For centuries, humans have been captivated by the idea of soaring through the air like a bird, and modern technology has made that dream a reality. Wingsuit flying allows experiencing the thrill of flight in a once unimaginable way. But what motivates people to take up this daring and often dangerous pursuit?
As a general rule, people fly wingsuits because a wingsuit allows its wearer to better regulate their rate of descent and direction of flight. The additional fabric between the arms and legs increases the surface area, enabling flyers to cover greater distances and maintain more stability.
While wingsuit flying can be a dangerous sport, many enthusiasts believe that the rewards outweigh the risks, and they continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in the pursuit of their passion. Here are the unexpected reasons why wingsuit flying is so popular and why it gains even more popularity.
Nine Reasons Why Wingsuit Flying Is So Popular
Wingsuits Invoke the Feeling of Freedom and Flying
Wingsuit flying allows people to feel as if they are soaring through the air like a bird. With the added surface area provided by the wingsuit, one can achieve an almost weightless sensation that is reminiscent of bird flight. The ability to control one’s movements in the air and choose an own path through the sky can also create a feeling of being one with the environment, further enhancing the bird-like experience.
These sensations create a feeling of liberation and freedom that is difficult to replicate through any other means. Additionally, the sense of accomplishment that comes from successfully navigating a wingsuit flight can further enhance the feeling of flying and freedom.
Wingsuit Training Is Challenging But Enhances Skydiving Abilities
Learning to fly a wingsuit can be a challenging process that requires a significant amount of time, effort, and dedication. The specialized nature of the sport, which involves the need for precise control and discipline, can make it difficult to get started. However, the journey is worth the price and highly rewarding.
Specifically, in the beginning, the learning curve is steep. The flying techniques and control required to steer a wingsuit are more complex than those used in traditional skydiving, providing even expert skydivers with a learning opportunity.
Due to the increased surface area, wingsuits also react quicker to movements, sharpening body control and the mindfulness of skydivers for their movements. This increased sharpness helps improve flying techniques for traditional skydiving as well.
On the other hand, due to the increased surface area, wingsuits are also less forgiving. If a pilot gets out of control, it is much more difficult to stabilize the flight again. If wingsuit flights are mastered, it can also lead to increased confidence in the skydiver in traditional jumps.
Wingsuit Flying Provides Variety From Traditional Jumps
Skydivers also enjoy practicing wingsuits as it breaks up the monotony of a typical jump. Even though it might sound counterintuitive but skydiving also becomes “ordinary” for people who do it a lot. If you perform 100 jumps a year, each jump is not nearly as exciting as it used to be in the beginning.
Wingsuits, among other skydiving variations, provide a great way to break out of the typical jump and explore new aspects of skydiving. It broadens one’s horizons and will rejuvenate the thrill of the unknown in a skydiver.
Wingsuit Allow For Incredible Stunts
Wingsuit flying can produce incredible stunts and feats of daring. Some of the most impressive wingsuit stunts include flying through narrow mountain canyons, soaring over treacherous rock formations, and jumping from planes and helicopters at extremely high altitudes.
Skilled wingsuit flyers can perform complex maneuvers, such as barrel rolls, flips, and other acrobatic feats while traveling at high speeds. Some of the most impressive wingsuit stunts involve formation flying, where multiple wingsuit flyers perform synchronized movements and maneuvers in the air.
Performing all this can be an exhilarating and enjoyable experience for a variety of reasons. For some people, the thrill of pushing one’s limits can create a powerful feeling of excitement and euphoria. Additionally, performing stunts can be a way to showcase one’s skill, strength, and agility, which can provide a sense of accomplishment and boost self-confidence.
For others, performing wingsuit stunts can be a way to entertain and impress others, which can lead to social validation and a sense of belonging.
Wingsuit Pilots Can Generate Income and Fame Due to the Internet
The incredible stunts and achievements of wingsuit flyers continue to inspire and captivate audiences around the world. As a result, the most daring stunts will be watched and admired by millions of people. This does not only help wingsuit flyers to receive incredible fame and social validation, but it can also help them generate income.
If you are a top-performing wingsuit flyer, you can sign with sponsors such as Red Bull and land highly lucrative sponsorship agreements. In addition, you can launch your own website and Youtube channel, thereby generating income from advertisements and affiliate links.
The downside of this is obviously that wingsuit flyers are always pushed to perform even more incredible stunts. Only if you are performing one stunning maneuver after another, you can continue to entertain your audience. As a result, some flyers will push the boundaries too much and engage in life-threatening stunts.
Wingsuit Flying Generates the Ultimate Adrenaline Rush
The feeling of flying through the air at high speeds can be quite addictive for some thrill-seekers. If we engage in dangerous activities, our body will release adrenaline providing us with a heightened sense of energy, focus, and arousal. These effects can be quite addictive to our bodies, and make us craving for more.
This effect is often reinforced by the social validation that comes with stunts and wingsuit maneuvers.
Interested in learning more about the speed capabilities of wingsuits? Check out my previous post on “How fast can you go in a wingsuit?” where I explore the various factors that influence the speed and the greatest speeds ever attained during wingsuit jumps!
Obviously not all, wingsuit flyers are adrenaline junkies and are addicted to it, however, many people enjoy it due to the adrenaline kick (which I can totally mirror).
Wingsuit Flying Enhances Understanding of Wind Flows
Wingsuit flying involves navigating the air currents and wind flow in order to control one’s speed and direction of flight. As a result, wingsuit flyers gain a deeper understanding of the physics of wind and air movement. This is not only beneficial for normal skydiving, but it also results in a deeper understanding of the natural world.
Wingsuit Flying Helps Exploring New Environments
Wingsuit flying can also be a way to explore and experience new places in which normal skydivers and base jumpers can not jump. Among those locations are ofter mountains, cliffs, and buildings. The beauty of these places provides an additional variety from “just jumping from the sky” in a known drop zone. It also invokes the feeling of exploration in people.
There Is a Strong Sense of Camadary Among Wingsuit Flyers
The wingsuit flying community is known for its camaraderie and supportive atmosphere. Many wingsuit flyers enjoy the social aspect of the sport, and the opportunity to meet and connect with like-minded individuals.
It is a lot of fun to discuss different aspects of the jumps, exchange the most beautiful places one has seen from above and tell stories about the most dangerous moments one encountered.
That being said, enjoy your free fall!
