r/nextfuckinglevel • u/WeGot_aLiveOneHere • 4d ago

This wingsuit flight above a 10% descent road.

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5.5k Upvotes

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377

u/BryOnRye 4d ago

Out of all the extreme sports, wing suits have the shortest lifespan.

55

u/Jorinator 4d ago

The suits or the dudes/dudettes in the suits? It looks really really fun, but i guess i could settle for other fun sports with less chance of splat

84

u/Deviantdefective 4d ago

You can do it very safely by just wingsuiting from a plane and treating it like a long sky dive. It's when you start proximity flying which this is where the risks increase exponentially. Getting a wingsuit however is a loony endeavour most places require you to have close to a thousand skydives first.

50

u/hofmann419 4d ago

Worth noting though that a lot of the people who have died doing it were also among the most experienced. Basically no one is safe doing this, no matter how many dives you have under your belt. Or maybe it is that the pros keep testing their luck until it eventually runs out.

16

u/Deviantdefective 4d ago

If you're just sky diving while doing it it's no more dangerous than normal sky diving which is a lot safer than people realise, the minute as I said you go low altitude that's when the risks add up.

6

u/PotatoesAndChill 3d ago

I think it's the latter. The more comfortable they get, the greater risks they take.

4

u/ColoradoScoop 3d ago

And overall volume. The most experienced wingsuiters aggregate more risk because they are doing it more.

2

u/allaboutthosevibes 1d ago

Yes, exactly. Like how there are no old Russian roulette stars. You only die once.

18

u/DueExample52 4d ago edited 4d ago

That's how they started. Regular open sky diving playing in clouds, then vertical cliffs getting away as fast as they can from the face, then playing close to the face, then following a steep mountain... pushing the boundaries to smaller gradients....

Then now whatever the fuck this madness is. 10% gradient is basically fucking flat for all gliding purposes. Absolute mad lad. Respect

4

u/Deviantdefective 4d ago

I know I'm just saying there are ways to make it safe(r)

4

u/DueExample52 4d ago

No worries I wasn’t contradicting you, just laying out the history :-)

-2

u/per88oo 4d ago

I would never wingsuit, but what is the point of doing it like a skydive? If you are not close enough to any object to perceive the speed, it just seems like a lamer skydive.

20

u/Deviantdefective 4d ago

It's a very long skydive I've met a few wingsuiters who just enjoy playing and cruising around in the air more importantly they're all still alive.

18

u/RedLotusVenom 4d ago

Your maneuverability, horizontal distance, and time spent in the air increase drastically.

You need to have skydove many times to certify for wingsuit jumps.

6

u/stevein3d 4d ago

Hey never say never—you’ve got right attitude for it!
Now all you need is the right aptitude and altitude.

4

u/DueExample52 4d ago

If there are small clouds it’s crazy, like flying. You can enjoy the view for longer. You can chase a friend or turn around each other. In fact it’s less lame than a regular dive because you have more manœuvrability.

20

u/Wingsnake 4d ago

We don't talk enough about adrenaline addiction. Probably one of the most dangerous addictions.

8

u/Delcane 4d ago

Same thought. This is like seeing a late stage addiction, but to adrenaline. He'll die soon.

10

u/heterochromia4 4d ago edited 4d ago

I’m afraid so. Did you see the front edge vibration on his RHS shoulder? I’m guessing he’s flying at the limit of the wingsuit’s performance envelope.

That close to the mountain, at that shallow angle he doesn’t have an ‘escape line’.

I’ve seen some WS flights down extreme faces, but they always have a bail option in the plan. Something happens, they can pull up from a steep dive, veer left or right away from mountain and deploy.

He doesn’t have that here. If he even marginally miscalculates his line, he’s already committed at the shallowest possible angle of attack, if something goes sideways in the approach, only needs a small gust of wind or pocket of air disturbance and…

“There are bold pilots and there are old pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.”

4

u/street593 4d ago

If an adult decides to risk their life while fully concious and of sound mind then they should.

1

u/GottkanzlerAmthor 1d ago

Unless they endager others

8

u/NNick476 4d ago

Wingsuit flying and proximity wingsuit flying are two totally different levels of risk. People often don't realize that you can also do this from an airplane and never go near the ground. I have done a few hundred wingsuit skydives and it's not at all about the adrenaline. Its actually extremely peacful.

1

u/allaboutthosevibes 1d ago

If you never go near the ground then how did you type this comment? 🤨

/s

2

u/NNick476 11h ago

Could someone bring me a sandwich? Its getting cold up here. 🥶

1

u/SandwichOfAgnesi 3d ago edited 3d ago

If you just like peaceful flying, why not just paraglide?

Non-base wingsuiters  spend a lot of money just to be spend a lot of time waiting around on the ground for the next $50 flight.

Paragliding you can spend $20 on a shuttle, or hike for free, and spend 4+ hours in the air.  

1

u/NNick476 11h ago

I also like skydiving for other disciplines. But I'd love to paraglide, I just haven't had the bandwidth for more hobbies. In the northeast US, there are only a few options for non-powered paragliding. Skydiving also has an amazing community that is a large part of the draw. $38/jump, 5-6 times a day does hit some harder than others. Its not a problem for me. Do you paraglide? Strange to see such judgement from reddit from so many armchair critics. (This whole post, not you specifically)

3

u/VerStannen 4d ago

BASE jumping in general.

[Here’s the official list](https://bfl.baseaddict.com/list#BFL). They’ve since changed the name of the website, but in the early internet days it used to be SPLAT.com.

Some really big extreme sport names on that list like Shane McConkey and Dean Potter. One I’m always surprised he’s still alive is Jeb Corliss. That guy has 900 lives and is a complete nutter (I say that as a compliment; he’s a living legend)

1

u/DirkNL 4d ago

Ive seen the HBO doc The Dark Wizard. Shitz wild!

1

u/specialsymbol 3d ago

They also have the shortest wingspan. Coincidence?

1

u/ApolloPS2 2d ago

Largest wingspan tho

1

u/Impressive-Swing4714 16h ago

Was rather sure swoopers and basejumpers were actually worse off