does anybody else have gray feathers, or know of any birds that do? I'm guessing not many, 10-20? But what do I know?

It all comes down to the situation, how you handle it and LUCK I agree with DSE: The better prepared you are, the luckier you are. Your story is awesome. From one lucky guy to another, all I can say is, 'Nice landing!' If you didn't get hurt, you did it right. Not to say that you did everything right getting there... Thanks for your story, and everybody that has offered advice on this subject. Mark, I thought I should never fly over jump run, even though there is a lot of vertical separation. Isn't that a rule or something? There were 2 tandems on that load but I only saw one after I opened. It was far away.

I agree that it would be better for me to fly with others, and will be happy when there are other birds at my DZ. I saw the possible risks of flying alone, and have kept my prime consideration the safety of other jumpers. I can fly a straight line and go where I want to. My flights start by following the plane, which makes a left hand dive after I get out. When I'm about ½ mile from jump run I turn left and begin my downwind leg. If I'm going too fast I'll curve it out away from the DZ. Usually this works, but since it was really windy I overshot the downwind part on this flight, even though I started it miles away from the DZ. At that point I wasn't sure what to do, although with the benefit of not flying over the ground at 100 mph, it seems obvious now to just turn around or deploy. The problem with turning around was that I make pretty wide turns and didn't want to go over the DZ, possibly endangering others, or go the other way and get stuck out there. I didn't deploy because I was having too much fun, and I'm an idiot. Well, enough making excuses for myself. My next plan is to head off for some much needed coaching. Look out Zephyrhills, here I come. I'm really looking forward to meeting more of you in person at the upcoming Zflock. But what do I know?

Very good advice, thanks But what do I know?

My FFI did stress navigation skills, and also told me that I wasn't very good at that part and needed to work on it. Maybe now I will get it, but if if I don't, it won't be because of not being taught, warned or advised. I wrote that it's not necessary to fly a WS to land off, but it sure makes it easier, and I'm going to be trying a lot harder to not do it any more. The first part of learning is admitting that I screwed up, and I know better than anybody the series of bad decisions that led to this screw up, and have become highly motivated to not do it again. Any advice regarding navigation would be great to hear, but I suspect is one of the harder things to get specific about. Your thoughts are very welcome about it anyway. But what do I know?

Oh Great another time to travel down the road of "Fantastic Numbers" but no Data to back it up! Scott C. Data from wrist mounted Alti-Track. Wingsuit jump number 18 in Tony Intro showing flare to 14 mph at +24 seconds. It thought I deployed! Crazy data? I don't know. My other WS jumps seem accurate. BTW: Jump 23: 134 seconds of flight. Hurray! But what do I know?

As a self proclaimed master of the crash landing, I agree that the right shoes can really help. I switched to a brand called Air Speed, which are made for skateboarding. These shoes have a flat bottom, and thickly padded tongue, and I really like them. I have given up my fantasy of jumping barefoot or with flip flops. Most of my landings now are not bad, and could probably be done with bare feet, but every now and then it just wouldn't work. Torn up feet = no jumps. No thanks. But what do I know?

You make very good points, and I agree that the more jumps the better able to handle those issues. I do not feel confident that I can safely fly in all situations yet, and will not try. I need clear conditions so I can see the DZ at all times. I need to be at a place I'm totally comfortable with as far as where the safe areas are for flying and deploying, or else be with someone who will keep me straight. I need to land every time without causing problems for anyone else, particularly tandems. I know I have a lot to learn, and will try and learn it while staying within my limitations. I do not expect to learn it all in 12 jumps, but then I will have 200. I will not be immune from dumb mistakes then, or if I make 10,000 more. I'll be trying real hard not to make any on every jump, just like we all do. Good luck and blue skies to everybody. But what do I know?

Really? Take a look on the prodigy from Phoenix-Fly.....very old suit, works similar. You are right, it is similar. Since the wing does attach at the waist and has a cutaway, I thought it was not as easy, but it does allow a lot of arm motion, even with the wing attached. I have heard from other fliers that it is not an easy suit to fly, but I'm sure there are differing opinions on that. The thing is that there is a lot of difference between suits, and I think that should be taken into account, along with an assessment of the prospective WS candidate's skills, experience, and training. But what do I know?

It seems pretty common now to see people in wingsuits below 200 jumps and I've heard of a few starting below 100 jumps. Hopefully these people don't start pounding it in or striking tandems. There is already a lot of discussion about jump numbers and WS, but I think that there is a new factor that deserves to be heard. The Tony Intro suit allows a faster path into wingsuits because of it's revolutionary design. I have no problem waiting to fly a more advanced suit, and do not argue with the 200 jump number for them, at least for myself. I will try and make my case with one picture. I have attached one that is me recovering from a flat spin. I did not have to release anything, I just did it. By closing the leg and putting out my hands, the suit became something other than a wingsuit. Once I got it together, I went back to flying. I was a taking a chance when I made my first flights, however, if you haven't ever done it, you will be too, and I don't care how many jumps you have. The only way to learn to fly is to jump out and do it, hopefully learning what you need to before it gets you. If you have thousands of jumps you may be a good pilot right away, or you may have a harder time than I did. If you are wearing the wrong suit, and haven't properly trained for the WS, you will be more of a hazard than I was. I am the first to admit that I have a lot to learn. My landings are still not always great, for example, but what does that have to do with WS? I need a lot of landings; I will get them after wing flights. All that is required of that portion of the dive is not hitting anything, and making a good pull. After that, it is no different than any other skydive. Again I will note that this suit allows me to reach the controls without unzipping. There is also the matter of WS instructors to think about. Obviously they sometimes think someone is ready with less than 200, so does that make them irresponsible? I say no, and that the decision should be based on more than just numbers. But what do I know?

