For many wingsuiters, merely flying through the air isn鈥檛 enough anymore. Despite the dan颅ger鈥攖here were in 2016鈥攖he stunts have gotten increasingly outlandish, from Jamie Flynn in Rio de Janeiro to the late Uli Emanuele. But 42-year-old sees little value in manufactured stunts. The Brit simply loves to fly. 鈥淵ou can coast above the clouds, next to them, through the holes in them,鈥 he says. Which is why, over the course of two jumps he鈥檒l perform this spring, he wants to glide faster, longer, farther, and from higher than anyone has before. Here鈥檚 how.
What the Jumps Will Look Like
- Corsan wants to set the speed record on a jump over Davis, California. He鈥檒l dive from a converted nearly 38,000 feet above sea level and immediately tuck into a nose dive. Then the prevailing jet stream will rocket him to speeds close to 250 miles per hour. (The , held by Joe Ridler, is 234 mph.)
- Corsan聽plans to rise 42,000 feet above Hanover, Ontario, in a hot-air balloon to break the distance, altitude, and duration records (currently 19.01 miles, 37,625 feet, and nine minutes six seconds,聽respec颅tively). The atmosphere at that 颅elevation contains just 3.5 per颅cent available oxy颅gen, so聽Corsan聽will need to pack three hours鈥 worth of breathable air for the ride.聽If all goes as planned, he鈥檒l fly for ten minutes over 20 miles of farmland.聽
The Gear He'll Use
- At these heights, the temperature drops to minus 94 degrees, so Corsan will don several sets of insulating base layers and heated gloves.
- A lightweight, 16-inch carbon-fiber oxygen container, similar to a diving tank, will be incor颅porated into his suit, providing up to 45 minutes of breathing time.
- Navigational units embedded in his helmet will provide 颅Siri-style prompts telling him when to jump and to pull his chute.聽
- Corsan will use a $2,000 ripstop-nylon wingsuit built by Croatia-based. The wings鈥 extra-large surface area should increase hang time.聽