Wingsuit and its ideological inspirers, flying squirrels: how the “smart” suit works. Wingsuit - what is it and where can you jump?

You will not know the joy of birds rushing in flight,

- After all, you live in the prison of your five wretched senses.

William Blake. Marriage of Heaven and Hell

I'm just sure that you can learn to fly.
Of course, it's not sweet to hit the ground,
but it is not necessary to start immediately from a great height.
Astrid Lindgren. Pippi Longstocking

WINGSUIT IS: - FLY LIKE A SQUIRREL.
8 LAWS OF FLIGHT

Firework! The week long run is over. Jump - we're flying on the weekend. Along the way, we will learn the intricacies of that type of parachuting (yes, yes), which has been repeatedly observed in all sorts of invigorating videos, for example “People are awesome!” .

1. Where do wings come from?

The principle of operation of a wingsuit (translated from English as “wing suit”) was learned from flying squirrels. Rodents glide from tree to tree using a membrane that stretches along their body when they spread their paws.

The first wingsuit was invented in the 30s of the last century. However, it took another 60 years to bring its design to fruition. First, the suit had to integrate a parachute (necessary for landing) so that it would not interfere with gliding. Secondly, for a long time it was not possible to make membrane wings that would allow predictable control of the wingsuit.

2. French ribs

The modern wingsuit appeared only in the late 90s. This suit had two membranes stretched when the parachutist spread his arms to the side, and the third - when his legs. All three wings consisted of two layers of material, upper and lower, and were inflated when incoming air entered them through the air intakes located in the front of the suit. In addition, stiffening ribs were sewn into the membranes, which helped the wings maintain their shape and change aerodynamic characteristics when a person began to move his limbs. This suit was invented by the Frenchman, an enthusiastic parachutist and inventor, Patrick de Gaillardon. Since then, all wingsuits have been sewn according to these principles, although the design is constantly being refined.

3. Under the wing of an airplane

The webbing actually turns the entire suit into a wing. For it to start working, you need an incoming air flow. In airplanes, this flow is created by the engine, pushing the fuselage forward. When a skydiver in a wingsuit jumps from a flying airplane, he immediately begins to glide in a horizontal plane, since he already has a high initial speed.

This is the easiest type of wing suit flying and is where training usually begins. True, in a normal parachute school you will first have to prove that you have made at least 200 jumps with a regular wing parachute. This experience is needed in order to jump out of an airplane without any problems and to take the only correct position for the normal opening of the canopy upon landing.

4. From the cliff

The speed required for horizontal flight (60-90 km/h) can be achieved in a few seconds of vertical fall, under the influence of gravity. To do this, you need to climb a high mountain or, for example, a building and jump down. The higher the starting point, the longer the accelerating part of the fall, the faster and further you will fly along the horizon. You can also glide while clinging to the side of a mountain - it’s called "proximity", and here you need a refined wingsuit control technique. These are the riskiest jumps, but also the most interesting and spectacular. By and large, everyone only wants to jump in the mountains.

5. Flight down

It is impossible to gain height in a wingsuit; the wing area is too small. But for the feeling of flight, it is enough that a good skydiver in a good suit, on average, flies 2-2.5 m horizontally for every meter of height lost. Overcoming 10-20 km in this mode, jumping from an airplane, is quite achievable.

Wingsuit flying is a weather-dependent sport, but the wind can only interfere when taking off from a stationary starting point. For example, it simply will not allow you to fly away from the rock. During the flight there are no problems due to turbulence. At gliding speed in a wingsuit, you simply blow through any air currents.

6. Fear

Unlike regular skydiving, it is impossible to get used to jumping in a wingsuit. It's always scary. Fear is just different. Gradually you begin to understand that it has a lot of gradations, and you learn to manage it. Essentially, you need to do very simple movements, from a motor point of view, but under severe stress. This can only be trained by constant jumping. It is always better to jump a little, but regularly, than a lot, but on a binge. So that the psyche does not lose the habit.

7. Risk

Tells Valery Rozov two-time world champion in parachuting, multiple champion of Russia in parachuting, X-Games champion in skysurfing (1998)

He is always present. But there are standard conditions, and there are those that go beyond the usual framework. In the second case, you analyze the situation and figure out what's what. If we are talking about a regular training jump (the third one of the day, from this place I have already jumped 50 times), and I don’t like something, then I will go down on foot. But if I have been preparing an expedition to this point for 1.5 months and there will be no other chance to jump, then I am ready to take a big risk.

