raggdoll 0 #1 July 13, 2006 Interesting article. Any thoughts? http://www.wired.com/news/culture/reviews/0,71324-0.html?tw=rss.technology Skydiving? Easy. Skysurfing? A breeze. For true airborne daredevils, nothing beats skyflying -- zipping horizontally through the air with the help of a birdlike wing suit. Never mind that serving in Iraq would be less risky. Writer Michael Abrams tracks the ups and many downs of avian wannabes in his new book, Birdmen, Batmen and Skyflyers. Little known to the general public, batwing jumpers have been flying high since planes first appeared. The goal today is the same as it was in the 20th century's heyday of aviation tomfoolery: to jump out of a plane and glide horizontally through the air, at least for a few seconds, before opening a parachute and landing. Skyflying is quite dangerous, probably much more hazardous than BASE jumping. It has always been that way: as Abrams recounts at length, dozens of skyflyers died in centuries past after leaping off towers, castles and cliffs, sometimes wearing little more than feathers and whalebone. If they survived, the early jumpers had to look forward to "beatings, executions and mockery in verse." Why have so many ignored the lessons of the unfortunate Icarus, history's most infamous winged skyflyer? "Both before and after the appearance of mechanized flight, men have yearned and struggled to fly like birds," Abrams writes. As a skydiver told him, "if piloting an airplane is flying, then rowing a canoe is swimming." After hearing about the 10th or 12th biographical sketch of a doomed birdman who gets tangled in his parachute or misjudges the distance to the ground, readers will get a bit weary. Luckily, Abrams is a witty writer with a delicious sense of humor. His style is reminiscent of best-selling author Mary Roach, author of Stiff, and her deliciously deadpan approach to death. (She writes the back-cover blurb.) Abrams also sprinkles Birdmen with neat details, like the first words a female spectator said to her future husband after his skydiving stunt scared a crowd ("You're a real asshole!"). Clive Barker even makes an appearance, watching at the age of four as famous skyflyer Leo Valentin fell to his death during a stunt in Liverpool. Abrams could have paid more attention to the aerodynamics of flight itself. It's never quite clear why birds can fly and humans, even with a little bit of help, have a difficult time stopping a plunge toward earth. Regardless of the obstacles, skyflyers -- who tend to be French or from Michigan -- are getting better and better. Most recently, $800 BirdMan wingsuits have appeared, allowing skyflyers to double the time they're in the air before they have to open their parachutes. The suits are safe (to a point), but they're still not the end-all. Now, skyflyers are experimenting with engines to keep them in the air, and some hope to get rid of the pesky parachutes entirely and simply float to the ground. Icarus, schmicarus. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Costyn 1 #2 July 13, 2006 QuoteSkyflying is quite dangerous, probably much more hazardous than BASE jumping. It has always been that way: as Abrams recounts at length, dozens of skyflyers died in centuries past after leaping off towers, castles and cliffs, sometimes wearing little more than feathers and whalebone. W.T.F... "leaping off towers, castles, cliffs" sounds like BASE jumping to me. yeah, it might have been more dangerous than BASE jumping is now, but no way that is still the case... oh well... I guess whuffo's think we're all crazy anyways, no matter what we do up in the air.Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 140 #3 July 13, 2006 QuoteW.T.F... "leaping off towers, castles, cliffs" sounds like BASE jumping to me. trying to wingsuit from a fixed object is not a good idea for a first jump. scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Costyn 1 #4 July 13, 2006 Quotetrying to wingsuit from a fixed object is not a good idea for a first jump. True, especially since many of these early birdmen weren't wearing a BASE rig & chute to slow themselves down. Pretty brave guys.Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leroydb 0 #5 July 13, 2006 now that's some funny stuff!Leroy ..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bch7773 0 #6 July 13, 2006 The DZ S&TA should have talked to Icarus... he didn't have 200 jumps before he did his wingsuit, and look what happened. MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
