I saw the most amazing thing on the TV today. A skydiver wearing a jumpsuit with webbed arms and legs ie. cloth between the arms and the body and between the legs giving him more wing area so to speak. He jumps from a Pilatus Porter and after he jumps and flies down, the plane dives down with him. they both go down at about 45degrees gradually closing on each other until he manages to dive back into the cabin! It was the most amazing thing to see...they must have been going about 100mph and I'd hate to think what would have happened if he had misjudged. Afterward, he demonstrated his flying abilities with the special jumpsuit and it looked like his glide ratio was decent enough for some serious travelling.

The Pilatus must have had some sort of airbrakes or reverse pitch on the prop ( the revs were slower when diving - I could see the blades distinctly ) or it would have overshot the skydiver.

Incredible to see....

Shane

Saw something similar in an IMAX (very wide format) movie about aerial stunts back in the '80s: a wing walker falls from a biplane, and they manage to link back up in much the same way. It was set at the Grand Canyon, and while the plot implied no chute, it was visible as a very subtle bulge.

Still a cool stunt.

Yes yes, there is a guy who set the world record for unassisted human flight in one of these suits (called wing suits by the way), they are flown only by a select few. from 30k feet, he managed to fly 9 miles with a crosswind. I believe he learned to fly the suit from the inventor of the thing, who unfortunately passed away in a skydiving accident. That's very cool though, I've never seen him re-enter the plane. And by the way, the wing suit will do at least 100 MPH in the HORIZONTAL, not even adding the vertical component. And from that world record attempt, the glide ratio works out to be something like 1.5:1, not spectacular, but certainly very good for just a guy and a suit.

Alek

Managed to find a link to the videos of the guy doing it. Its Patrick De Gayardon who did some ads on TV skysurfing...wild!

http://perso.club-internet.fr/kustam...n/birdvide.htm

ftp://www.skydivingmovies.com/public/wingsuit/

Haven't been able to download as I am on a dialup modem and it takes forever!

Shane

What's the special of entering a plane in flight?

I've been able to exit it in flight!!!!!

Now seriously: maybe is the same guy that crossed the sky (somewhere in Nevada I guess) with a "zagilike" wing attached to his back.

There was a green Pilatus Turbo Porter with painted shark teeth at a deep dive flying by his side to check the speed. That was awesome!!!! He was able to control de glide by two small ailerons.

He had smoke cans to allow ground crew to find him.

I don't remember the name but he's a stuntman original from Germany. He's jumped from bridges, mountains, buildings, TV towers, blimps and anything high enough.

I'll try the same on my next jump with a GWS Cub wing I've on the bench.

That was Felix Baumgartner from the Red Bull Acro Team, he's from Austria, not Germany
He also jumped from the Jesus-Statue in Rio

The was a movie a while ago (mid 50's early 60's?) where Burt Lancaster and another guy were itinerant stunt jumpers who would put on parachute shows for a paying crowd. Their big stunt was to use a winged suit. The plot had to do with overcoming the feeling of controlled flight and resisting the urge to think you could land under winged control (not via parachute control). Burt eventually succumbed to the urge and died when attempting a winged landing.
-Mike

There is an article in the July 2003, Popular Science about Wingsuits. I haven't read the article, but above one of the pictures it mentions that 72 of 75 pioneers have been killed using them! You might find it interesting.

Also, Popular Science is doing articles every month on flying in honor of the the century of flight. So watch for interesting articles each month.

Erich,

That's it!!!! Felix Baumgartner. Cool guy!!

Sorry to say it's German. I heard he was speaking german so that's why I supposed that.

BTW: I know you don't have Kangaroos
I used to go to Glorenza in summer with my aunt. Nice country.

My father was born in the southern Tyrol too but in the Italian side.

Auf wiedersehen,

Michele

One can always hope the inevitable occurs before this type of person spawns.

www.felixbaumgartner.com

Well worth to take a look.

He's testing a wing/parachute pack by fixing himself on the roof of a Porsche 911 Turbo!!!!

Wonder if Felix is the same stuntman who did the jump into a plane gag in the James Bond movie, if I remember correctly it was The Spy Who Loved Me?

Originally posted by Kinnic^2
Saw something similar in an IMAX (very wide format) movie about aerial stunts back in the '80s: a wing walker falls from a biplane, and they manage to link back up in much the same way. It was set at the Grand Canyon, and while the plot implied no chute, it was visible as a very subtle bulge.

Still a cool stunt.

That was Dar Robinson. One of the greatest stuntmen ever. Drove a convertible off the edge of the Grand Canyon and jumped out.

Charlie

Just remember, this stuff is dangerous,

Patrick De Gayardon died in a skydiving accident.

Basket,

The movie was "Goldeneye". Bond escapes from the russian base after agent 006 supposely dies (played by Sean Bean).

That plane was a Pilatus too. Why they always use that plane for this kinda stunts?

The plane I usually jump from is a Cessna Caravan.