Enjoy the now. Do a lot of skydives. Explore other disciplines. All excellent advice, and pretty much what I did after getting my license at Cal City in June. I was fortunate enough to be in Raeford for a 4-Way scramble in September, and even got a medal. That video is online too; If you see me in it you will wonder just how bad the competition was, lol, but I learned a lot and had a ton of fun. Some of my tracking dives have been more freeflying than tracking, but I hate losing the freefall time, so am not big on that discipline. I will never strap a surfboard on my feet before jumping. No, I've sampled all the skydiving I want to, and love it all, but now that I've tasted flight... I want to wear my wingsuit like my own skin and fly through the air as sure as a bird. Sure, I'll do fun jumps with my family and friends; there won't be anything preventing me from making those jumps. But when it's just me, my first choice will be streaking across the sky. Base wingsuiting is indeed the pinnacle of human endeavor. Skydiving is dangerous, let no one believe otherwise. You can do everything right and still die. If you base jump you probably will be injured or killed sooner or later. I do not approach this lightly, and am taking my time before even starting base. The fact is, I'm having too much fun with what I'm doing to risk it all on something like that, not to mention being far, far, from ready. Oh yeah, I'm out of money now too. Now that is the REAL danger of skydiving. But what do I know?

As for being patient Johan, my long range goal is to recreate a video I saw the summer of 06, and that may take a while. The video is of a guy named Max flying off a cliff in Italy. I had never even heard of wingsuits or made a skydive, but I decided then and there to do it. It will be a while yet before I'll be ready for base jumping, and I will follow the same path as I have so far: Get the best instruction, use good equipment, try and make it as easy as possible for myself, and believe it or not, be patient. You're right, 57 isn't that old, but I don't have forever, and there is still a ways to go. But what do I know?

Yuri, That is amazing. That is a fall rate of about 40 mph, which seems really good for anyone, let alone a new guy. How about some other experts weighing in on personal best hang times. Right now my sights are set on 2 minutes, which I think I'll attain within the next 10 flights. Aim low - key to my success But what do I know?

Hi Everybody. My first post. I became a skydiver so I could fly a wingsuit, and now have achieved my dream. Just shows what determination can do, because it hasn't come easy. That AFF jump I flunked is right there any time I get too cocky – thought for sure I was seconds from death. The second wingsuit flight is the same thing, but I survived it, and with 9 of them now, I'm starting to feel comfortable and have fun. No flames necessary to tell me how far I have yet to go, thanks. I'm wearing a Tony suit, Intro, which I can't say enough good about. For a beginner like me, it is a lifesaver, at least once. Jeff did his best to teach me how to fly it, but I'm an old dog, (57,) and don't catch on as quick as I used to. Any good things about my flying are his credit; my mistakes are my own. To see what I'm talking about, here is my video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ay-6dK6SGo. Once again, no flames are necessary, but what the hell, have some fun. I sure did. Yeah, I've only got 179 jumps... I was even shorter on my numbers when I made my first one last month, but if anyone wants to revive the number argument I can make a pretty good case for myself. Here it is: I did 100 tracking jumps in the 6 months prior to my trip to Z-hills, many of them in a Phoenix tracking suit. I learned back flying, barrel rolls, front and back loops, and wing pulls pretty well before attempting a wingsuit. And, most importantly, the wing is my obsession, and I'm too old to fool around. I've done it now, and quite frankly, if my next flight is my last one, it was all worth it. I would say the same about every jump I've made, especially the first wing jump. That was so sweet that nothing anybody says will make me sorry for doing it. I did make a flight in my tracking suit before Jeff let me fly, and he spent a lot of time with me on instruction. That, combined with the ease of use of the Intro, made it reasonably safe, at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Anyway, my name is Ed Cummings. I live near New Orleans. My home drop zone is Gold Coast, Mississippi. They have an Otter, but are only open on weekends. I would like to see some birds flying above the DZ. So far it's just me, but if any of y'all get a chance, it would be great to have some company. Send me an email if you will be passing through and we can set something up. [email protected]. Blue Skies! But what do I know?

The nicest dropzone I visited in sheer beauty. The mountain backdrop and valley view alone are worth the trip; the facility is worthy of the location. Very friendly people, truly interested in assisting me in having fun and safe skydives. I jumped with great people thanks to the organizers and staff, made new friends, and loved it at Lake Elsinore.