The Wing Suit
- Thread starter El and Bill
- Start date
Pat Anderson
New member
Some info from wikipedia...
History
Wings were first used in the 1930s as an attempt to increase horizontal movement. These early wingsuits were made of materials such as canvas, wood, silk, steel, and even whale bone. They were not very reliable. According to wingsuit lore, between 1930 and 1961, 72 of the 75 original birdmen died testing their wingsuits. Some of these so-called "birdmen," most notably Clem Sohn and Leo Valentin, claimed to have glided for miles and inspired dozens of imitators.
In the mid-1990s, French skydiver Patrick de Gayardon (nicknamed "DeG") developed a wingsuit that had unparalleled safety and performance. Unfortunately, de Gayardon died on April 13, 1998 while testing a new modification to his parachute container in Hawaii; his death is attributed to a rigging error which was part of the new modification rather than a flaw in the suit's design. Despite his tragic end, de Gayardon planted the seeds for a new generation of birdmen.
In 1998, Jari Kuosma of Finland and Robert Pecnik of Croatia teamed up to create a wingsuit that was safe and accessible for all skydivers when they established BirdMan, Inc. BirdMan's Classic, designed by Robert Pecnik, was the first wingsuit offered to the general public. BirdMan was also the first manufacturer to advocate the safe use of wingsuits by creating an Instructor program. Created by Jari Kuosma, the instructor program's aim was to remove the stigma that wingsuits were dangerous and to provide wingsuit beginners (Generally, skydivers with a minimum of 200 logged jumps) with a way to safely enjoy what was once considered the most dangerous in the skydiving world. With the help of Birdman Chief Instructors Scott Campos, Chuck Blue and Kim Griffin, a standardized program of instruction was developed that preprared instructors.[1] Phoenix-Fly, Fly Your Body, and Nitro Rigging have also instituted an instructor training program.
History
Wings were first used in the 1930s as an attempt to increase horizontal movement. These early wingsuits were made of materials such as canvas, wood, silk, steel, and even whale bone. They were not very reliable. According to wingsuit lore, between 1930 and 1961, 72 of the 75 original birdmen died testing their wingsuits. Some of these so-called "birdmen," most notably Clem Sohn and Leo Valentin, claimed to have glided for miles and inspired dozens of imitators.
In the mid-1990s, French skydiver Patrick de Gayardon (nicknamed "DeG") developed a wingsuit that had unparalleled safety and performance. Unfortunately, de Gayardon died on April 13, 1998 while testing a new modification to his parachute container in Hawaii; his death is attributed to a rigging error which was part of the new modification rather than a flaw in the suit's design. Despite his tragic end, de Gayardon planted the seeds for a new generation of birdmen.
In 1998, Jari Kuosma of Finland and Robert Pecnik of Croatia teamed up to create a wingsuit that was safe and accessible for all skydivers when they established BirdMan, Inc. BirdMan's Classic, designed by Robert Pecnik, was the first wingsuit offered to the general public. BirdMan was also the first manufacturer to advocate the safe use of wingsuits by creating an Instructor program. Created by Jari Kuosma, the instructor program's aim was to remove the stigma that wingsuits were dangerous and to provide wingsuit beginners (Generally, skydivers with a minimum of 200 logged jumps) with a way to safely enjoy what was once considered the most dangerous in the skydiving world. With the help of Birdman Chief Instructors Scott Campos, Chuck Blue and Kim Griffin, a standardized program of instruction was developed that preprared instructors.[1] Phoenix-Fly, Fly Your Body, and Nitro Rigging have also instituted an instructor training program.
El and Bill
New member
Ken - looks like a way to get covered underground, after the Big Splat. Whew! Thanks for the info on the 'sport.' Pat.
Call me a sexist, but there's something much cooler about it when your girlfriend does it too...
A
Anonymous
Guest
It's perhaps significant that the average lifespan for nature's model of this (Pteromyini) is only a few years.
Paul Priest
Sequim
Paul Priest
Sequim
starcrafttom
Active member
looks like fun and after I try skydivving I may do it. Does anyone know what the rate of glide or rate of fall is. Using the wrong words I'm sure. How far forward do you travel for hamy many feet of fall? It has to be the nearest thing to flying.
Tom,
Not sure of the Glide ratio for sure, but given each the same suit, You :thup could glide a lot farther than I would :thdown . then again, I would have to be unconscious to get into any thing like that, and then I probably wouldn't glide at all :thdown :thdown :xseek
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
Not sure of the Glide ratio for sure, but given each the same suit, You :thup could glide a lot farther than I would :thdown . then again, I would have to be unconscious to get into any thing like that, and then I probably wouldn't glide at all :thdown :thdown :xseek
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
Sea Wolf":1wpop3o8 said:
Or perhaps a cat scan of that glider's brain that shows the section that controls fear (also what helps keep you from doing stupid stuff that gets you dead) is missing! :shock: I'm with Harvey.
When I first saw these gliding suit videos a while back, I thought I'd file it in my "Stuff I Never Want To Try Under ANY Circumstances" memory bank. It's in there, right next to the "Do It Yourself Brain Surgery" and "Volcano Diving For Fun and Profit" files. :wink:
Best wishes,
Jim
matt_unique
New member
The shot looking down over that insane cliff (Da Nag's link) was unreal...the other video footage was awesome too.