Until this morning I never knew Speed Flying existed as a sport, but now that I’ve done a little research it appears to be a unique combination of parachuting/skydiving and wingsuit flying/BASE jumping. You run and jump off a cliff just like you do in BASE jumping and wingsuit flying, only instead of falling straight down and pulling your parachute or riding out the adventure in your wingsuit you’re immediately navigating using your parachute chords.
I guess a good way to think of this is similar to parasailing but instead of the tourist being attached to the boat they’re soaring down a mountain and navigating their own course. This is one of the most adrenaline packed clips I’ve ever seen, and I’m beginning to wonder what it is about the Alps that has made Europeans crave these thrills.
Not too long ago I blogged about a video of a wingsuit BASE jumper who crash landed at 90mph after jumping in The Alps (he lived, barely, and you can see the POV footage here). Now I see this Speed Flying clip for the first time, I’m beginning to worry about the extreme sports athletes over in Europe.
…(h/t DIGG)…