When I jumped from Mont Blanc in the summer of 2011, there was gusty wind.
But, having thought through where I would land if something went wrong, I decided to act. The flight really didn’t go according to plan; I didn’t reach the foot of the mountain, but I landed safely at an alternate site on the Brenva glacier. And, for example, a year ago, on the top of Mount Shivling in the Himalayas (6420 m), I had to spend several days waiting for suitable weather. Result: walked more than 4 km horizontally at a speed of about 200 km/h, the elevation difference was about 2200 meters.

8. Wingsuit and sports

Wingsuit flying is already recognized as a sport by the International Aeronautics Federation. True, for now you can only compete in group formations of figures in the air - roughly speaking, who has the most participants interlocking in flight. In addition, there are many amateur unofficial competitions for wingsuit flying in the mountains. Basically, these are jumps with a GPS sensor, which records data on speed, range and quality of flight. For example, I accelerated to 200 km/h, and the speed record is 363 km/h.

But people, by and large, jump not for sporting achievements, but for the feeling of flying. A person can imagine what mountaineering is without ever having been in the mountains. You go uphill with a backpack - you have enough imagination for that. I can’t tell you how I feel when I move freely in three-dimensional space. But it's worth the risk.

Since the time of Icarus, people have dreamed of enjoying free flight. A wingsuit - or wing suit - allowed you to soar like a bird, freely and easily. In nature, flying squirrels plan this way with the help of a membrane stretched along the body.

How does a flying squirrel suit work?

The wingsuit in the form in which we know it now appeared in the late 90s. Although the first such suit was presented in the 30s of the last century. It took enthusiasts six decades to improve the design, and then figure out how to successfully integrate a parachute into it, which could be used during landing and not think about it at all during the flight.

The wingsuit design continues to be refined, although all flight suits have three wings. Two of them are stretched when the athlete spreads his arms to the sides, the third - when moving his legs. The wings consist of two layers of durable fabric; air enters the space between them through special air intakes located in the front part of the wingsuit.

A special rigid frame allows you to change the aerodynamic characteristics; these are a kind of “ribs” that give the wings their shape. This suit was developed by the French inventor and parachutist Patrick de Gaillardon.

Before its creation, the history of wingsuits contains the names of more than 70 inventors who tried to create an even more advanced suit for flight. Almost all of them died during testing of their designs.

Modern variations of wingsuits are more advanced. And some athletes risk jumping in a wingsuit even without a parachute. Here is the best video of a wingsuit jump landing in the water. The peculiarity of this jump is that the athletes made it without a parachute.

How to gain experience

If you were inspired by wingsuit flying from a YouTube video and would like to emulate the successes of the masters, the first principle that beginners should know is that you need preparation and more preparation. Before you take your first flight in a wingsuit, you should have a decent amount of experience jumping with a conventional wing parachute.

This must be done at least two hundred times. Only if you have the appropriate skills, after jumping out of an airplane, you will fly in a horizontal plane, and then take the correct body position and open your parachute in time during landing.

The higher you rise into the air, the longer and further you can fly in a horizontal plane. Some fly along mountain slopes. To master proximity jumps, the athlete must control the wingsuit flawlessly. Sufficient speed for horizontal flights is up to 90 km per hour.

Proximity flights along cliffs with a large slope are the brightest and most spectacular and at the same time the most risky. In principle, the speed that extreme athletes develop during flight can reach 225 km per hour. Here are selected moments of such jumps.

Alexander Polli is still considered a recognized master of proximity jumps. He became the first extreme sportsman in the world to conquer the “Perforated Rock” in Catalonia, flying in a wingsuit through the natural arch of Montserat. The extreme sportsman was lifted to a height of 1.5 km above the rocks. Polly jumped in a wingsuit, the flight speed reached 266 km per hour. Precision and impeccable skill did their job - the dangerous flight was successful.

Here is one of the most memorable videos of the athlete.

And do not repeat fatal mistakes

But beginners should remember that heights do not spare anyone, even first-class extreme sports enthusiasts. In the spring of 2015, Dean Potter, one of the most recognizable figures among representatives of extreme sports, crashed. Dean and his partner Graham Hunt jumped in wingsuits from the 2.3 km headland Taft Point. The base jump (parachute jump from a fixed object) turned out to be fatal for both. For an unknown reason, both athletes' parachutes did not open.

Dean Potter is famous for flying in a wingsuit with his dog Whisper. Dean went on his last flight without him.

After a thousand parachute jumps and seven hundred wingsuit jumps, in the fall of 2013, extreme athlete from Hungary Viktor Kovats crashed. He made his last jump from Tianmen Mountain in China's Hunan province during the second world wingsuit jumping championship.

What can you strive for?

