Taking Flight!

Story by Ahmed Abdul-Malik, FNN 6th grade reporter, FPCS Online Academy. 

Photo from Wikipedia.

On March 27 2021, I jumped off a cliff!

After I bungee jumped off the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge in China, I wanted to try using a wingsuit. Wingsuit flying (or wing-suiting) is the sport of flying through the air using a wingsuit which adds surface area to the human body to enable a significant increase in lift. We were on our way to the Italian Dolomite Mountains to go wing-suiting when I noticed some other people doing it. I started thinking about if I still wanted to go wing-suiting because it looked dangerous. 

After we got there, my friends and I put on our wingsuits. I put mine on, and then we went to the cliff of the mountain. My friend jumped off and started gliding. I gulped and then jumped after him. I was gliding but it also felt a lot like flying. My friends told me to release my parachute before I landed. I enjoyed myself until I accidentally put my hand down and then was flung around a bit. I forgot that I was supposed to use my hands to steer. After we landed, we all went to the St. Hubertus restaurant in the Dolomites. Delicious!

I had a lot of fun during my trip. You usually need practice before you go on a wing-suiting trip. Click this link to learn more about wing suiting.