With five days of coaching, progression, XRW, big ways, small ways, dynamic jumps, crests and new coach endorsements, here's an insight into what went down at the skills camp wingsuiters dream of, written by event organiser and participant, Anna Mueller.

The Day Before

The "Booster Wings" 2023 Camp kicked off at Far North Freefall the day before the official camp start date, with Woody's Wingsuit Coach Course. There were five aspiring future wingsuit coaches on the course, who had all completed a lot of preparation prior to the course. The day started with an intense morning of theory and scenarios, followed by an afternoon of taking pretend students on "mock" wingsuit first flight courses. These jumps were intense as the "students" acted in very unpredictable ways, challenging the participants - but they all performed amazingly, and now, thanks to Woody, there will be five new Wingsuit Coaches in Australia! 

"Some of the jumps kept me on edge. I felt like I was going through my AFF Instructor rating all over again" Anna Mueller - Wingsuit Coach Course Participant

"Booster Wings" event participants also turned up on this day, as they began manifesting, vibing, preparing for the epic five days ahead, and eventually performing impromptu big way jumps - and the camp hadn't even started! Far North Freefall had never seen so many wingsuiters and wingsuit big ways gracing the drop zone.

The Camp

The event, which turned out larger than expected, ran smoothly and started with gear checks being completed by participants holding instructor endorsements. The week was full of XRW, big ways, small ways, dynamic jumps, crests and more. With so many interstate coaches, international coaches, future coaches and instructors all in one room, we made progressive changes to the future of first flight courses, wingsuit crests and onesie and two-piece progression.

The coaches kept everyone hyped throughout the event, even during weather holds. Tahi presented seminars on introduction to competition, FlySight data and BASE. His use of in-flight comms during jumps, providing real-time coaching, was an absolute game changer. Scotty P just wanted to fly all day, keeping everyone hyped and answering all of the questions about Wingsuit BASE.

Woody did an epic job getting five new wingsuit coaches signed off and coaching all levels of flying, from first transitions to XRW, all whilst rocking a smile bigger than our student canopies! Debler guided all the newer and experienced wingsuiters to fly a tight, solid slot. And Arvid ran a seminar on body flight inputs. His expertise throughout the camp was invaluable. Booster Wings was Arvid's second event in Australia this year and we would love to adopt him again from Indoor Wingsuit Stockholm for more future events.

It was epic to see three wingsuit crests signed off during the week too. Nice work Sam Gorham, Chris Vieira and Daniel Dare.

The Crew

Wingsuit enthusiast, Helen, made the most notable flying and skills improvements all week:
"Booster Wings. Five coaches, five days of progression, while having a blast with a great bunch of wingsuiters!! I can't wait for the next one! Thanks Anna and FNFF."

Hype man, Chris Bro, motivated everyone to wake up for 6am wheels off:
"Booster Wings was all time! I was stoked to jump with and learn a lot from all the coaches I look up to in wingsuiting, and share the froth with a whole lot of legends along the way. Shout out to FNFF for the amazing hospitality and Anna for the epic event. Yeeeeew!"

Head Pilot and Operations Manager from Skydive Australia, Mark Whaley:
"Wingsuiters are always entertaining for the pilots, however this event took it to the next level, as we were having to fit 16 wingsuiters on board the C208s. I think we managed a couple of loads with 17 squeezed in there, and nobody likes to be squished on the floor, let alone in a straight jacket! The process of loading the aircraft was a slow one at the beginning whilst they all worked out how best to be seated, ensuring they all had single-point restraints on, but after 6 days and 56 loads, they were nailing it. From a pilot's perspective, these guys always kept us on our toes. As no load or spot was the same, we were often being asked to run in on a seemingly random track, however we always managed to put the green light on where they requested it - any off landings were purely due to the wingsuit navigators! This was a great group of jumpers and Tom, Mark J and I had a blast for the week. We can't wait for next year."

Far North Freefall Social Media Co-ordinator, Kaaja-Che Ashton:
"Coming from a drop zone that used to be lucky to have one wingsuiter in the mix, walking into the drop zone during the Booster Wings Camp was a total buzz! And I don't even wingsuit! I arrived towards the end of the camp for some fun jumping, and the wingsuiters were still pumped, with their energy of excitement in the atmosphere. For me, watching the camp footage of the groups wingsuit flying left me both awestruck and inspired. Having individuals with this remarkable skill level at our drop zone was next level, showing the dedication and expertise of those involved. Cheers to event organizer Anna for orchestrating a wingsuit event that surpassed all expectations. Anna's dedication to getting the best ensured an outstanding showcase of skill, fostering an atmosphere of camaraderie and inspiration. I've really got to get myself on to a First Flight Course."

Booster Wings Manifest Supervisor, Carly Murray:
"The Booster wings event was one of the best events I’ve had the privilege of working! There was such a hype among everyone, I loved it!"

Wingsuit Coach Trainer, Woody:
"You seriously couldn’t pick five more perfect people to get their Wingsuit Coach ratings. I can’t wait to see the results of them sharing their stoke and skills."

Thank You's

Thanks to Jed Smith, Jon McGregor, Chris Vieira and Josh Arndt for completing all of the gear checks. Chief Instructor, Jules McConnel, and President, Timmy Kolln, were working behind the scenes day and night. Thanks for restocking the bar and cleaning the bathrooms, Jed Smith and Josh Arndt. Thanks to Carly running a busy manifest, ground crew and catering alongside Jules. Thanks to the pilots, Tom McGuire, Mark Whaley and Mark Joseph for firing up the two caravans provided by Skydive Australia. Thanks to Indoor Wingsuit Stockholm for their support. The wingsuit tunnel is like a time machine, and with progression guaranteed, everyone should give it a go. Thanks to all of the participants for stepping up and volunteering in order to keep the event running smoothly. Far North Freefall is run completely by volunteers so everyone's participation was greatly appreciated.

A massive thanks to all of the amazing coaches: Tahi-Paul Munroe, Scotty Paterson, Michael "Woody" Smart, Johannes Debler and Arvid Endler.

And thank you to Alex Newton for compiling all of the shredding footage into an epic edit.

About the Author:

Anna Mueller is Far North Freefall's Secretary and a wingsuit enthusiast!

"Booster Wings" ran from 7th-11th November 2023 at Far North Freefall. Thank you to Anna for the article.

If you would like to submit a blog article for an event, email blog@apf.com.au

[Photo Sources: Anna Mueller, Tahi-Paul Munroe, Arvid Endler | Video Source: Alex Newton]