Wingsuite Base Jumping is Newest Flying Craze…

Wanna be a Birdman? Watch These Exciting WingSuit Flyers…

Always wanted to fly like a bird… But who ever thought it possible to be a birdman (or birdwoman)? 

I mean, people go to great lengths to build silly birdman wings for yearly birdman rally competitions, only to crash into the sea after a few meters…

Others invented and work on perfecting flying aids such as parachutes, paragliders, kitesurfing kites etc. and we buy them and do what we can to fly in any wind (or no wind) condition….

We stopped windsurfing when kitesurfing was invented, so that we could fly higher, jump longer and enjoy riding the wind much more.
When wind dies (Luckily only a few days in the year in Kitebeach Cabarete) then we Paraglide and take people for tandem paragliding in the mountains near Cabarete, or teach paragliding on the beach.

We thought we had it all.

Until Dave, one of my kitesurfing friends here in Cabarete Kitebeach, Dominican Republic, just emailed me about some wild dudes up in Norway who go skiing off a mountain top, junk their skies in mid air and…. simply spread out their arms and legs and fly 100 miles an hour! 

This fantastic wingsuit flying madness is said to be the fastest growing extreme sport in Norway.

Watch more exciting wingsuit flying videos:

What's Wingsuit Flying

Wingsuit Flying or Wingsuite Base Jumping is Newest Craze in Extreme Sports (Wikipedia Image)

Wingsuit flying,  is basically flying your body through the air using a special jumpsuit, called a wingsuit, that shapes the body into an airfoil which can create a lift effect.
The wingsuit creates the airfoil shape with fabric sewn between the legs and under the arms, so you end up looking like a large religious robed bat.

Wingsuit is also called a birdman suit or squirrel suit.

Wingsuit Flying -From Where Can You Leap Off  Flying?

Wingsuit Flying can be done from any high point that provides you sufficient altitude to glide through the air. For example:  mountain tops, high Fiords, skydiving aircraft / helicopters dropping you off, or BASE jumping exit points such as high towers.

Just How Difficult Is It to Wingsuit Fly?

You should have at least 200h of skydiving experience, do a wingsuit flying course and be fearless of free fall, hights and extreme fast flying near mountain cliffs….

you need to know how to Exit an aircraft in a wingsuit. This requires learned techniques that differ depending on the location and size of the aircraft door. These wingsuit flying exit techniques include the orientation relative to the aircraft and the airflow while exiting, and the way in which the flier will spread their legs and arms at the right time, to avoid hitting the aircraft or becoming unstable in the relative wind.

Upon exit, the wingsuit immediately starts to fly in the relative wind generated by the forward speed of the aircraft.

However, exiting from a BASE jumping site, like a cliff, or exiting from a helicopter or hot air balloon, is totally different from exiting a moving aircraft, since the initial wind speed upon exit is absent. 
In these wingsuit flight exit situations, a vertical drop is required to generate the airspeed that the wingsuit can then convert to lift. A vertical drop is achieved using the forces of gravity to accelerate yourself. In other words- you drop like a rock for a while till you gain the needed speed…

How Does a Wingsuit Flyer Land?

The wingsuit flier enters freefall wearing a wingsuit as well as parachute equipment.

The wingsuit flier parachute equipment is designed for skydiving or BASE jumping.  
When wingsuit flying to the planned landing point, the wingsuit flier needs to cut the high flying speed- sometimes as fast as 100 mph (~160 km/h) and deploy the parachute at a planned altitude.
Fliers unzip the arm wings, if necessary, so as to reach up to the control toggles and fly to a normal parachute landing.

Watch this amazing French Flying Squirrel Man doing the Wingsuit Flying Extreme Sports:

Tell us what You think about Wingsuit Flying!

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Wingsuit Base Jumping | Wingsuit Flying | Paragliding