BIRDMAN® WINGSUITS
The first commercial wingsuit is a story of stubborness, sweat, blood, friendship, bravery, betrayal, timing and dreams. There is a bit more of a story on my page, media page or blog and a whole lotta more of the story in my upcoming book and film.
BIRDMAN introduced wingsuits for the world in 1999 and was the leading manufacturer util 2009 when it ceased mass production. In 10 years BIRDMAN made 22 commercial wingsuit models (list with details, pictures coming up), over 4000 custom made wingsuits and tens of thousands of accessories. BIRDMAN was the first company to introduce not only wingsuits but also track pants (Pantz) for skydivers and BASE jumpers, 2 piece tracking system with detachable re-sizable wing, worlds first heavenly inspired clothing lines for skydivers and the first skydivers and BASE jumpers watch collection. BIRDMAN wrote and trained the wordls first First Flight Course and trained thousands of skydivers to fly and over 200 Wingsuit Instructors & Chief Instructors to kick-start the project and push the sport from zero to hero. The Wingsuit First Flight program Jari Kuosma wrote in 1999 is now accepted by F.A.I. (Federale Aeronatique Internationale) and just about every country in the world officially. Quite an archievement from illegal activity to Olympia ready sport it is now.
BIRDMAN suits (to be updated)
BIRDMAN s.u.i.t. 1999
BIRDMAN Classic 2000
BIRDMAN Classic II 2001
BIRDMAN GTi 2000
BIRDMAN GTi II 2001
BIRDMAN SkyFlyer S.1 2001
BIRDMAN SkyFlyer S.3 2003
BIRDMAN SkyFlyer S.5 2005
BIRDMAN SkyFlyer S.6 2006
BIRDMAN SkyFlyer S.8 2008
BIRDMAN FireBird 2004
BIRDMAN FireBird II 2006
BIRDMAN FireBird III 2007
BIRDMAN Impact 2006
BIRDMAN Phi 2006
BIRDMAN Tengu 2008
BIRDMAN BLADE 2005
BIRDMAN BLADE II 2007
BIRDMAN BLADE III 2012
BIRDMAN NINJA 2013
BIRDMAN KATANA 2014
BIRDMAN UKKO 2018
WIKIPEDIA OF WINGSUITS
Wingsuit flying is the sport of flying the human body through the air using a special jumpsuit, called a wingsuit, which adds surface area to the human body to enable a significant increase in lift. Modern wingsuits, first developed in the late 1990s, create the surface area with fabric between the legs and under the arms. A wingsuit may be referred to as a birdman suit, flying squirrel suit, or bat suit.
A wingsuit flight normally ends with a parachute opening, so a wingsuit can be flown from any point that provides sufficient altitude
to glide through the air, such as skydiving aircraft or BASE jumping exit points, and to allow a parachute to deploy.
The wingsuit flier wears parachute equipment designed for skydiving or BASE jumping. The flier deploys the parachute at a planned altitude and releases the arm wings, if necessary, so they can reach up to the control toggles and fly to a normal parachute landing.
History
Wings were first used by 19 year old Rex G. Finney of Los Angeles, CA in 1930 as an attempt to increase horizontal movement and maneuverability. These early wingsuits were made of materials such as canvas, wood, silk, steel, and even whale bone. They were not very reliable. Some "birdmen", notably Clem Sohn and Leo Valentin, claimed to have glided for miles. The wingsuit was showcased in the 1969 movie The Gypsy Moths starring Burt Lancaster and Gene Hackman.
On 31 October 1997, French skydiver Patrick de Gayardon showed reporters a wingsuit with allegedly unparalleled safety and performance. De Gayardon died on 13 April 1998 while testing a new modification to his parachute container in Hawaii; his death is attributed to a rigging error that was part of the new modification rather than a flaw in the suit's design.
Commercial era
enjoy what was once considered the most dangerous feat in the skydiving world. With the help of Birdman instructors Scott Campos, Chuck Blue and Kim Griffin, a standardized program of instruction was developed that prepared instructors. Phoenix-Fly, Fly Your Body, and Nitro Rigging have also instituted an instructor training program.
In 1999, Jari Kuosma of Finland and Robert Pečnik of Croatia teamed up to create a wingsuit that was safe and accessible for all skydivers. Kuosma established BirdMan International Ltd. the same year. BirdMan's Classic, designed by Peknik, was the first wingsuit offered to the general public. BirdMan was the first manufacturer to advocate the safe use of wingsuits by creating an instructor program. Created by Kuosma, the instructor program's aim was to remove the stigma that wingsuits were dangerous and to provide wingsuit beginners (generally, skydivers with a minimum of 200 jumps) with a way to safely
Non-technical mechanics
wingsuit flies in the relative wind, and by the amount of tension applied to the fabric wings of the suit. The absence of a vertical stabilizing surface results in little damping around the yaw axis, so poor flying technique can result in a spin that requires active effort on the part of the skydiver to stop.
