For a while now, I have been thinking about this sport.

[Simon]

Good Morning,

Most of my co-workers and friends are calling me insane. But I was thinking about getting into Wingsuit Flying as a sport. It is not cheap the best suits are custom made. Here are some video links.

https://youtu.be/P58b0qaFPnk

https://youtu.be/TWfph3iNC-k

https://youtu.be/o2xmAWS4akE

I wouldn't be daring enough to attempt what most of these people are doing. Also there is an absence of mountains so no proximity flights or base jumping. I would basically take up sky diving first and they recommend more than 100 jumps before you put on a wingsuit. I don't need the video equipment, because I would be doing it for my own experience and not to impress other people. If you subscribe to NetFlix there is a documentary on this; "Birdmen".

Friends and people I know think this is too dangerous, I happen to know you can also break your neck playing football. It is expensive, but so is racing cars around a track. The sport is a fringe group and I am not doing it to belong to a fringe group. Who hasn't wanted to fly like a bird?

[Qqmike]

People who do these things, do run a risk of shortened longevity! THAT list is quite long, as you know ... really missing John Denver, wished I'd seen more of John Kennedy, Jr. ...

However, the very fact that you are thinking about this, starting with sky-diving tells me something: It's not very likely any of us will succeed getting you, instead, into coin collection or rock-hounding or woodworking or knitting ... It sounds like you need a risky outlet, adventure and challenge, pushing the limits, and I can tell by "knowing" you here that you don't need any actuarial-statistical lectures about longevity! The theory is that being aware, we can control the risk ...

[Simon]

If you can watch the documentary, I mentioned above, they state that many people die in this sport. But the scientist was attempting an "experiment" when he died jumping. A majority of the ones who die now are doing these proximity and base jumping. The idea of the flight suit came from a man in Michigan who died at 27, but they say he too was showing off in a French airshow. I am not a showboat, I am safety minded individual.

It would be within my means to first take up skydiving. The flight suit just gives you more control as you descend and it allows for greater range and longer air time. I would still have the cost of lessons and the aircraft. For me to take up that proximity flying I would have to make a trip to the Swiss Alps or Maybe the Rockies. I plan to check into some skydiving lessons after I get back from Japan this summer. Doing this or 120 kph on a motorbike both can kill you.

[GreyGeek]

Most insurance policies do not cover death while flying anything. That's why airports sell life insurance policies. I had a private pilot license and I'd just as soon fly as eat. I'd use a wing suit in a heart beat, if I were 30 years younger. Don't forget to pack both of your own choots.

PS- if you really want to do something risky go cross country on. Motor Bike!

[GerardV]

PS- if you really want to do something risky go cross country on. Motor Bike!

Not risky if you know what you are doing.
To me, jumping out of planes or off cliff faces and relying on some flimsy outfit strapped to your back, to keep you alive, is far more risky.
You just cannot beat gravity!

[GreyGeek]

Not risky if you know what you are doing.
To me, jumping out of planes or off cliff faces and relying on some flimsy outfit strapped to your back, to keep you alive, is far more risky.
You just cannot beat gravity!

The problem with a motercycle is that regardless of how good an operator you are, you have no protection AND you must depend on the good judgement and common sense of everyone else who shares the road with you. Using a wingsuit you are depending only on your own skills as a parachute packer and as a glider pilot, because the same rules that apply to flying a glider apply to a wingsuit, which has stubby wings and is more like a lifting body. The terminal velocity is the same as the impact velocity of a car and cycle approaching each other at 60 mph.

[whatthefunk]

That first video is pretty terrifying. I wonder if they planned that route. That go pretty close to eating dirt in the canyon before they opened their parachutes.

[Simon]

http://www.birdmenthemovie.com/home/

@whatthefunk: From what they said in the "Birdmen" documentary, yes they do. The sport evolved from just sky diving with the suit, which is something I plan to do. The next phase, base jumpers used it to gain more control and airtime. I am not into base jumping, here in Windsor there are no mountains. But as one of the people in the documentary said, "it began to feel too much like skydiving". So a man flew his wingsuit along the mountain tops for more thrill. I equate that to a man who likes to do "stunts" on a bike rather than just ride the bike. It is fine for him to do his stunts, as long as he understands the risk to himself and is not putting others at risk showing off. I would never ride a motorcycle without a helmet and durable leather. There is enjoying the experience and there is putting yourself at greater risk. Yet it is common practice not to wear a brain bucket and dress in shorts and a tee-shirt.

@GerardV: There is little difference between you hitting the ground falling from high altitudes or sliding a motorcycle across concrete at 100 kph (60 mph?) you are very likely to die in both situations. There are people who are equally critical of motorcycle enthusiasts. I am no more critical of a man who enjoys riding a bike than the man who wants to do motocross.

@GreyGeek: From the sound of it, you lost your pilot license due to medical? I feel for you. I think it is crazy they allow a man to drive a car at lethal speeds down a congested freeway, but won't allow you to fly a plane over open country and farm fields because you might hurt someone. I am not saying they need to pull drivers license but to reconsider a man's ability.

Well I linked the movie home page at the top it is only 50 mins and has a lot of historical facts. Free to watch on NetFlix. I am not trying to sell anyone on this, just something I find very interesting and plan to do.

[GerardV]

@GreyGeek: The problem with a motorcycle is that regardless of how good an operator are, you have no protection AND you must depend on the good judgement and common sense of everyone else who shares the road with you.

Absolutely, and therefore you do develop a sense of anticipation of what other road users might do far in excess of what you would have in a car, and ride accordingly.

http://www.birdmenthemovie.com/home/

@GerardV: There is little difference between you hitting the ground falling from high altitudes or sliding a motorcycle across concrete at 100 kph (60 mph?) you are very likely to die in both situations. There are people who are equally critical of motorcycle enthusiasts. I am no more critical of a man who enjoys riding a bike than the man who wants to do motocross.
.

Sorry Simon, i did not mend to be critical and i am not. It looks like a lot of fun and good on you for having a go. Moto GP riders come off their bikes at that speed on a regular basis every weekend and walk, or limp away from it most of the time. But, as you pointed out, you must have the right protection.

[GreyGeek]

...

@GreyGeek: From the sound of it, you lost your pilot license due to medical? I feel for you. I think it is crazy they allow a man to drive a car at lethal speeds down a congested freeway, but won't allow you to fly a plane over open country and farm fields because you might hurt someone. I am not saying they need to pull drivers license but to reconsider a man's ability.
...

I didn't lose my pilot license. I never renewed it when I no longer needed it for business purposes after my last client gave me an offer my wife wouldn't let me refuse. I had reached the stage where I had to take a physical and a cardio treadmill every six months. My heart is fine and has never given me problems. I have a resting HR of around 50-55.

[Simon]

I have a patient who suffers from a minor heart defect as well as the cancer that I am handling for him. He told me they pulled his license when he failed the medical. The only way he can fly now is buying flight lessons and flying with a trainer or he could get into ultra lights but he prefers the larger aircraft. I had assumed you were in the same boat.

Oh almost forgot; I am leaving in August for two weeks to see my parents in Japan. So if you don't hear from me it is not because I went SPLAT! in a wingsuit. LOL I plan to start the skydiving later in August/September.

[GreyGeek]

If you get the same joy from winging it that I got driving a plane it will be AWESOME! Setting left seat in a private aircraft gives one a sense of freedom in three dimensions that I can not describe. Flying through the air without being strapped to an airplane could only be that sense on steroids!