Another day, another insane person in a wingsuit who decides to fly into a narrow canyon full of razor-sharp rocks. This time it’s "athlete and flying cowboy Marshall Miller" going through the Beehive line, in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona.
     |
Videos of wingsuit flights are never not awesome but this one just might be the best. And it’s not because of the snow. Though the beautifully fresh powder helps. And it’s not because Dan Vicary, the flying man in the video, zips around for three miles. Though the astonishing views certainly don’t hurt. But it’s because when you’re watching the video, you realize that this is all being filmed by another flying man in a wingsuit. Someone is flying a few feet behind capturing every second of this flight.
| |
A good policy on all wingsuit jumps is to never crash into anything. A secondary policy to follow would be if you do crash into something, make sure it’s soft and not Rio de Janeiro’s 125-foot tall Christ the Redeemer statue. Jesus Christ may be forgiving but his statue made of 635 metric tons of reinforced concrete and soapstone is not.
| |
He’s Superman. Actually, I take it back. I don’t even think Superman would fly this impossibly close to the ground because it’s just ridiculous. Insane, really. That didn’t stop wingsuit pilot Brian Drake from zipping mere feet from the ground though. Look at him tear through the gully and marvel at death being defied. So awesome.
| |
We’ve talked about Swiss daredevil Yves Rossy several times since he began making flights using a wing powered by jet engines strapped to his back. In the past he’s flown his backpack wing in formation with a fighter jet, jumped from a hot air balloon and completed a loop wearing his backpack wing.
Rossy recently completed another flight when he flew over the Japanese landmark of Mount Fuji.
This was his first flight in Asia. He used his carbon-Kevlar jet wing mounted to his back and flew around the mountain to celebrate its designation as a world heritage site.
The backpack wing Rossy uses can reach speeds of up to 190 mph. The flight speed is controlled by a hand held throttle. The wingsuit can fly to an altitude of 12,000 feet and travel 9.3 miles before running out of fuel. He then returns to the ground using a parachute when he runs out of fuel.
[via Telegraph]
I keep watching this video over and over and every time this insane guy in a wingsuit somehow manages to avoid smashing into the side of the mountain by perfectly zipping through a ridiculously narrow cave. It’s unbelievable. It doesn’t make sense. He’s flying at 155 miles per hour! More »
I’ve seen wingsuits used in basejumping and skydiving, but I guess it makes sense to use something akin to those suits underwater, since some animals like ray fish use their “wings” to fly underwater.
The Oceanwings neoprene suit from AquaLung Dreamlab is supposed to help humans in their subaquatic activities. The suit was created by French designer Guillaume Binard and Frédérique Gouin. It looks like the suit lets you sort of “fly” through the water without much energy expense, though it will probably take some time to get used to the way that it makes the water flow around your body.
You can see the suit in action in this underwater video directed by Jérôme Espla, featuring Pierre Frolla as he dives into the abyss.
[via designboom]
Recon Instruments has decided to take its wares off the slopes and into the air, provided enough people bite. The Flight HUD is built around the same core as its ski goggles, but has been tweaked to offer information more relevant to skydivers, base jumpers and wingsuit pilots. The tiny LCD just below the field of vision displays speed, altitude and glide ratio in real time. Rather than simply guess how fast they’re going, adrenaline junkies will be able to see accurate data in the moment and make the appropriate adjustments. Obviously, this is a rather niche market, so Recon Instruments has set a goal: 250 pre-orders to trigger a production run. The early birds can pick up a Flight HUD for $299, while every order placed after the initial 250 will cost $349. To get a run down of the proposed product from renowned aerial daredevil Jeb Corliss check out he video after the break.
Continue reading Recon Instruments offers Flight HUD goggles for wingsuit pilots and skydivers
Filed under: Wearables
Recon Instruments offers Flight HUD goggles for wingsuit pilots and skydivers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