Wingsuit fliers can measure their performance relative to their goals with the use of freefall computers that record the amount of time they were in flight, the altitude they deployed their parachute, and the altitude they entered freefall. The fall rate speed can be calculated from this data and compared to previous flights. GPS receivers can also be used to plot and record the flight path of the suit, and when analyzed can indicate the amount of distance flown during the flight. BASE jumpers can use landmarks on exit points, along with recorded video of their flight by ground crews, to determine their performance relative to previous flights and the flights of other BASE jumpers at the same site.
A typical skydiver's terminal velocity in belly to earth orientation ranges from 110 to 140 mph (180–225 km/h). A wingsuit can reduce these speeds dramatically. A vertical instantaneous velocity of −25 mph (−40 km/h) has been recorded. However the speed at which the body advances forward through the air is still much higher.
The tri-wing wingsuit has three individual ram-air wings attached under the arms and between the legs. The mono-wing wingsuit design incorporates the whole suit into one large wing.
The wingsuit flier enters freefall wearing both a wingsuit and parachute equipment. Exiting an aircraft in a wingsuit requires skilled techniques that differ depending on the location and size of the aircraft door. These techniques include the orientation relative to the aircraft and the airflow while exiting, and the way in which the flier will spread his legs and arms at the proper time so as not to hit the aircraft or become unstable in the relative wind. The wingsuit will immediately start to fly upon exiting the aircraft in the relative wind generated by the forward speed of the aircraft. Exiting from a BASE jumping site, such as a cliff, or exiting from a helicopter, a paraglider, or a hot air balloon, is fundamentally different from exiting a moving aircraft, as the initial airspeed upon exit is absent. In these situations, a vertical drop using the forces of gravity to accelerate is required to generate the airspeed that the wingsuit can then convert to lift.
At a planned altitude above the ground in which a skydiver or BASE jumper would typically deploy his parachute, a wingsuit flier will deploy his parachute. The parachute will be flown to a controlled landing at the desired landing spot using typical skydiving or BASE jumping techniques.
A wingsuit modifies the body area exposed to wind to increase the desired amount of lift with respect to drag generated by the body. The glide ratio of most wingsuits is 2.5. This means that for every meter dropped, two and a half meters are gained moving forward. The ratio is also called efficiency. With body shape manipulation and by choosing the design characteristics of the wingsuit, a flier can alter both his forward speed and fall rate. The pilot manipulates these flight characteristics by changing the shape of his torso, arching or bending at the shoulders, hips, and knees, and by changing the angle of attack in which the
speed reached in a wingsuit of 363 km/h (226 mph).
On 20 and 21 April 2012, Colombian skydiver Jhonathan Florez set Guinness World Records in wingsuit flying. The jumps took place in La Guajira in Colombia. following records:
• The longest (duration) wingsuit flight – 9 minutes 6 seconds• The highest altitude wingsuit jump – 11,358 m (37,265 ft)
On 23 May 2012, British stuntman Gary Connery safely landed a wingsuit without deploying his parachute, landing on a crushable "runway" (landing zone) built with thousands of cardboard boxes.
On 26 May 2012, Japanese wingsuit pilot Shin Ito achived two new world records "Greatest horizontal distance flown in a wing suit" 26.9 km (16.71 miles) and "Greatest absolute distance flown in a wing suit" 28.707 km (17.83 miles) above California, USA.
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale has not established judging criteria for official world record wingsuit formations. However, several national organizations have established record categories and have established criteria for judging whether or not a wingsuit formation is complete.
The largest wingsuit formation officially recognized as meeting the criteria for a national record consisted of 68 jumpers in an arrowhead formation which set a US National Record at Lake Elsinore, California, on 12 November 2009.
The largest unofficial record was a diamond formation involving 100 jumpers at Perris, California, on September 22, 2012. On 8 June 2006, Australian couple Heather Swan and Glenn Singleman jumped from 21,780 ft (6,640 m) of Meru Peak in India setting a world record for highest Wisbase jump.
The longest verified WiSBASE jump is 7.5 km (4.6 mi) by Dean Potter on 2 November 2011. Potter jumped from Eiger and had spent 3 minutes and 20 seconds in flight, covering 9,200 ft (2.8 km) of altitude.
On 28 May 2011, Japanese wingsuit pilot Shin Ito set world records for the fastest
Records
Source: Wikipedia
Quoted 12/02/2013
NOTE: BIRDMAN® trademark Inquiries jari € bird-man.com