The World's First Human Flight Powered by an Electric Wing Suit: A Breakthrough in Defying Gravity
What you're watching here may be the closest any human has come to flying like a bird. The world's first human flight powered by an electric wing suit is a remarkable achievement that pushes the boundaries of how we define human flight. For years, the sport of wing suit flying has been gaining popularity, with enthusiasts pushing the limits of what is possible in the air. However, until now, it has been limited by the height from which one can jump.
Skydiver and wing suit pilot Peter Salsman's journey to creating the world's first electric wing suit began as a stunt man in his teenage years, jumping into foam and cardboard boxes. As he progressed, he found himself able to jump higher and higher until it started to hurt. This led him to start skydiving at a young age, which would later become an integral part of his journey towards creating the electric wing suit.
Fast forward to 2017, when Peter had an idea for a powered wing suit. He was in the mountains with a friend, and they found a jump that was not possible with a common wingsuit. They thought about how they could make this possible and came up with the idea of adding an additional boost system to increase their performance. This sparked a series of events that would lead to the creation of the world's first electric wing suit.
Peter spent weeks in his garage figuring out ways a wing suit could have some sort of assist of propulsion. He even came up with the idea of what he calls an impeller, a propeller enclosed in a tube-shaped housing. However, he wanted it powered sustainably, which led him to team up with BMWi to develop an all-electric thrust system.
The team tested their design in wind tunnels with different materials, sizes, and angles before reaching their final design. If you're wondering why the impeller is mounted on your chest instead of your back, it's because Peter initially thought it would be a better idea, but they found out that putting it on the front side allowed for more space to open the parachute without destroying the lift of the normal wingsuit.
The final design consists of two carbon fiber electric impellers powered by 50-volt lithium batteries that can produce thrust for up to 5 minutes. Peter controls the throttle by bending his left middle and ring fingers, and he also has a release switch for emergencies. With this system in place, Peter was ready to make his first official flight over what's known as The Three Brothers in Austria - three mountain peaks with the first two being about the same height and the third one much taller.
Peter's plan was to jump from 3,000 meters by helicopter and fly flat over the first two peaks. He then used the thrust to push himself over the third peak, executing a thrilling maneuver that left him and his team in awe. Peter topped out at an incredible 186 mph - about three times the speed of most standard wingsuit divers. As he reflected on his experience, he described it as "incredible" and said, "It's like getting it right." He never thought he would feel this much influence from the system, but when he switched it on for the first time, he knew it was working.
Now that Peter has successfully flown the world's first electric wing suit, he is still working on improving the design. He is considering making the suit lighter and easier to handle or increasing the power of the thrust system. Whatever direction he chooses to go, one thing is certain - his innovation will pave the way for future generations of wing suit flyers and inspire others to push the boundaries of what's possible in flight.
As we look back on Peter's remarkable achievement, it's clear that this is just the beginning of a new era in human flight. With technology advancing at an incredible rate, it's exciting to think about what the future holds for wing suit flying and other forms of aerial exploration. As Andy Alman, the creator of this article, so aptly puts it - "The world has changed forever, and I'm honored to be a part of it."
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat you're watching here may be the closest any human has come to Flying Like a Bird the world's first human flight powered by an electric wing suit chances are you've seen wing suit flying before the sport has blown up in the last decade with their Devils pushing the boundaries of how we Define human flight but until now it's most been limited by the height they jump from meaning if you jump from 10,000 ft that's as high as you're going to get but all that changed thanks to skydiver and wing suit pilot Peter salsman and his world's first electric wing suit Peter got started as a stunt man in his teenage years jumping into things like foam and cardboard boxes I was able to to jump like higher and higher till it started to hurt and then I I had the year I have to go um and Start Skydiving fast forward to 2017 countless skydiving jumps and base jumps later when Peter got the idea for a powered wing suit I was in the mountains um with a friend of mine and we found this jump which was not possible with a common Wings suit and we really thought about okay how could we make this possible to jump that we need like additional boost system something which increase our performance to be able to fly like a flatter angle and to go over this flat part and then being able to fly down the whole Mountain Peter spent weeks in his garage figuring out ways a wing suit could have some sort of assist of propulsion he even came up with the idea of what he calls an impeller a propeller that's enclosed in a tube-shaped housing but he wanted it powered sustainably so he teamed up with BMWi to develop an all El electric thrust system the team tested in Wind Tel with different materials sizes and angles before reaching their final design if you're wondering why have it mounted on your chest and not your back you're probably not alone Peter initially thought it would be a back-mounted system we found out that it's probably much better if you