So, while at Fly 4 Life, I was talked into buying a new canopy. Not really talked into it, more like fate gently nudged me. I swung by Fluid to say hi and distract Kolla from getting things accomplished. In the midst of general bullshitting about books and travel and nonsense, the “So when are you getting a Gangster?” came up again.
Last year, I demo’d the Gangster 96 and really, really liked it. I’m not particularly discerning about canopies; most of my focus has always been on freefall. Last year, I was all-in on bigways and really not into the market for a new canopy. I told myself that my Crossfire 109 suited me just fine. It did. To me, pretty much as soon as I started jumping it, I decided it was about as exciting and sporty as my Sabre 2 120, but with better flare.
I feel very fortunate that I’ve gotten to know the crew at Fluid while dating Richo. They’re wonderful, lovely people who are passionate about making great canopies. And, I just got the opportunity to buy the very perfect Gangster for me! While popping into Fluid over Fly 4 Life, it just so happened that they had the perfect canopy for me: this baby. She was used, but only had about 50 jumps on her. Clearly, she was meant for me.
I had been hemming and hawing about upgrading my canopy for a while. I was bored of my Crossfire, but I’ve been working on some baby swoops. I tortured myself about whether to learn 90s and 270s on the canopy I was already familiar with, or whether I should change wings before I get too far in the learning process. No one gave me particularly good advice; several people recommended the Katana. After some googling, I found that the Katana came out in 2006? Maybe this isn’t a particularly discerning opinion, but I just don’t want to be learning on a wing that feels so outdated. It’s probably fine. I just don’t wanna jump a Katana. I leaned towards buying a Gangster, but just was sitting on my hands because inertia sucks you in and holds you tight. Plus, if you’d really like to be annoyed and irritated, I recommend selling your canopies on the internet. I hate it. So, I just kept jumping my crossfire, until this canopy fell into my lap.
And I’m really excited to announce that I’m going to a Tam-Bassador for Fluid!
After deciding I wanted the canopy, Kolla asked if I wanted to be an ambassador! It was an easy decision; I already had gotten to know the people and they’re all lovely, competent, smart, and dedicated to Fluid. I already knew they made good wings. I got a taste of their great customer service through the demo program. I am really excited to tell people that I jump Fluid and that I love my Gangster! So if you have questions about Fluid, or just want to hear me talk about how awesome they are and how awesome the Gangster is, just let me know.
But Speedflying?
Yes! I sped-fly! I speed-flew! I went speed flying. Honestly, what I was doing wasn’t exactly speedflying (I was on the 17m wing, which meant I got A LOT of lift and didn’t really have the knowledge or skills or confidence to try to make it hug the terrain), but I still got to fly the Loki 2 for several days with some Fluid peeps, and it was so rad!
I truly did just luckily stumble into this opportunity as well. The conversation went something like this: Richō Butts “Want to go do some speedflying in Utah with some Fluid peeps?” Me “Yeah!” (No other details were given to me. I had no idea if this was a course, or if I should show up with prior experience, or if I needed to be a canopy-whiz-kid to go. All that only crossed my mine when Richo bailed to go rally car racing and I ended up going alone.
It was great! I showed up, really nervous and concerned about how much I needed to know. Additionally, I showed up a day or so after everyone because I had work, and felt pretty bad about that too. But it was amazing! Kevin has just this encyclopedic knowledge of weather, specifically related to paragliding and speed flying. It was super fun to hang out with all the other attendees too; some of them I’d already met through Richô mostly, some were new to me. Meeting people without him always boosts my self-confidence a little bit; it’s very easy to find my mind wondering if people like him, and tolerate me by proxy. It’s really nice to build friendships as Tam, and not just as Richó’s girlfriend.
I’ve taken some paragliding courses, which helped a lot with the launches and kiting, but this course really, really impressed upon me that speed flying and paragliding is way more about reading, understanding, and making decisions related to the weather, than actual flying. As a skydiver, it’s so easy to not make your own weather decisions. The plane isn’t flying? You’re not jumping. The plane is flying? You’re jumping. Yes, wind limits. Yes, dust devils. Yes, iffy industrial haze. But those are really, really big signals. We were sitting at the top of a hill assessing puffs of air.
Literally. It was pretty still wind towards the end of the day and we hiked to the top of Cherry in SLC. The weather had been so iffy, precipitation falling out, winds, that it was really a crap shoot whether we’d be able to fly. It was cooling off and we were watching out for katabatic winds, which roll downhill, usually at the end of the day. I had the mentality that we were going on a hike with speed wings in our backpacks, so if we didn’t fly, I wasn’t disappointed. But as we hiked, a patch of sun rolled across the valley. We were sitting at the launch site as it reached the bottom of the hill and we felt puffs of upward drafts. We actually got to fly! It was awesome! But analyzing that tiny, tiny change in weather, in winds, is such a vast difference from the way I make go/no-go decisions in skydiving.
Loki 2
I am so lucky to have gotten a chance to fly the Loki 2. When I get a speedflying wing, that’s what I’ll be getting. (Step 1. Finish my P2, so I have a little more confidence in myself. Step 2. Buy speed flying wing.) I don’t have much to compare it to in the speedflying realm, but I can say that I pretty much felt comfortable with it instantly. The wing ground launched easily and smoothly. The Loki is what I’m looking for in a wing: something capable and easy-to-fly, something fun and not scary. I’d been hesitant to try any speedflying, because all I ever see is the insane, aggressive videos of people hugging the ground or doing, ya know, tricks and stuff. Barrel rolls? It all looked scary and out of my league. But a weekend of flying the Loki (I started on the 17m, but then got to fly the 15m which was a better fit. I think I might actually end up buying the 13m though.), I realized speedflying didn’t have to be terrifying. So, I’m stoked!
What’s Next?
Well, I don’t have nearly as busy as a year as sometimes, but as always, things come up. (Specifically, buying a house. eeks) So, I think the first plan is to get my P1 & P2. I know it’s not essential; I know a zillion people speedfly and paraglide without them. And I know that having those certs don’t guarantee safety or learning. But I like to stack the deck in my favor and I know that I do best with a structured learning situation. After that, I need to fly some local sites. Probably in the middle, I need to get some of my own gear? I’m still not sure what I want, but I’m working on it.
It’s probably worth carving out some time in my calendar to go back to Utah; that was a ton of fun.
So yeah! #flyfluid #fluidwings #tambassador #whowantstobuymycrossfire?
