Exit Stage Left (Part 1)

The exit will likely be the nearest open door. Please keep in mind the closest exit may be behind you.

Exiting an aircraft in a wingsuit is different from exiting without one, and it should be treated that way.

The idea I keep in mind is simple: flight begins the moment I enter the air.
I don’t exit the aircraft. I enter flight.

That small shift in mindset made it easier for me to visualize what I was actually doing.
I imagine the air outside the aircraft as a stream of water. The stream is already flowing in one direction, and when I leave the aircraft, I am entering that moving current. I want to work with it rather than fight against it.

If I enter the stream at an awkward angle or with my body too rigid, the airflow can knock me off balance and take me for a ride.

Of course, this comparison has its limits. Jumping face-first into actual water would probably hurt, and swimming upstream is not quite the same as exiting an aircraft. But once I remove the image of painfully smashing into the water, the visualization becomes useful. The air does not feel like that, and the fear created by that image would be misplaced.

The short version of my exit position is this:
I place my chest level with the floor, bring my arms back, and keep my eyes on the person in front of me, or on the aircraft if I am exiting first. My chest stays aligned with the intended flight path, and my legs extend fully behind my body after entering flight.

That is quite a bit of information for the short version.

The longer explanation involves pictures, so we will save that for Part Two of this series.
For now, here are a few simple dos and don’ts.

Do:

• Put your arms back toward your butt.
• Align your chest with the intended flight path.
• Think about entering the flight.

Don’t:

• Exit head-high and immediately open the suit.
• Dive downward out of the aircraft.
• Forget to smile.

Check back for Part Two, where we will get into more detail and include pictures.