New Flatland Flocker!

[murrays 0]

Thanks to all the help and advice I got from so many of you in my various threads I made my first Bird-Man flight earlier this evening.

I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. We are having some absolutely glorious fall weather. Today was about 21 celsius or 70 fahrenheit and the temperature at altitude was 10 degs celsius. All week long I couldn't get out to jump in the late afternoon/early evenings while everybody else was out leaping. Today was finally my day to skydive.

During the week our club uses a little grass strip close to the city. It is skydiving at its most basic....an airplane, a tarp to pack on and some skydivers. As I had loaned my suit to a club member to jump on Wednesday I had to wait for it to arrive and made a jump before it arrived.

Finally, it was time to get the wingsuit on and skydive. My friend with the previous BirdSuit jumps helped me get the rig on, checked my gear over, related the instruction that he received at Lost Prairie...and I got into the aircraft.

It was funny, I had been very nervous during the day but I was very calm in the aircraft. The first two people left, I got out on the wheel in a poised exit, geeked the pilot and another jumper who was going to follow me out, and stepped off with my leg wing closed and my arm wings closed. Nice and stable, opened the leg wing first, then the arm wings, and then started to get flying! I watched as the jumper who had followed me out fell away...it was like he was falling and I wasn't. Tracked ahead for a while, listened to the changes in sound as I tried different things. Did one practice pull. That went so well I didn't bother with any more. Started flying again, turned to the right and tried to get it on!

Too soon I looked over to see the needle getting close to 5,000'. I closed my leg wing, brought in my arms, arched for a couple of seconds, threw the p/c, and was greeted with a brisk opening under my trusty old PD150. No line twists.

Undid my arm zippers, turned the canopy back towards the strip, unsnapped and unzipped my leg zippers, and then had a bit of a struggle getting my booties off.

Flew around, enjoying the cool, wonderful fall air, landed beside the tarp and shook hands with everybody as they related their beer preferences to me

Unfortunately, I had to head for home right away, but the beer will be purchased sometime this weekend.

My fallrate, according to my Protrack, was in the high 50's and low 60's when I wasn't practicing pulling or getting ready to pull. I had 45 seconds of freefall from 9,300' and being in the saddle at 4800', a distance fallen of 4,500'.

Once again, thanks to everybody for all the help and advice. It's not easy doing something like this up here in the sticks and your help is very much appreciated.

Now, if the other guys suits would just arrive so that we can start Flatland Flocking together

Blue skies everybody,

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[VectorBoy 0]

very nice, sounds like you had a great flight! Don't worry about numbers right off the bat. Just relax and have fun, these will improove . It is amazing watching other jumpers just fall away isn't it?

[Guana 0]

Congratulations and welcome to the Canadian flock!! I can tell you after jumping the suits for two years now that it only gets better and better!! When you see regular jumpers fall away from you like a rock you really understand the feeling of flight. The flock is growing here on the east coast as it is elsewhere across the country. The second annual Canadian birdman festival will be at Atmosphere Air in Quebec in June I believe. I went last year and had a great time!! Good people and a King Air to jump from...big flocks!! Keep it in mind...by then you will be hooked bad and want to fly with the flock!! Play Safe!!