Flying Humans

mlimber sends us to the NYTimes for a story about flying people who jump from planes or other high locations wearing a wing suit akin to a flying squirrel's. Their efforts have potential military and Xtreme sports applications. The story profiles, with video, one guy who wants to be the first to jump from a plane and land without a parachute (and live). Here's a YouTube video of another of these fliers skimming six feet above skiers in the Swiss Alps. Quoting: "Modern suit design features tightly woven nylon sewn between the legs and between the arms and torso, creating wings that fill with air and create lift, allowing for forward motion and aerial maneuvers while slowing descent. As the suits, which cost about $1,000, have become more sophisticated, so have the pilots. The best fliers, and there are not many, can trace the horizontal contours of cliffs, ridges and mountainsides."

Comments

Re:I ponder

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course it would! Just put telescoping poles on each limb and increase the wingspan about 20 feet or so... then add an engine and a propeller... maybe incase the guy in some kind of lightweight metal to protect him from the wind and such and to make him a bit more aerodynamic...

Hey!

[markov_chain]

I was not necessarily saying that open source is just as exciting as jumping out of a plane.

Speak for yourself there, buddy! :)

Re:Bad news...

[Timothy Brownawell]

Vesna Vulovic was a flight attendant who fell out of a plane after an explosion, fell in snow, and survived. And he liked it!

I don't think so... Vesna Vulovic was female. ;)

After the accident, at least...

A suit?

[omnipresentbob]

And here I thought it was Python...