MENDOTA – When we graduate from high school, we never truly know what’s going to happen next or later in life.
Patrick Doughty put on Mendota High School cap and gown in 2009 and then left for University of Wisconsin-Platteville knowing he wanted to get a degree in construction management and create buildings, structures, staples of cities and communities.
Somewhere in the mix, he decided he wanted to be part of air sports and parachute sports.
“To those of us in air sports, it’s not really a thrill that we’re seeking. I don’t really get a huge adrenaline boost. I’m not scared or shaking on exit,” Doughty said. “When I climb out on a helicopter, I’m not nervous. It’s more so putting skill to the test. I like to do unordinary stuff. The ordinary stuff doesn’t do it for me. It just so happened I got into sky sports and parachute sports. It’s a niche hobby people think is super dangerous. From there I had goals to progress, and I still do.
“My jump numbers and my experience, I consider to be extremely novice. I’ve been sky diving for nine or 10 years with periods of time where I wasn’t jumping at all. Having close to 600 sky dives and 200 base jumps, those are childish numbers compared to the people I surround myself with, who are in the thousands. The guy who taught me how to base jump had over 8,000 base jumps when he taught me 2 ½ years ago.”
Although almost 1,000 jumps doesn’t seem like much to Doughty, he has enough experience to be able to break down all of the air sports disciplines and the differences between them.
Doughty, who has lived in or spent considerable time in New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, India, and South America, first started with sky diving, otherwise known as belly diving or relative works, which is where all jumpers begin.
He has progressed to base jumping and wearing winged suits.
“Now, it’s all wingsuit for me. It’s really a progression to get to that point. You have to start belly flying,” Doughty said. “As you progress and get more time in the sky, you get more comfortable with your body flight. Generally, people jump into free flying, which is when people utilize the iFLY wind tunnels in the Chicago area.
“I’ve done some free flying, tracksuit flying, and movement flying. For the last 350 jumps, it’s been all progression in wingsuit. You start in a small suit. It’s a weird feeling at first and there is potential instability and dangers that go with that. You start in a suit that has all small wings where the wings only go from your wrist to your hip, and your leg wing only goes halfway down your calf.
“There are a lot of different ways to progress in the disciplines. My way of progressing suited me but may not be the same path for the next person. I would consider my progression conservative.”
Doughty lives in Denver, Colo., and works for his company remotely.
Although busy, he tries to find time for air sports to get enough reps in one suit to move to the next as they are intermediate, advanced, and expert.
He is currently in an advanced suit, which means the tail wing goes past his feet and acts like a rudder and control surfaces are larger than intermediate suits.
“The suits become like weapons. They’re tools in your tool belt. You work up to getting comfortable in the advanced suit,” Doughty said. “You choose suits based on what you’re trying to achieve. In base jumping there are different types of suits. They look like wingsuits to everyone else, but they are technologically designed to give specific characteristics during flight or at the beginning of flight.
“Some suits start really fast meaning the start arc from when they jump off of a mountain to when they’re fully inflated and in flight, happens in a shorter vertical distance than other suits.”
Some may decide to stay on the ground after a few jumps.
Others may get bored.
For Doughty, there is always something to look forward to, something else to work for in his desired sport.
“It’s just the advancement of skill. There are always people better. It’s the sort of longing to be better but there is a never-ending tunnel of desire to be better,” Doughty said. “Had I not picked up wingsuiting, I would have gotten bored with sky diving eventually. There is only so much you can do over and over again, and you’re paying for it every time.
“For base jumping, it’s just you. There is no one to tell you, you can or can’t do something. You should have friends you surround yourself with in the sport who will speak up if something doesn’t seem right. But, otherwise, it’s just you, your equipment, and your skill. It’s a put up or shut up with every jump.
“The feeling of accomplishment after overcoming an initial fear, stomping an exit, or having a flight really dialed in is hard to describe. It’s what keeps me coming back, always chasing the progression.”
