Wingsuit Flying: How It Works and Who Can Do It
Wingsuit pilots glide through the sky at highway speeds in a suit with fabric wings. How wingsuits fly, how skydivers progress to them, and why proximity flying is so dangerous.
A wingsuit turns a skydiver into a human glider. Fabric "wings" between the arms and body and between the legs catch air, so instead of falling straight down, the flyer glides forward across the sky. It's one of the most spectacular things a human body can do, and one of the most demanding.
How a wingsuit flies
When the flyer spreads their arms and legs, the suit inflates through vents into a stiff, wing-like shape. That surface creates lift, slowing the fall rate and turning much of the speed into forward motion. Experienced flyers can glide a long way forward for every foot they fall, steering with small movements of their shoulders, hips and legs. Like every skydive, it ends with a parachute: a wingsuit can't land on its own.
Who can fly one
Wingsuiting is not a beginner's sport:
- Get a skydiving license first. In the U.S., skydivers progress through training to earn their license from the United States Parachute Association. See AFF vs. tandem.
- Build experience. USPA guidance calls for a significant number of skydives (commonly cited as at least 200 jumps) before a first wingsuit flight.
- Take a first-flight course with a qualified wingsuit instructor, starting with a beginner-friendly small suit.
- Progress slowly to larger, more powerful suits.
Skydiving wingsuit vs. BASE and proximity flying
Most wingsuit flying happens from airplanes, with plenty of altitude and open sky. Wingsuit BASE jumping, launching from cliffs, and especially proximity flying close to terrain, are a different level of risk. They've claimed the lives of many experienced flyers.
Can you try it without a license?
Not in the sky. But indoor skydiving in a wind tunnel is where many flyers train body control, and it's open to beginners. See indoor skydiving.
Why people do it
Ask any wingsuit pilot and you'll hear the same thing: it's the closest thing there is to flying like a bird. Getting there takes years of training, and the best flyers never stop respecting the risks.
More big jumps: do people skydive up north in winter.
Photo: Ocean Wingsuit Formation (6366966219).jpg) by Richard Schneider from Los Angeles, CC BY 2.0.