Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

As the weather continues to improve, so have the jumps.  Lately though I have been consumed by exercising my new tandem skydive instructor rating.  However, there have been a few opportunities to get out and spread my wings.  Last week, I welcomed a new bird into the world.  Tom at Skydive Twin Cities made his first wingsuit jump.  He flew his recently purchased Birdman GTI.  As with a lot of first flight students, he assumed a makeshift boxman position during flight.  After watching the video of the jump he knew what to correct in regards to his arm position.  Hopefully, when I make it back out the DZ I can make a jump with him and see his improvements.  Until then, Blue Skies!

Malcolm

So during my time at Flock and Dock I decided to take the plunge and purchase a student wingsuit.  I acquired a Tonysuit Intro.  You can find more information about the Intro at tonysuits.com.  I am excited, and looking forward to spreading the passion for wingsuiting in a region of the country where it has gone largely by the wayside.  Who knows we may just fill a plane of flockers by the end of the summer!

Blue Skies, and Long Flights!

Matt

So the morning started off rather slow with only a few wingsuiters pacing around the DZ.  However there were enough people around to keep the plane flying and I was able to get in a total of 8 jumps.  By the early afternoon Jarno Cordia was around to show us how the Europeans do it.  And by late afternoon Robert Pecnik was flying.  All in all it turned out to be a good start to this years Flock and Dock.  The majority of people are slated to show up tomorrow and so I am excited to see what kind of jumps get going.  Until then I am going to rest up as it is going to be a long day.

Well I am waiting to receive my new camera helmet this week.  I have decided to take the plunge and get into camera flying.  I am hoping to use it mainly for first flight courses and as a learning tool in my wingsuit flights.  The plans are set to take part in F&D 5.0 this next week.  Hopefully I am able to capture some nice footage and get it posted in the media section of Sky Canyon.  Keep hoping for warmer weather and hopefully the summer gets underway soon.

So it is that time of year.  Being as this will be my *first* time at this event I am certain to learn much.  The specifics of the event are as follows:

April 17th-19th.  Scott Bland, Chuck Blue will be the main organizers.  Suit demos from every manufacturer will be available.  It sounds like Chuck is going to be having diamond fever.  It also sounds like people will be there earlier than the 17th to get some warm-up jumps in before the event starts.  As past events have proven, it is an event not to be missed. Be there!

I am in the process of figuring out how to get blogging, as it has never been my forte.  Anyway so here it is.  Such humble beginnings.  As far as news is concerned it is still winter.  At least the butt end of it.  We recently found out that Skydive Twin Cities will be getting a PAC 750XL instead of the Twin Otter this year.  While part of me is bummed to not have such a nice plane to jump out of, the PAC is a capable airplane and should serve the DZ well.  In other respects it will make it a little more interesting to do FFC’s out of it considering its airframe.  Low rear stablizer, small door, low rear stabilizer.  In any case I will have to learn the tricks to staying safe wingsuiting with this plane.

In other news I am planning on going to Flock and Dock 5.0 in Zephyrhills Florida.  I am excited to jump at a serious event and possibly qualify for the upcoming record.  Also I am hopeful I can get a hold of some Tony Suit Intro wingsuits.  These would help me start instructing in the midwest and recruit new birds.

Hope the winter is going well and you have been able to make some jumps since last fall.