Wingsuit flight video

Here is a beautiful video of people jumping off cliffs and flying around the precipices. They're wearing wingsuits, aka birdman suits, which essentially act as airfoils to keep you aloft.
Link (Thanks, Mike Love!)

Previously on BB:
• Batwings for special forces Link

[#1 posted by Cpt. Tim , November 8, 2007 10:12 AM]

its all fun and games till you scratch your nose and veer into a cliff.

[#2 posted by obeyken , November 8, 2007 10:17 AM]

i'm willing to wager this ends up at the opening sequence of a james bond flick.

[#3 posted by Kurt , November 8, 2007 10:17 AM]

The heck with wingsuits, check out Jet-Man.

[#4 posted by Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey , November 8, 2007 10:27 AM]

If you have an interest in this sort of thing, Michael Abrams's recent book Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyflyers: Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them, and Perfected Them is an extensive rundown, covering both historical and contemporary batmen.

[#5 posted by Nixar , November 8, 2007 10:30 AM]

Here's another awesome video of the same kind of madness:

http://www.dailymotion.com/Fredy_K/video/xfgxp_nuit-de-la-glisse-wingsuit

Although, I have to admit, it's not as awesome as having one of those nutbags fly by a few meters away from you as in the video posted in the article.

[#6 posted by The Unusual Suspect , November 8, 2007 10:48 AM]

Nice suits. Mine would have to have the optional built-in diaper, however.

[#7 posted by Angstrom , November 8, 2007 11:09 AM]

yes, I agree with Kurt.
Jet man trumps all wingsuits, Jetman is my new hero.

http://www.jet-man.com/actuel_eng.html

I was surprised by how well it works, I thought that the jetman technology would merely enable a controlled fall at a 45 degree angle, but he really flies with power, he can climb and turn, or whatever he feels like.
Really excellent.

[#8 posted by darkbeanie , November 8, 2007 11:30 AM]

How about a combination of Jetman and wingsuits? This isn't as visually interesting as the original posted wingsuit clip, but the technical achievement is very cool, and it's something I'm sure more than a few of us have imagined -- jet engines on your ankles! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS2rjcVcaqQ&NR=1

[#9 posted by Landowner , November 8, 2007 12:08 PM]

What the hell kind of margin of error can there be flying 30 over the ground at just shy of terminal velocity?
The fact that they pulled this off without an injury is amazing.

[#10 posted by David Pescovitz , November 8, 2007 1:16 PM]

I actually wrote about Visa Parvainen of BirdMan Inc. who developed a pair of custom jet boots to go with his wingsuit, in MAKE: Vol. 6. It was fun talking with him. He's actually quite down to Earth. (Sorry.)

[#11 posted by dave hutchinson , November 8, 2007 3:06 PM]

That is without a doubt one of the damndest things I've ever seen. Of course, you'd have to be entirely out of your mind to do that. But, yes, absolutely beautiful.

[#12 posted by john chimpo , November 8, 2007 5:14 PM]

FYI, that clip is from Matchstick Productions' latest extreme skiing tour de force, Seven Sunny Days. The rest of the video, while not devoted to wingsuits, is equally awe-inspiring.

[#13 posted by Bazilisk , November 8, 2007 10:01 PM]

If I wasn't so afraid of bodily harm I would find a way to join them as soon as possible.

Damn my strong bio-survival instinct! Keeps me out of all kinds of fun!