Wingsuit Cheat Sheet

The key takeaways for beginners – the jump-number prerequisites, safe progression through suit sizes and why wingsuits always exit last.

Equipment

Item	Priority	Tip
Beginner suit	High	Deliberately small – forgives mistakes far more easily than any big model.
Ripstop fabric	Medium	Low air permeability keeps the wings pressurised and flying well.
7-cell canopy	High	Non-elliptical, light – opens more predictably than a classic sport canopy.
AAD wingsuit mode	High	Two parameter sets for flight and canopy – set them beforehand.

Entry requirements

200 jumps + B licence: The formal minimum; coaches often recommend noticeably more experience in practice.
First flight course: Ground school plus three to six coached jumps under a certified instructor – mandatory, not optional.
Six weeks of prep: Deliberately strengthen back, traps, biceps and rear delts before your first jump.
Last group out of the plane: Wingsuits always exit last – their slower fall rate and greater range demand it.

The 3 golden technique rules

Factor 1: Understand your glide ratio

Concept: Angle of attack and body tension change speed and fall rate at the same time – adjusting at random gets you nowhere. Tip: Aim for a glide ratio of 2 to 3:1; fine-tune angle of attack and tension gradually and only with a coach.

Factor 2: Speed decides before you open

Concept: Speed at the moment you pull is the biggest risk factor in a wingsuit opening – bigger than the burble. Tip: Bring your speed firmly under control and align your body symmetrically before you pull.

Factor 3: The 200-350-450 rule

Concept: Upgrading to a bigger wing too soon is one of the biggest risk factors in the sport. Tip: 200 jumps before your first wingsuit, then 100 more per size class before every upgrade.

Wingsuit numbers at a glance

Metric	Value
Forward speed	160–260 km/h for experienced pilots – sink rate runs alongside at 50–95 km/h.
Glide ratio	2 to 3:1 – distance covered relative to altitude lost.
Wing loading	Max. 1.2:1 on the canopy for your first jumps – lower counts as safer.
Competition formats	Time, distance, speed – measured by GPS logger across three separate jumps.

Assessing risk honestly

Separate your statistics: Dramatic death tolls usually come from BASE studies, not from aircraft-skydiving data.
Use federation reports: Annual reports with cause analysis are the most reliable source for real risk.
Downgrade after a break: Time off provably raises your risk – independent of your total jump count.
Respect separation: The calculated gap to the group ahead prevents collisions in freefall and under canopy.

Pro tip: The 200-350-450 rule isn't bureaucracy – it's statistics other pilots already paid for: skip a stage and it doesn't move up, it just gets dropped.