Wingsuit flying
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Wingsuit flying is one of the latest sub-disciplines in skydiving. A wingsuit is a specially made jumpsuit that has fabric wings between the legs and under the arms. Using a wingsuit enables the skydiver to reduce his fallrate to less than half of the usual terminal velocity of approximately 200km/h. Vertical speeds of less than 40km/h have been achieved momentarily (without opening the parachute). The suit also enables the wearer to travel longer distances horizontally; glide ratios of 2:1 are commonplace.
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History
Wings first became present in freefall skydiving in the 1930s as an attempt to stabilize the skydiver, because no one yet knew how to control themselves in freefall. These early wingsuits were made of materials such as canvas, wood, silk, steel, and even whale bone. These wings often sealed the fate of those who donned them. Between 1930 and 1961, 72 of the 75 original birdmen died trying their wingsuits. Some of these birdmen, like Harry Ward and Leo Valentin, learned to master their wings and this led to the first real understanding of freefall aerodynamics.
In the mid 1990s, French skydiver Patric de Gayardon developed a wingsuit that had unparalleled safety and performance. Unfortunately, Patric died on April 13, 1998 on a regular jump in Hawai, due to a rigging error. However, Patric planted the seed that grew a new generation of birdmen.
In 1998, Jari Kuosma and Robert Pecnik fulfilled their dream of creating a wingsuit that was safe and accessible for all skydivers when they established BirdMan, Inc. BirdMan's Classic was the first wingsuit offered to the general public. Loïc Jean-Albert developed a one-wing design which was manufactured and marketed by Parasport Italia as the Crossbow in 2000. With a new level of safety and performance, the birdmen are back and rapidly growing.
Operation
The wings on a wingsuit are fairly similar to a parachute. They are equipped with crossported cells that inflate with air through inlets in the front of the wings, allowing them to become rigid and aerodynamic. Some wingsuits use airlocks or deflectors to help maintain pressurization and airflow while minimizing turbulence. The surface area of the wing causes drag vertically, while the shape of the wings and the pilot's body position causes the skyflyer to move across the sky at very high speeds. The resulting forward speed translates into lift (force) potential and creates a slow fall rate which gives the pilot a relatively high glide ratio.
Wingsuits attach to a skydiving rig using openings on the sides of the suit to insert the leg straps, which stay inside the suit at all times. The arm wings go through the main lift webbing and are then secured with cutaway cables. The cable is routed in a manner that leaves the emergency handles exposed. All suits have booties, swoop handles, and zippers to keep the skyflyer sealed in. It usually takes five to ten minutes to hook up a wingsuit.
Currently, there are three basic wingsuit types. BirdMan's wingsuits have three individual ram-air wings attached to a body. The one-wing design has wings that are essentially "shaped" out of a single piece of material. There is also an experimental design which has wings that run from the wrist to the ankle, and a leg wing.
Popularity
A skydiver flying a wingsuit has an average fall rate of 50 - 60 MPH, which can easily double freefall time. Experienced skyflyers with more advanced suits can maintain fall rates under or around 40 MPH. Skyflyers are constantly trying to lower their vertical speeds via different flying techniques.
Flying a wingsuit is the closest thing to pure flight. When wearing a wingsuit, the skyflyer is able to fly all across the sky. Due to the slower fall rate and greater forward speed a good skyflyer can cover five to six miles from 13,500 feet and achieve a glide ratio of over 2.5:1. Forwards speeds are believed to be between 70 and 90 MPH without wind assistance.
Wingsuit flying is one of the few skydiving disciplines that allows skydivers to hear each other talk in freefall. Because of the slow fall rate, there is less noise from the passing air and skyflyers can actually talk to another skyflyer when flying next to each other.
Wingsuit flying even comes with its own sub-disciplines such as speed, lift (force), distance, aerobatics, flocking, formations, horizontal freeflying, canopy and wingsuit relative work, and more. Wingsuit flying is still relatively young, and the full potential is still unexplored, yet many ways to enjoy them have already been discovered.
