Welcome to WingsuitLearn!
Get to know me a little, and you might want to know more…
As the adventure in wingsuiting has progressed, the need for learning and training has become paramount. I have started this blog as a way to capture all the tips and tricks I learn along the way. The reason for this is twofold: First, to share the experience and knowledge gained over the years that I skydive, wingsuit, and eventually wingsuit BASE; Second, the act of writing and explaining the learning process solidifies the knowledge in my head. Essentially, giving away the knowledge benefits me by reinforcing the principles I have learned.
To begin with, I’ll share a picture of my new suit. I am flying the Squirrel Freak 3 (I know, I know, the Freak 4 is coming out in a few months).
I currently have 332 wingsuit skydives. I have about 80 jumps on this suit in particular. I started on a Swift 3 and moved to an ATC after that. Everyone asks, how many jumps should I put on my small suit before getting a big suit.
Let’s address that issue here. For a beginner suit, 50-75 jumps would be recommended by most manufacturers before upsizing. I had ~90 jumps in the Swift before moving to the ATC. I put ~150 jumps on the ATC, totaling just under 250 jumps before upgrading to the Freak. The manufacturer, Squirrel, recommends 175 wingsuit jumps before moving to the Freak.
I will admit that I ordered my Freak when I had 160 jumps or so, and I told them in the order that by the time it arrived I would have sufficient jumps. I try to average 10 jumps per week. But I’m averaging a little under right now. I only have 219 jumps for the year. That’s not right though. I have 219 jumps at Skydive Elsinore. I also have 20-ish jumps at Skydive Perris this year, and I jumped once at Skydive Santa Barbara, and I did a balloon jump, and I did 7 jumps at GoJump Oceanside. I guess for the year, I’m only averaging 5.28 jumps per week. This might be a little off, but it’s probably only +/- 1 jump per week. Which actually makes a big difference because the range of -1 to +1 would be 94 jumps. So let’s say, it’s probably closer to +/- 0.2 jumps per week (that’s only a range of 18.8, which is closer to the real number).
Be on the lookout for my next post where I will discuss the skills I learned from Joe Webb during coaching this past weekend. Thanks for reading, and I hope you come back for more WingsuitLearn tips & tricks.
Blue Skies,
-Alex