This is AWESOME!
- Thread starter scode
- Start date
Triheart7
GT Owner
WOW. I cannot imagine going into some of those canyons, because once you are in them you are committed.
I recall seeing an article on 60 minutes (as I recall) on these guys a while back...it is an amazing sport but I wonder if the guys will be around in 10 yrs for another interview!? And yes, the commitment is huge....how do they know what is ahead if they haven't performed a pre-run with a self-propelled craft? Or maybe they do....the 60 min article did not indicate so. Anyone know?
Gentlemen,
That is a balls sport. I've flown through many canyons in my Pitts Special and if there is any wind at all you can get pushed or dropped 10 or 20 yards instantly when flying into the turbulence that the airflow in mountains cause. I'm sure they were flying on a zero wind day but it still looked very high risk to me. I thought that 30 yards at the closest was a thin margin, those wing suit jumpers looked like they were within 5 yards several times. Most impressive.
Chip
That is a balls sport. I've flown through many canyons in my Pitts Special and if there is any wind at all you can get pushed or dropped 10 or 20 yards instantly when flying into the turbulence that the airflow in mountains cause. I'm sure they were flying on a zero wind day but it still looked very high risk to me. I thought that 30 yards at the closest was a thin margin, those wing suit jumpers looked like they were within 5 yards several times. Most impressive.
Chip
Last edited:
pe2unia
GT
I thought you might have some interest in this!!!:rofl And.....NO I wont join you on this one:frown
pe2unia
GT
You'll have to tell me what that was like. I will have to miss that event because I have to take my dog to the vet. :willy
Chip
Ed, the safest way to start is with skydiving. You'll need at least 500 jumps before you start to fly with a birdman style suit. Then after a while start doing some regular base jumps without the suit. Then a trip to Norway to throw yourself off some high cliffs. Simple. Not hitting the ground or anything else, not so easy. Those suits in the video have a forward speed of around 160-200 mph. The good thing is if you make a mistake that close to the ground you probally won't know about it.
John, we'll start you out slow with just a skydive. How de-sensitized you get after that is up to you!
John, we'll start you out slow with just a skydive. How de-sensitized you get after that is up to you!
Interesting link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingsuit_flying (much older sport than I ever realized)
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[citation needed]. Some "birdmen", notably Clem Sohn and Leo Valentin, claimed to have glided for miles. The wingsuit was showcased in the 1969 movie The Gypsy Moths starring Burt Lancaster and Gene Hackman.
In the mid-1990s, French skydiver Patrick de Gayardon developed a wingsuit that had unparalleled safety and performance.[citation needed] 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.
In early 1998, Tom Begic, a BASE jumper from Australia, built and flew his own wingsuit based on a photograph of Patrick de Gayardon and his ideas. The suit was developed to assist Begic in capturing freefall footage of BASE jumpers while jumping the high cliffs of Europe. The benefits of the suit included reduced freefall descent rates, increased freefall times, greater maneuverability around other jumpers and objects whilst in freefall, the potential to jump off sites around the world that were not possible without wingsuits, and the ability to accelerate away from underhung walls much more quickly. In early 1999, Begic stopped development of his suit when he met Robert Pečnik and learned of plans for the creation of a wingsuit manufacturing company. Phoenix Fly was started in the mid 2000s.
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[citation needed]. Some "birdmen", notably Clem Sohn and Leo Valentin, claimed to have glided for miles. The wingsuit was showcased in the 1969 movie The Gypsy Moths starring Burt Lancaster and Gene Hackman.
In the mid-1990s, French skydiver Patrick de Gayardon developed a wingsuit that had unparalleled safety and performance.[citation needed] 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.
In early 1998, Tom Begic, a BASE jumper from Australia, built and flew his own wingsuit based on a photograph of Patrick de Gayardon and his ideas. The suit was developed to assist Begic in capturing freefall footage of BASE jumpers while jumping the high cliffs of Europe. The benefits of the suit included reduced freefall descent rates, increased freefall times, greater maneuverability around other jumpers and objects whilst in freefall, the potential to jump off sites around the world that were not possible without wingsuits, and the ability to accelerate away from underhung walls much more quickly. In early 1999, Begic stopped development of his suit when he met Robert Pečnik and learned of plans for the creation of a wingsuit manufacturing company. Phoenix Fly was started in the mid 2000s.