put it on the on the chest like on the front side to be able to have like the the whole back like empty of everything so you can open your parachute normally and you don't destroy like the lift of the of the normal Wings suit the final design is two carbon fiber electric impellers powered by 50 volt lithium batteries that can produce thrust for up to 5 minutes Peter controls the throttle by bending his left middle and ring fingers he's also got a release switch for emergencies and there's two parachutes one for Peter and one for the impeller system so now that he had his dream all electric powered wing suit it was time to make the first official flight over what's known as The Three Brothers in Austria three mountain peaks the first two are about the same height and the third one is taller Peter's plan was to jump from 3,000 M by helicopter fly flat over the first two peaks and use the thrust to push himself over the third 3 2 1 Jump oh Peter topped out at 186 mph that's about three times the speed that most standard wingsuit divers can reach so what was it like the first time you actually flew that final product how did it feel I mean for me it was like incredible like as longer the way is for something as nice it is at the end like if you really get it I mean it was impressive how much influence the system actually had I I never thought that that you really feel it like that much yeah I still get like a big smile when I think about the first times when I switched it on and really felt whoa It's really working now Peter is still working on improving the wing suit he told me that could go in one of two directions either making it lighter and easier to handle or making the thrust system more powerful he told me he thinks he's leaning towards the former so what do you think of Peter's electric wing suit let me know in the comments below and if you enjoyed this video don't forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe for more videos like it I'm Andy Alman thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in the futurewhat you're watching here may be the closest any human has come to Flying Like a Bird the world's first human flight powered by an electric wing suit chances are you've seen wing suit flying before the sport has blown up in the last decade with their Devils pushing the boundaries of how we Define human flight but until now it's most been limited by the height they jump from meaning if you jump from 10,000 ft that's as high as you're going to get but all that changed thanks to skydiver and wing suit pilot Peter salsman and his world's first electric wing suit Peter got started as a stunt man in his teenage years jumping into things like foam and cardboard boxes I was able to to jump like higher and higher till it started to hurt and then I I had the year I have to go um and Start Skydiving fast forward to 2017 countless skydiving jumps and base jumps later when Peter got the idea for a powered wing suit I was in the mountains um with a friend of mine and we found this jump which was not possible with a common Wings suit and we really thought about okay how could we make this possible to jump that we need like additional boost system something which increase our performance to be able to fly like a flatter angle and to go over this flat part and then being able to fly down the whole Mountain Peter spent weeks in his garage figuring out ways a wing suit could have some sort of assist of propulsion he even came up with the idea of what he calls an impeller a propeller that's enclosed in a tube-shaped housing but he wanted it powered sustainably so he teamed up with BMWi to develop an all El electric thrust system the team tested in Wind Tel with different materials sizes and angles before reaching their final design if you're wondering why have it mounted on your chest and not your back you're probably not alone Peter initially thought it would be a back-mounted system we found out that it's probably much better if you put it on the on the chest like on the front side to be able to have like the the whole back like empty of everything so you can open your parachute normally and you don't destroy like the lift of the of the normal Wings suit the final design is two carbon fiber electric impellers powered by 50 volt lithium batteries that can produce thrust for up to 5 minutes Peter controls the throttle by bending his left middle and ring fingers he's also got a release switch for emergencies and there's two parachutes one for Peter and one for the impeller system so now that he had his dream all electric powered wing suit it was time to make the first official flight over what's known as The Three Brothers in Austria three mountain peaks the first two are about the same height and the third one is taller Peter's plan was to jump from 3,000 M by helicopter fly flat over the first two peaks and use the thrust to push himself over the third 3 2 1 Jump oh Peter topped out at 186 mph that's about three times the speed that most standard wingsuit divers can reach so what was it like the first time you actually flew that final product how did it feel I mean for me it was like incredible like as longer the way is for something as nice it is at the end like if you really get it I mean it was impressive how much influence the system actually had I I never thought that that you really feel it like that much yeah I still get like a big smile when I think about the first times when I switched it on and really felt whoa It's really working now Peter is still working on improving the wing suit he told me that could go in one of two directions either making it lighter and easier to handle or making the thrust system more powerful he told me he thinks he's leaning towards the former so what do you think of Peter's electric wing suit let me know in the comments below and if you enjoyed this video don't forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe for more videos like it I'm Andy Alman thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in the future\n"