In terms of risk, regular parachute jumps from an airplane and in a wingsuit are approximately the same. Statistics show that out of 100 thousand jumps one is fatal. But with BASE jumps, that is, from mountains and high-rise buildings, death occurs in one case out of two thousand. However, neither the height nor the increased risk stops extreme sports enthusiasts.

The first wingsuit jump into the crater of the active Mutnovsky volcano in Kamchatka was made by Valery Rozov, two-time world champion in parachuting, multiple champion of Russia in parachuting, and X-Games champion in skysurfing.

He was the first to fly across the Tatar Strait, which separates Sakhalin from the mainland. Rozov is rightfully considered one of the best extreme athletes in the world - he has the most summits conquered. In 2013, the athlete set a world record for the height of a base jump - 7220 meters from Changze Mountain near Everest.

Just as athletes flew over the Alps without a parachute in a wingsuit, Valery Rozov also made the only such jump.

By the way, the deceased Dean Potter holds the record for the longest flight during a BASE jump. Dean jumped in a wingsuit from Mount Eiger and flew 7.5 km before opening his parachute. Japanese Shin Ito holds the record for flight speed - 363 km per hour.

And finally - the best shots of flying in a wingsuit. In August 2014, Mike Swanson, Vincent Reffet and Julian Boule created a video of a flight over the Alps. Enjoy the skill of professionals and stunning scenery!

P.S. Both beginners and professionals who have made many wingsuit jumps say the same thing - it’s impossible to get used to flying in a wingsuit. It’s just that with experience comes the understanding that even fear has its own gradations. The skill of controlling a wingsuit grows over time one way or another. It’s just important not to take long breaks between workouts. It is better to jump fewer times, but regularly. By the way, wingsuit flying is recognized as a sport by the International Aeronautics Federation.

It would be nice for me to become a bird and turn into a big eagle... Such a song, performed by the group Cruise, could be heard in the mid-eighties of the last century. There is no such person who has not risen into the sky at least once in a dream. I felt the pleasure of free and easy flight. Dreams Dreams. They devoured the minds of people of all classes and all times. Starting with fairy tales about airplane carpets and legends about Daedalus and Icarus, and the first samples of Da Vinci's prototypes and drawings, the desire to fly gradually entered our lives. And it wasn’t easy, but it brought the idea to life.

Your own glider.
Free floating in the air without additional, bulky devices for a long time remained inaccessible to many inventors. The hang glider and parachute wing no longer satisfied the needs of people. And so, in 1996, a person was able to make free planning for the first time. And he used only unusual elements of his clothing in this.
This innovator was Patrick De Gaillardon. He demonstrated his first flight in Paris, surprising the seasoned public. Thus, a new sport was founded - wingsuit.
Wing – wing, this is the translation of this word from English. Suit completes the general meaning of the expression. Wing-shaped clothes. For those who still have no idea what we are talking about, it is enough to imagine a flying squirrel or a bat.
The wingsuit shape is as follows. If a person spreads his arms to the sides and spreads his legs wider, then this clothing will look like membranes between the limbs. When exposed to a strong air flow, they begin to act as a kind of wings. At the same time, making it possible to control the flight. Back in the fifties there were attempts to do something similar. But it was De Gaillardon who came up with the idea of ​​​​using two-layer fabric in the snout, so that sufficient lift could be created with a completely small area.

And why do they fly?
Wingsuit is a type of parachuting. More precisely, this is a continuation of skydiving. The athlete rises in an airplane to a height of up to 4000 meters and makes a jump. In the air, it unfolds its “wings” and begins to glide through the air. The speed that wingsuit lovers can reach reaches one hundred and eighty kilometers per hour. Moreover, with proper control and certain experience, the horizontal speed will be much greater than the falling speed.
The first experiments in using a wing allowed the inventor to fly above the ground a distance equal to the height from which the jump was made. Now the range and style of flight have changed significantly.
In the sky, the design of the suit allows you to perform a wide variety of tricks, sometimes the most incredible. Patrick De Gaillardon once amazed the public by jumping out of an airplane and, having flown a long distance, climbed back into it at a lower altitude. At the same time, he easily controlled the position of his body in space.
A wingsuit gives a person much more opportunities for aerial acrobatics. With the help of its technology, it becomes possible to plan without using the plane to climb to altitude. It is enough to choose a gentle slope and, accelerating, rush towards the air currents that will lift a person off the ground.

