dreamdancer 0 #1 November 17, 2009 the article even has a quote from dz.com QuoteON A bright day in 1912, an Austrian tailor named Franz Reichelt jumped off the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. This was no suicide attempt. Reichelt was wearing a special overcoat of his own design that was supposed to let him glide gently to the ground. Sadly, it didn't work. As the crowd watched and movie cameras whirred, the "flying tailor" plunged 60 metres to his death. Over the next few decades, up until the 1960s, daredevil showmen continued to experiment with homemade wings of canvas, wood or silk - with one crucial difference. These so-called "Birdmen" relied on parachutes to land; the wings were just there to let them "fly" on the way down. Even so, many died, usually when their wings interfered with the parachute. The idea fell out of vogue until the introduction of safer commercial wingsuits in the 1990s. Now a small group of fearless - some would say foolhardy - wingsuit enthusiasts is reviving the dream of the very first birdmen. Their ambition is to jump out of a plane, glide thousands of metres and land in one piece - without a parachute. At least two teams around the world are bent on tackling this pinnacle of extreme sports, and they have very different approaches in mind. In the race to be the first, secrecy rules, but the leading contenders have revealed some tantalising details of what they hope will be - only metaphorically, of course - a ground-breaking achievement. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427341.300-dont-pack-your-parachute-totally-free-fall.html?page=1stay away from moving propellers - they bite blue skies from thai sky adventures good solid response-provoking keyboarding Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LetsGoOutside 0 #2 November 18, 2009 Woohoo! That was my quote. :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottabefunky 0 #3 November 19, 2009 Hope I got the facts right - it was a very interesting article to research & write. This forum helped a lot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dreamdancer 0 #4 November 19, 2009 thankyou! (new scientist has been my favourite magazine for years - nice work)stay away from moving propellers - they bite blue skies from thai sky adventures good solid response-provoking keyboarding Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stoney3434 0 #5 November 19, 2009 Nicely done.... just the facts.... as they currently exist... nice workLife is what happens while we are making other plans. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
