Where to begin…

It all starts on that sunny day when you show up for Accelerated Free Fall (AFF). I hope it’s sunny, and you don’t have to come back a week after the First Jump Course (FJC), like I did.

You showed up a the Drop Zone (DZ), and you’re all giddy about doing a skydive. You might already know that you have to go through the AFF course. The first step is sitting in the FJC classroom while some dude (or dudette) tells you how you could die if you don’t do the things they recommend. Skydiving is a dangerous sport, and there is risk of death. We learn to mitigate that risk and make the sport as safe as possible with the right gear and the right training. You are responsible for every skydive you make.

Before we continue, you absolutely must know the Three Rules of Skydiving:

1. Look Good
2. Have Fun
3. Safety Third

If you can follow these three rules, you’re half-way to jumping out of that plane like a boss. But if you don’t listen to your instructor, you’re failing on Rule 3. DON’T FAIL ON RULE 3!!

And never go zero-lift (If you know, you know)

Okay, so you finished AFF, then you did 17 or so more jumps to get you to 25 jumps. ^{Milestone #1: A-License}

Now, after you washed your forehead (you’ll find out), you get back in the sky 25 more times to get yourself up to 50 jumps. ^{Milestone #2: B-License}

About this time, you’ve probably bought your own gear. You’re finally learning how to use this thing called a canopy, you can pack it, and you can take it apart. Also around this time, you see some cool guys, absolutely crushing Rule 1. They also appear to have Rule 2 solidly under control as well. You say to yourself, “I wanna be like those guys! They fly wingsuits!” We already know you’re staring at us from across the packing mat because of such epic Rule 1 adherence.

You finally muster the courage to walk over and ask, “I want to wingsuit, what’s it take to start wingsuiting?” The answer you’ll receive will likely be some version of, “Hell yeah you want do, bro! How many jumps you got?”

In your proudest voice, you say “50 jumps.” It’s at that point you should brace yourself for the answer, because it’s not the answer you were hoping for. “You need 200 jumps to take a First Flight Course (FFC).”

Never have you ever felt so much disappointment and motivation all in one blow. The skies have opened, and you can only fall, albeit with style. You want to fly. Do not be dismayed into a deep dark depression because you have no wings. Do not be disheartened because you only have 53 jumps and still need 147 more to even begin. It may have taken you months to get this far, but have no fear my soon-to-be bird friends. You’ll be a baby bird someday. When you grow up strong, you’ll fly out of that nest filled with the belly folk and freefly-ers. You will join the flock. Just keep going…

Time passes… Jumps accumulate… Your naiveté begins to fade…

You’ve jumped your ass off, and now you have 195 jumps. This is the day you’ll knock out five more jumps to reach that magical number. 200 jumps! BAM!! You did it. ^{Milestone #3: C-License}

You got 200 jumps, now what? It’s time for that FFC you’ve been waiting for.

This is where we present a disclaimer: WSL is not an FFC. Hell, we don’t coach anyone. This is a website. You need a trainer and a coach (and so many more things in life that WSL cannot provide, food for example, WSL is not food).

WSL recommends you find someone local, or go to the place where these guys jump. Wingsuiting is fun, but, like sex, it’s more fun with others. It’s fun having friends in high places (12,500′ is a pretty high place for friends).

You can check out this great resource to find a course: https://nextlevel.ws/courses/wingsuit-training

You can find my man Chase McCook (Zephyr Hills, FL) here: https://www.facebook.com/chase.mccook

You can find Mr. Scotty Bob (Southern California) here: https://bobsbase.com/courses/skydiving/wingsuit-first-flight-course/

You can find my friend Joe Webb (Southern California) here: https://www.facebook.com/joseph.webb.3551

You can’t go wrong with any of them. Just like all 2nd Grade teachers will teach you how to spell, all these guys will teach you how to fly.

I recommend going back to each and every one of them for coaching after your FFC. Get coaching from all of them. You will learn something from one of them, and apply it with the next one. You will go back to the other one, show off your new skills, and learn next level skills. And visit WSL to learn some cool things along the way.

Every time you jump, learn something, practice something, improve your skills.

As you get better and suck less, it only gets more fun!

Blue Skies,

WSL