It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's Reg Hurlbut.

Three weeks ago, the semi-retired Kamloops man was sweating away in Perris Valley, California, with 99 other wingsuit flyers.

They came from 21 countries, gathered for one common goal: to set a world record for the number of wingsuit skydivers flying together in a diamond formation.

As far as he knows, they succeeded. But Hurlbut said Wednesday he won't believe it until he sees it in ink.

"I'm supposed to be in the book coming up," he said.

Here's how the event went by the numbers: 100 wingsuit flyers from 21 countries, leaping out of five airplanes at 13,000 feet, reaching up to 80 miles per hour, flying for two miles in 105F heat. One world record.

Here's how it went from Hurlbut's perspective.

"Scary, physically demanding."

He was one of three Canadians participating in the record-setting jump. It also attracted wingsuit flyers from the U.K., Germany, Japan, South Africa, Australia and, of course, the U.S.

The 63-year-old Hurlbut trained for a year before making the big leap. He worked out intensively at a gym and biked to build up his stamina.

"Being physically able to do these things helped a great deal," he said.

Then he had to qualify. He had to go to some other wingsuit events to show he had the right stuff. The Guinness event was by invitation only.

He was one of a group who set a record for the largest wingsuit diamond in Chicago. He flew in Oregon, in Florida and other places.

He made the cut.

Then he got to Perris Valley in September. He spent a week preparing for the big day. The heat and the exertion of having to fly in formation was exhilarating and draining.

"It was scary, confusing and very exhausting. I can make as many as eight jumps in a day, but with a wingsuit on doing that kind of thing, it was all I could do to do five," he said.

One other participant, a man from Japan, collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration.

They walked out their formation on the ground, a process called dirt diving. They figured out where they had to be, their sequence to get into position.

And then they hit the sky. Three twin Otters and two Skyvans got them up to altitude, each plane holding 21 people and photographers.

"I don't move my arms – I move them ahead and back a little bit. I move my torso for turning, and legs and hips," he said.

"Very subtle movements cause big things to happen on larger suits. It's quite exhilarating."

Hurlbut has been flying around the Kamloops sky since 1994. He had seen the suits demonstrated by people jumping off mountains.

"I just thought that was tremendous."

He ordered his first suit and, without a lesson, had a friend and pilot take him up. He jumped, he flew. His friend told him he looked like he'd been in a wingsuit all his life.

"The first time I did it, there were 15 UFO reports over the North Shore mountains," he said.

"I resemble a flying squirrel."

Hurlbut now has a collection of wingsuits, some are bigger and heavier, some are smaller and more maneuverable. He'll sometimes hop out of a plane over McArthur Island and fly to the skydiving landing zone at the airport.

He looks for landmarks he knows the height of, like mountains that are 1,500 or 2,000 feet high, or the 950-foot stack at Domtar.

Having a world record under his belt doesn't mean he's ready to retire. Even just talking about the event, his energy and enthusiasm are clear.

And after all, his family is behind him. But he's not like the other grandpas.

"The grandkids are in awe. They usually just stand there with their mouths open. My daughter and her husband are supporters."