Wingfly

Also known as “ wingsuit ” , wingfly , a new form of skydiving , has been ranking among the best extreme sports today. This sports discipline allows the person who practices it to do a type of glide through the air with an average speed of around 160 kilometers per hour. This activity consists of planning on the edge of a mountain using a suit that has special membranes that are similar to a pair of wings. The people who usually perform this type of practice are known by the name of bird-men .

What is wingfly?

People who practice this sport practice base jumping. They are placed on the edge of a cliff or some mountain peak , wearing a suit that makes them look like a bat . It allows participants to reach high and dangerous speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour while providing an adrenaline rush to their bodies. The duration of the jump is approximately 2 minutes. Part of the main attraction of the sport is to carry a small camera attached to their helmets or to the body to be able to record the balance from start to finish to be able to upload it to the internet, on popular video channels such as YouTube and Dailymotion. People who practice it tend to glide very close to the ground and the surrounding trees, similar to how birds do. It is very dangerous and is only suitable for extreme skydivers who know the technique perfectly. Parachutists who wish to practice this extreme sport must have at least 500 conventional free fall jumps and at least 200 of these same jumps during the last year and a half, so it is easy to know that a very broad experience is required for to be able to practice this sport. The skydiver must land by unzipping a side zipper that frees the legs to land with greater safety.

Wingfly history

The history of wingfly dates back to 1930, however, the active practice of this type of sport began to appear frequently in the mid-nineties. At first, the costumes were not very safe and were made from canvas, wood, silk and metal. Between 1912 and 1961, the athletes who tried to wear these suits mostly died. In 1990, the famous paratrooper Patrick de Gayardon, created a new and different wingsuit that was highly efficient and very safe. Despite this creation, de Gayardón passed away on April 13, 1998 in Hawaii while testing a modification that he had made to the suit. After Patrick’s death, the suit took on even more strength and many types of clothing were generated for the realization of this extreme sport. In 1999 , Jari Kuosma and Robert Pecnik together formed a new suit, safer and accessible to all people who wanted to practice the sport, and in this way they gave birth to BirdMan Inc.  These were the first suits that were offered to the public in general.

Wingfly practice equipment

The equipment necessary to practice wingfly consists of a suit that has three wings or membranes , two of these membranes are responsible for joining the arms with the legs or with the waist and the other has the role of joining the legs , usually at height of the ankles, thus simulating the tail of a bird. The suit also includes a series of small membranous channels that allow air circulation and facilitate a better flight experience. In addition to the suit that we have mentioned, the paratroopers must have a series of different accessories, the jumpers must use mandatory such as glassesthat protect them from blizzards, gloves and a helmet and it is common to carry one or more Go-Pro cameras , which are attached to the suit to record and record the jump.

Risk Sport

Wingfly is one of the most extreme and dangerous sports today. The main debate it generates among sports experts is safety. The main reason for risk is because the height to perform the jump is very low, it does not give the athlete time to open a second parachute in case of an emergency or in case the wings provided by the suit do not work. The slightest mistake during practice can lead to the death of the person.