did my first wingsuit jump and im not convinced

[Hazarrd 1]

so ive been waiting for about 6 months to do my first wingsuit jump. i was extremely excited about doing one. i had been in touch with a bmi about making the jump before i had 200 jumps. anyways, i was supposed to do it a month ago and weather kept us on the ground. i finally got to make a jump at the orange boogie with kevin orkin (great guy i might add). i felt slightly overwhelmed with the training. i was a bit concerned about the new pullout procedure. but i felt confident after the training was over. we finially get in the otter and end up doing around 4-5 go arounds. we end up coming back down in the plane. 2 loads later we are back up and im excited as can be (finally!!). i get in the door and give my count and im followed out by kevin. exit went great, after a second i opened my wings and bam...im flyin. kevin was right there with me. so anyway im taking it all in, and realizing "shit this isnt that amazing.." i mean i realize that im crusiing across the sky much farther than any other jump, but big f'in deal? it just feels the same as a regular jump except that im not doing anything. after the jump kevin said i was doing everything great, just needed to extend my arms a little more so they were all the way out.

so anyways, i dont plan on doing another birdman jump again. i was curious if this is the feeling you get just on the first jump? it just doesnt seem like theres all that much excitement to wingsuit flying other than the cool lookin suits (which dont have very cool prices)..

.-.

[monkey1031 0]

no offence. you didn't find what they call the "sweet spot". do about 20 more, relax, and then, relax s'more.... then you'll understand.

it's the little voice in the back of your mind that goes "holy sH*t..." that'll do it. i didn't get it for about 30 jumps, but you'z gotta keep on, gettin' on.

trust me man, i was a skeptic too...

[VectorBoy 0]

Try flying along side another wingsuit with a paintball gun. Each trying paint as much as possible on the other flyer. Wear eye protection and a helmet, cod piece optional. Then get back to us.

[diablopilot 2]

Naw, that's normal. You're probably just too cool for them.




Seriously, not everyone likes it.

Edit: Go back and try it in 1000 jumps.

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

[voodew1 0]

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Try flying along side another wingsuit with a paintball gun. Each trying paint as much as possible on the other flyer. Wear eye protection and a helmet, cod piece optional. Then get back to us.

I am going to try that this weekend---you guys come up with the best games---and if we use different colors my suit will be tie dye

The pimp hand is powdered up ... say something stupid

[LouDiamond 1]

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it just feels the same as a regular jump except that im not doing anything. after the jump kevin said i was doing everything great, just needed to extend my arms a little more so they were all the way out.

Your experience is not uncommon for a first flight. From the sounds of it, your arms were not all the way out and I can imagine your fall rate was pretty high as well. Which is why it probably seemed like a regular skydive to you. An average fall rate for a first flight is usually in the high 90s as most are flying incredibly inefficient. I am confident that if you went up for a few more flights you would see a marked improvement in your flights,especially if you are flying with someone else who can give you corrective feedback on your body position. The first one is just to get you familiar with the suit and demonstrate to you that you can do it. If you have the opportunity,go on a few more flights and play with the suit and your body position. If you feel like it's an ordinary skydive then you are doing something wrong and not really flying. Welcome to the flock, it only gets better

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

[riggerrob 643]

The biggest thrill for me - on my second birdman jump - was flying over the Fraser River and halfway across Barnston Island before having to turn back. I got "feet dry" over the seaplane ramp before having to open.
I really enjoyed covering that much ground.
For the first time in my life I felt like I was flying without a silly windshield in my face.
Hee!
Hee!

[TomAiello 26]

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...realizing "shit this isnt that amazing.."...

Actually, that's almost exactly how I felt on my first wingsuit jump. I often feel that way on solo flights from airplanes, still.

But it definitely gets better as you do more things. I bet you can find somewhere to rent or demo a suit and do 10 or 20 more jumps. That might be a better way to judge if it's really interesting to you or not.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[Cloudi 0]

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my first wingsuit jump

BEER!! You guys are slipping...

Kim
Watch as I attempt, with no slight of hand, to apply logic and reason.

[funks 1]

trust me dude...i felt the same way...made my first one today. Got down from it and asked what the big deal was....well guess what, i went back up and made 3 more for a total of 4 and am pretty much hooked. Pissed off because i lost my protrack due to riser slap on the third jump but my buddy i was jumping with guessed i was in the 60's by the third jump...it was rockin!!! Pull time though is a whole nother discussion....

[VectorBoy 0]

Not everybody loves it that much. I know quite a few people that don't get it at all.

But like others have posted before some of the things you can do and some of the visuals you get can't come any other way. Skydives that last so long you can't hold it anymore.

