By Ben Smith
Have you ever wanted to fly through the air like a bird? Not in a hot air balloon or an airplane, but without anything between you and the sky? A relatively new type of BASE jumping has been created, and it involves using a special suit called a wingsuit.
A wingsuit is essentially a specialized type of jumpsuit that has layers of fabric attached in such a way that a falling person gains lift, and can direct the path of their fall. Technically it is a very extreme form of gliding. There is no way for a person to rise after they begin their descent, but the wingsuit allows them an unprecedented level of maneuverability.
The wingsuit was popularized, if not invented, by Patrick de Gayardon, a French skydiver, in the mid 1990s. In 1998, Australian BASE jumper Tom Begic developed his own wing suit. He found that it had a number of benefits that allowed the wingsuit wearer to jump off from areas that were, to that point, impossible to jump from.
BASE jumpers specialize in jumping from many stationary earth-bound objects, which is where the name comes from. BASE is an acronym that stands for Buildings, Antennas, Spans, and Earth. As unlikely as it sounds, it is even more dangerous than skydiving and requires a lot more skill to practice safely.
Wingsuit flying requires a lot of skill as well. The United States Parachute Association currently recommends that before attemping to use a wingsuit, a jumper should have experience with a minimum of 200 skydives if receiving guidance from a wingsuit instructor. If you'd prefer to try it without an instructor, the recommendation jumps to 500 dives!
Once you have the prerequisite experience, how do you attempt a jump? There are a few different options available. You can jump out of a plane or off something very high, like a cliff. Each approach has pros and cons. When jumping from a plane, the jumper has to align themselves properly from the plane as they exit. Once they are far enough away they simply spread their arms and legs so that the wingsuit can begin converting their momentum into lift.
A far different technique is employed when jumping from a cliff or some other stationary object. The jumper has to wait until they have enough downward velocity to maintain stability as they glide. As of the date of this article's publication, there is a video on YouTube called "Extreme Base Jumping in Wingsuits." At the 1:08 mark, you can see this freefall technique at work. The jumpers convert their downward momentum into forward motion and begin their flight.
Wingsuit flying is relatively new, having been developed within the past fifteen years. The technology continues to be refined. Some jumpers add a special type of carbon fiber wing to their suit to allow for better performance. In 2003, an Austrian BASE jumper used a carbon fiber wing and jumped from a height of 9,000 meters (5.5 miles). He managed to fly across the English Channel, a distance of 35 kilometers (21 miles) in a mere 14 minutes.
At the end of a jump, a parachute is required for landing. Many wingsuit teams are looking into ways of reducing velocity with the suit alone in order to forgo the parachute altogether.
Mankind's collective dream of flight like a bird has not yet arrived, but with wingsuits (and nerves of steel!) we can come close.
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