Here’s a 6-minute plus video of daredevil wingsuit flyers doing their things. I am sure most people will be familiar with wingsuit. If you don’t, here’s what Wingsuit is about: it is a flying squirrel-like suit that lets its wearer glide through the air when dropped (or jumped) from height instead of plummeting straight down to Earth. A parachute on the wingsuit flyer’s back, activated when nearing the ground, provides the daredevil a cushioned landing.
Prior to that, aerodynamic and gravity takes control to allow the otherwise wingless humans to take flight, albeit with no actual control over the altitude. The video, which is interjected by some base jumping and skydiving footage, compiled by YouTube channel Scoreback is a perfect tribute to this exhilarating, but arguably the most dangerous sport in the world. If we did not watch the video, we wouldn’t have known quite a few have sacrificed their lives in the name of thrill.
The video compilation also pays tribute a few who have perished for the sport that were so passionate about and it includes extreme sportsmen Ludovic Woerth, Dean Potter, Jhonathan Florez, Uli Emanuele, Alexander Polli, and the most recent tragedy that took away Canadian base jumper and wingsuit pilot Graham Dickson’s life. Go ahead and have a look. Witness these folks with balls of steel experience the freedom of flight without being on a tin can.
Watch them passed between rocky mountains, slip between buildings, negotiate narrow valleys, and even zoom through a ring of fire at speeds. Experience it all without actually doing it. For those who did and still doing it, you have my utmost respect. I salute your bravery for taking the leap, and for pursuing your passion. I am pursuing my passion too, except that mine does not involve leaping off a mountain, but that does not make me appreciate this extreme sport any less.
Image: YouTube.
