Mind the gap! Wingsuit stuntman shoots through narrow slit in mountainside at 75mph

By Gareth Finighan
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

A wingsuit pilot has taken the sport of sky diving to new heights after hurtling through a narrow slit in a mountainside.

Jeb Corliss launched himself from a helicopter at 6,000ft today, zooming through the air at 75mph towards the imposing Tianmen mountain in Hunan Province, China.

The stuntman's wingsuit, which has thin membranes between the limbs and torso, allowed the 35-year-old to glide through the air while losing altitude gradually instead of plummeting directly towards Earth.

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Tight squeeze: Spectators watch as Jeb Corliss hurtles though the mountain's natural arch hundreds of feet in the air

He was able to travel for two-thirds of a mile - and through the 4,265ft mountain's natural archway - before releasing his parachute and descending gently to the ground. 

The arch measures less than 100ft across and left the daredevil with little margin for error.

Bird's eye view: A still from a camera mounted on the helmet of Jeb Corliss as he sweeps through the corridor of rock

Stunning: The stuntman keeps his nerve as he glides through the narrow alley

Up in smoke: Corliss, seen here with another flyer, made an earlier attempt to glide through the mountain but had to perform a detour after his smoke canisters malfunctioned

Corliss, who has jumped from the Eiffel Tower and flown through a waterfall in the Swiss Alps, is the first wingsuit stuntman to fly in China. He carried out a test flight from the top of the mountain earlier this week and described conditions as 'perfect'.

But his first attempt to fly through the Tianmen arch this afternoon had to be abandoned after smoke canisters attached to his ankles developed mechanical problems. Corliss was forced to abandon the attempt in mid-flight and had to make a detour to avoid slamming into the side of the cliff face.

On a high: Back on terra firma, Corliss described the flight as one of the greatest of his career

After completing the second, successful jump, which was broadcast on China's television networks, the Californian said: 'That was one of the greatest wingsuit flights of my entire life. 

'Thank you China, that was amazing. I love it, oh my God.'

Wingsuit skydivers create incredible 25-person flock

From: http://www.geek.com/

Exploring the Sky - Wingsuit Flying 2011 from Richard Schneider on Vimeo.


Last year we here at Geek.com had a short obsession with wingsuit skydiving.The extreme activity pairs two awesome pastimes–jumping out of planes and wearing multicolored jumpsuits–into one incredible experience. Make sure to go back and check out that video if you want to be amazed by the jumpers’ accuracy and willingness to spit in the face of death.

The wingsuit fliers have continued working on their craft since then. In a recently posted video we can see that production values are up, the fliers are jumping in teams, and making they are even making formations. Jeb Corliss’ video makes this one look downright relaxing, but we still get a glimpse at the awesome control the wingsuits give the divers; their stability in the air is really fantastic.

The video’s maker, Richard Schneider told me the video above was filmed almost entirely with a Contour HD helmet cam. He recommends the Contour HD for its shape which he considers safer, thanks to less possible “snag points” where a parachute or cord could catch while being deployed. (The other popular camera with this sort of activity is the Go Pro.)

Side note: check out the propeller blades at 0:40. Their super fast motion combined with the sensor on the camera makes them look like they were made of rubber. They appear to be flopping sideways as they spin around. It’s probably the least cool thing in the whole video, but I do appreciate how the tech interacts with activities like this one.

From Vimeo: Helmet cam footage from wingsuit flights at the edges of the United States, including California (Lake Elsinore), Florida (Zephyrhills), Nevada (Mesquite), and Puerto Rico (Vega Baja). The last scene was from a vertical formation record organized by Flock University, 25 expert wingsuit fliers exiting from two airplanes.

See more footage of the 25 wingsuit vertical diamond record: vimeo.com/​19552772

Wingsuit Pilots: Justin Shorb, Douglas Spotted Eagle, Matt Santa Maria, Joel Hindman, Joshua Sheppard, Abe Sheppard, James Raimar, Brian Voils, Tim Hedderich, John Kallend, Zach Schroedel, Alex Scheidt, Jason Carter, Kyle O’Donohue, Scott Callantine, Brian Snarr, Andreea Olea, Simon Repton, Ralph Kubicsek, Ben Lowe, Savage Sac, Cate Flies, Rick Hough, Greg Drogaline, Scott Bland, Michael Swearingen, Ryan Maher, Mike Masheff, Nick Wright, Dennis Sattler, Scotty Burns, Jt Valente, Jeff Donohue

Primary footage captured and edited by Richard Schneider, Lake Elsinore parachute deployment scene captured by Douglas Spotted Eagle.

Music: Undenied by Portishead & The Funeral by Band of Horses.

Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? No, it’s Jetman! Ever dreamt about flying?

by Leon Pals

This man is living the dream everyone has, being able to fly! His name is Yves Rossy and he’s a retired military pilot from Switzerland that just had to fly in a different manner than that he was used to. Watch this video so you know what we’re talking about:

Yves has been developing his wing for more than ten years now, in which he tried to cross the waterways between France and the UK and between Spain and Morocco. The first was a success, the latter not so much. Even though a project like this brings its ups and downs, Yves seems to keep at it, something which we applaud. We can’t wait to hear more about Yves and his project, because who knows, we might me able to go out and book an afternoon flight ourselves one day.

Oh, and if you still think this guy doesn’t really fly but is just prolonging his fall then you might want to see this video of him doing loopings.

Enjoyed that? You’ll love this.

Man Can **FLY** If you watch one video in 2009, be it this.

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.