Be careful - wingsuit.
Landing in this type of skyjumping is done using a conventional parachute. There have been so many attempts to land using only the suit. Unfortunately, they all turned out to be unsuccessful. Whatever the low vertical speed of the fall, combined with the horizontal one, it created a deadly situation. During the existence of Wingsuit, according to official data alone, more than seventy people died. And no one even counts how many injuries there were. The inventor himself died while performing another trick. Only American stuntman Harry Connery was able to successfully land without a parachute. He made a safe landing on a platform filled with empty cardboard boxes. This sufficiently softened the impact on the ground and allowed the hero to make his name in the history of aeronautics.
Be that as it may, failure does not make people turn away from wingsuits. On the contrary, more and more adrenaline seekers are joining its ranks.

And everything is not that cheap.
But become human. It is not at all easy for someone who practices this sport. The suit set alone costs five thousand US dollars. Science itself is not cheap. To begin with, you need to have at least 200 parachute jumps behind you. Then hard training begins under the supervision of an experienced instructor. The average cost of a preparatory course ranges from 50,000 rubles. One hour in the wind tunnel alone is estimated at twenty thousand. And yet, no obstacles can stop a true sky lover!

Recently, a large number of mesmerizing videos of people gliding in the air in special suits have appeared on the Internet. The spectacle of daredevils soaring at bird's eye height cannot leave you indifferent; your heart clenches after each turn.

This ultra-extreme sport is called wingsuiting. The idea of ​​flying in special suits was borrowed from flying squirrels. For a long time, attempts to design a flight suit ended tragically. It was only about twenty years ago that the modern, reliable form of wingsuit was developed. The suit was equipped three wings(instead of two, as in earlier versions), equipped with two layers of fabric that can be filled with incoming air flow.

One of the most difficult disciplines of parachuting

Not everyone has the ability to glide above ground. In order to start flying in a wingsuit, you must first make at least two hundred parachute jumps.

Unlike skydiving, the movement is not downward, but forward, reminiscent of a bird's flight. The wingsuit is controlled by changing the angle of incidence or body position.

The picture that opens to the eyes of a wingsuiter is worth hundreds of preliminary parachute jumps. During one jump, the pilot flies about 2.5 kilometers along the horizon per one kilometer of altitude. It’s just hard to believe that in a couple of minutes a person flies up to five kilometers.

You can get several times more adrenaline if you jump in a wingsuit from a steep mountain slope, flying literally a couple of meters from the cliff. The structure of the suit and the flight in the direction of the traverse of the slope allow the pilot to follow the mountainous terrain as much as possible, perform various maneuvers by adjusting the height above the slope and quickly move to a safe distance from the rock to open the parachute.

To make the jump, the pilot rises to a height of about four kilometers. The initial flight speed is about 180 kilometers per hour.

Despite the high cost of equipment (approx. 5 thousand dollars) and strict conditions for admission to flights, the number of fans of this air extravaganza is steadily growing every day.

As a result, having improved the flying suit, Patrick achieved the almost impossible - he jumped from the plane, caught up with it a few kilometers below and climbed back in! The total number of his parachute jumps exceeded 12,000. Eight years after the first test of the wingsuit, de Gairdon tragically died due to the failure of the main parachute during one of the jumps.

Wingsuit records

Without a parachute, landing a wingsuit is almost impossible. In order to reduce the falling speed and increase the lifting force, it is necessary to increase the area of ​​the wings, which in turn is impossible due to the limited capabilities of the human body. The only possible option is to use a rigid wing frame, but this will be far from a wingsuit.

The only person in the world to land without a parachute, wearing only a suit - a stuntman Gary Connery. He jumped from a height of just over 700 meters and landed like an airplane on a runway made of cardboard boxes. A dubious pleasure, to be honest.

Flying as part of a large group - in a flock - is a breathtaking spectacle. What’s noteworthy is that during flights you can quite successfully talk to each other to coordinate joint actions. The top spot is taken by the jump, in which 71 pilots took part simultaneously. For greater entertainment, the participants lined up in the form of a bomber.

A suit equipped with a jet engine is at the testing stage. It’s hard to imagine what opportunities will open up for wingsuiters with such equipment!

The greatest difficulty is in calculating the flight route and complying with it. At the final point, the pilot is always awaited by an accompanying group, which, if anything happens, will be able to provide medical assistance. But despite the enormous risk and high cost of preparation, flying in a flying squirrel suit is worth it.

Photos of flying with a wingsuit

To practice different sports you need special equipment. For jumping from heights and gliding through the air, a suit called a wingsuit is used. It has important details on which the price of such workwear depends.

What is a wingsuit?