How else can you you fly relative to the aircraft you just stepped out of, or in some cases get above it while its still in flight and not diving? Better yet watching other jumpers just fall off of it while you hang there? Fly back three miles the long way across a lake to the dropzone? Thread the needle zig-zagging down a line of tandem canopies or a semicircle near a CReW formation?

And a gut wrenching puckerfest for some, none the less a visual I'll never forget, were the big RW formations falling around us two years ago at WFFC. Yes deep down inside I sported a dark little smile over that.

[fergs 0]

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Try flying along side another wingsuit with a paintball gun. Each trying paint as much as possible on the other flyer. Wear eye protection and a helmet, cod piece optional. Then get back to us.

Paint Ball gun? Ha - here's what I use. Wanna come play ... you bring your paintball gun and I'll bring my toy? I promise a fun few flights.

Blue Skies,

fergs

[VectorBoy 0]

Paint Ball gun? Ha - here's what I use. Wanna come play ... you bring your paintball gun and I'll bring my toy? I promise a fun few flights.

Blue Skies,

fergs

[fergs 0]

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Paint Ball gun? Ha - here's what I use. Wanna come play ... you bring your paintball gun and I'll bring my toy? I promise a fun few flights.

Blue Skies,

fergs

Looks like that cod piece is no longer optional

[VectorBoy 0]

well it could be optional if it helps you fly stable - I find maintaining controlled on heading flights a bit difficult when firing on full-auto. Maybe I need to carry one in each hand - no, that would things at complicate deployment time. Any suggestions?

fergs

[fergs 0]

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well it could be optional if it helps you fly stable - I find maintaining controlled on heading flights a bit difficult when firing on full-auto. Maybe I need to carry one in each hand - no, that would things at complicate deployment time. Any suggestions?

fergs

Yes helmet mount. I recommend boneheads GunRack. Keep the bursts down to less than four so recoil doesn't peel it of your head. You are going to have to develope your own bite/tungue switch for the trigger. I've got faith in you, skydivers are brilliant. Especially after a few drinks.

[VectorBoy 0]

YOU ARE THE MAN!!! Bonehead GunRack sounds like the ideal platform. It must be a new option, as I cannot for the life of me find it on their web-site

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http://www.boneheadcomposites.com/gunrak.htm

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[Tonto 1]

And that, I guess, is a fine example of thread drift.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Hazarrd 1]

thanks for the responses, well the ones not about paintballing in the air. ill probably check it out again if i find someone with my size wingsuit. take care for now.

.-.

[fergs 0]

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thanks for the responses, well the ones not about paintballing in the air. ill probably check it out again if i find someone with my size wingsuit. take care for now.

Hey Screech,

Firstly, sorry about getting off track with that thread drift regarding the paintball stuff.

Like all disciplines of the sport, some take jumpers by the scruff-of-the-neck and blow their minds. Other skydivers are not necesarily affected the same - and we should never assume what hits us in such a way will necessarily hit all others the same.

The main thing is that you gave it a go! It isn't so important that you were not blown away by the experience.

My only suggestion would be to make a few more flights. You now know you can do it and how natural it is. So subsequent flights will be more about enjoying the ride rather than having to concentrate on all the unknowns that you may have has prior to your first flight.

Find some cloud valleys to fly up and around. Find a big puffy cloud to cruise casually around. Find some friends to flock with. Get close and talk together as you fly. Laugh and grin and enjoy.

And then you'll have given wingsuits a real go!!

Blue Skies,

fergs

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[SkymonkeyONE 4]

What was the focus of this thread? Oh yeah....the guy wasn't impressed.

Seriously, there are plenty of people who "just don't get it" on their first few flights. Generally, it's because they are falling out of the sky like a bomb. Yes, they are cruising across the sky very, very fast, but their freefall is not that long and they never experience the "quiet" of an efficient flight. Some people nail it right away and still don't really care for it; such is life.

[nicknitro71 0]

I hear ya bro. WS jumps suck . Try to take one off a 3000' cliff, you might change your mind

Memento Audere Semper

903

[petetheladd 0]

Well,

Try surfing down the side of a 6000ft cumulo-nimbus cloud on a hot day.

If that dos'nt do it, try some other discipline

P.t.L

No, Not without incident

[VectorBoy 0]

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Well,

Try surfing down the side of a 6000ft cumulo-nimbus cloud on a hot day.

If that dos'nt do it, try some other discipline

P.t.L

I know some guys that have relocated from Florida to the dry southwest. They won't do wingsuits in our krisp-clear skies anymore unless they can surf the nimbus from full alti like you can most of the time in Florida.