FLIGHT DESIGN

How is the human body transformed from faller to flyer?

Shooting footage

The speed and angles of skydiving and BASE jumping provide such unique views that many want to capture the experience. Mounted on the helmet, videos can provide footage of the experience from the skydiver’s point of view.

Parachute

Some daredevils have perfected landing in a wingsuit without a parachute, but to ensure a soft landing, this is usually deployed towards the end of descent or in an emergency. Wingsuits don’t provide enough lift to guarantee a safe landing.

Helmet

Designed to cover the head and face, these helmets shield the face and eyes as wind hits them at extreme speeds.

Inlets

There are four of these pockets on both sides of the suit. Air rushes into them, pressurising the suit and making it more rigid. This makes the uplift more effective.

Wing types

The arm wings can attach to the suit at the waist, near the knee or at the feet. The latter is known as a mono-wing as it creates one large wing across the entire body.

Tail wing

Catching air between the legs is what gives these suits their forward drive. When the legs are spread out straight, more forward speed is created.

Arm wings

Like an aeroplane wing these are flat on the bottom and have a curved top. As air has to travel faster over the top of the wing, a lifting effect is created. About 80 per cent of lift from a wingsuit comes from the arm wings.

Ribbed material

The surface of the wingsuit is ribbed, creating passages for air to flow through. This prevents drag.