A modern special overall used in extreme sports that involves jumping from a height is called a wingsuit. It has unusual elements that reduce the acceleration of gravity by creating a small lifting force. Between the legs and under the arms, special membranes are attached to the suit, similar to those found on bats. Wingsuiting originated in the 90s, when the passion for parachuting became widespread and there was a desire for something more extreme.

Wingsuit - speed

A special suit helps reduce the acceleration of free fall, so a person can get incredible pleasure. Wingsuit jumps are made from different surfaces, and the vertical flight speed is reduced to 100 km/h, but the duration of the free fall reaches 2 minutes. It is worth noting that some masters can fly horizontally for up to 3 minutes. As a result of the calculation, we can conclude that by descending by 1 km, a person flies 2-2.5 km along the horizon.

Wingsuit – where can you jump?

There are two options for how you can make a jump while wearing a wingsuit. Like ordinary skydivers, you can jump from an airplane or a helicopter, but first the athlete “flies”, and then he opens the parachute and lands. You can also fly with a wingsuit by jumping from a cliff or other high structure. In this case, a good run-up and an open area are important.

Wingsuit suit

Among athletes and people familiar with this trend, the wingsuit is called a squirrel or bird-man suit. There is a version that the Frenchman, who developed the prototype of the modern wingsuit, used the flight principle of flying squirrels, but few people believe in it. A wingsuit without a parachute has good flight characteristics due to the area and features of the “wings”.

Numerous models come in different shapes and sizes. There are options that are attached to the arms and body, and also connect the legs. They have a small area and repeat the silhouette of a bird. There are overalls with wings that connect to each other to form a quadrangle. In most cases, athletes try to fly in different models and then choose the most convenient option for themselves.

How much does a wingsuit cost?

Several companies are engaged in tailoring suits, offering different models in a wide price range. If you are wondering how much you can buy a wingsuit for, then you should know that the cost of good overalls ranges from $750 to $1,750. There are cheaper options and they will cost $400, and such sportswear is presented from the French manufacturer Fly Your Body. People who are professionally involved in this sport can purchase a suit for BASE-style jumping from mountains for $3,000.

Wingsuit - training

Wingsuit cannot be called a safe direction in the sport, therefore, to practice it is necessary to undergo training, which includes training at a parachute school and joining a parachute club. The wingsuit instructor will issue a certified flight record book and if there is no current clearance then a control jump must be completed. You will need to buy a wingsuit, an insurance policy and undergo a medical examination.

For your own safety, it is recommended to take a basic jumping course and have experience in freeflying so that you have the skills to control your body in any position, for example, upside down or on your back. In addition to buying a special jumpsuit, you should also purchase a parachute system, a helmet, gloves and shoes. If you don't want to buy equipment, you can rent it.

How to fly a wingsuit?

Experts recommend starting this type of parachuting no earlier than after completing 200 jumps with a conventional parachute. Wingsuit is a sport that requires a person to have excellent control of his body. The miracle suit is controlled by changing the angle of incidence and body position. All wingsuit models have a special quick release mechanism, so you can choose free flight mode rather than gliding. On some models, the membrane between the legs is released so as not to hamper movement during landing.

Wingsuit - how to land?

Since wingsuit jumping is a type of parachuting, the landing rules are identical:

1. The landing of the wingsuit begins from a height of up to 150 m, and at this moment the athlete must be facing the wind.
2. At an altitude of 100 to 150 m, you need to prepare by connecting your legs at the knees and feet, and taking into account the wind speed, move them forward. If the weather is calm, then they should be in an almost vertical position, with their knees half bent. Keep your feet parallel to the ground.
3. Both legs should touch the ground with their full feet at the same time. Please note that to reduce the force of the blow, you should slightly bend your knees and keep them tense. There is no need to try to stay on your feet and it is better to fall forward or on your side.
4. To extinguish the canopy of the parachute, you need to take several lower lines and pull them towards you, intercepting them with your hands. This should be done until the result is achieved.

Wingsuit - mortality statistics

To understand the risks associated with a wingsuit, you need to consider that there are two options:

1. Jump from an airplane. A person can be injured or even die due to improper landing, failure to deploy the parachute, opening the reserve at low altitude, or malfunctioning parachute system and wingsuit. Mortality accounts for 0.001% to 0.03% of all aircraft emissions.
2. Jumping BASE. Increasingly, you can hear reports that a wingsuit athlete crashed while jumping from a cliff. This is a very risky sport and the main hazards are: unpredictable terrain, miscalculated flight path, poor initial jump, suit malfunction and flight instability. According to statistics, approximately 30% of athletes crash after hitting a mountainside. Wingsuit is a sport with a fatality rate of 0.1% to 0.2% of all BASEs.