WANT TO TRY IT?
The USPA recommends that any jumper flying a wingsuit for the first time have at least 200 jumps with instruction or 500 without, however, these are only recommendations. Currency and skydiving maturity are more important than just jump numbers.
If you are a skydiver that is interested in wingsuit flying, talk to experienced skyflyers and your drop zone's S&TA. A wealth of detailed information, instruction, resources, and access to experienced skyflyers to answer your questions is offered on these web sites:
The wingsuit forum at http://www.dropzone.com
Acquiring a suit isn't too much of a challenge. Finding a friend that has a suit that will fit you may be an easy way. Some wingsuit manufacturers even have demo programs. If you have a BM-I (BirdMan Instructor) or BirdMan dealer at your drop zone, they more than likely have a way to acquire a demo suit for you. Some drop zones have suits for rent.
Even if you have over 500 skydives, instruction is highly recommended. Any BM-I can take you on your first jump. If you do not have a BM-I at your drop zone, ask your S&TA who the most qualified skyflyer would be to offer instruction. If there are no skyflyers at your drop zone at all, go online to find the closest qualified instructor. In the worst case scenario, if you have over 500 skydives, just buy a suit and become your drop zone's first skyflyer. Do a lot of tracking dives in preparation for your first flight. Get briefed on first wingsuit flight procedures by an experienced wingsuit flyer and read BirdMan's flight manual at http://www.bird-man.com.
BUYING A WINGSUIT
There are currently nine wingsuits available from four manufacturers: BirdMan, Inc., Fly Your Body, Matter Clothing, and Phoenix Fly. Prices range from around $700 to $1,200 with options.
BirdMan offers four wingsuits. The Classic II is BirdMan's entry level suit. The GTi is a good all around suit. The Skyflyer offers incredible performance. The Skyflyer 3 is BirdMan's highest performance suit. The Φ (Phi) is a suit featuring thin wings and airlocks that has been optimized for aerobatics and backflying. The Skyflyer wingsuits are for advanced wingsuit pilots only. Colors and sizes for all suits are custom. Stock and used suits are also available. Delivery time is usually between six and eight weeks. BirdMan's web site is at http://www.bird-man.com.
Fly Your Body's offers the S-Fly, which is a next generation Crossbow. The S-Fly comes in four stock or custom colors. All sizes are custom. The delivery time is six weeks for stock colors and nine weeks for custom colors. Fly Your Body is on the web at http://www.flyyourbody.com.
Matter offers the MTR-1, which has a similar design to the Crossbow, and the MTR-2, which is a radical upgrade from the design of the MTR-1. It is available in one color and twelve sizes (four body sizes and three leg lengths). Their delivery is usually within a few days. Matter Clothing is found at http://www.matterclothing.com.
Phoenix Fly is the newest company on the market, started by Robert Pecnik, one of the founders of Birdman Inc. Phoenix Fly currently offers the V-1, also called the Vampire. In performance and required skill to fly it, it is about similar to Birdman's SkyFlyer S3. It features a large leg wing and dacron stiffners on the leading edges of the arm wings and the tail of the leg wing. This is to ensure smoother airflow over the surfaces. Dacron is also used on the leading edges of hang-gliders. Phoenix Fly's beginner wingsuit is the Prodigy. Phoenix Fly's website is at: http://www.phoenix-fly.com/ (http://www.phoenix-fly.com). Orders for Phoenix Fly suits in North America are placed through their dealer Morpheus Technologies at [1] (http://www.baserigs.com)
Many demo suits are made and many skyflyers upgrade their suits, so there is usually a good selection of stock and used suits priced from $200. Look at the classified ads on http://www.dropzone.com and at the stock list at http://www.bird-man.com for some real values.
External link
- Flybirdman.com (http://www.flybirdman.com) - A site dedicated to wingsuit flying; articles, discussion forums and more
- Dropzone.com (http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=13;) - Wingsuit flying forums and a comprehensive skydiving resource