MONDAY APRIL 30 2012
But imagine finding yourself behind one of these enormous beasts. This is an Australia road train comprising a very powerful truck, or tractor, pulling three and sometimes even four trailers at a time.
In Australia, they transport everything from livestock to consumer goods to fuel. The road trains pictured here are loading cattle at Helen Springs in Northern Territory, from where they will make the 1,125km /700-mile, 14-hour, non-stop journey to the port of Darwin for live export to Japan, south-east Asia and the US.
Time for a bit of maths to appreciate the enormity of what’s going on in these photos: There are 17 trucks loading cattle here, each with three two-deck trailers, making 102 decks. With roughly 28 cattle per deck (they load by volume, not weight as scales aren’t used in the outback) that totals 2,856 head of cattle.
Looking at it from less of a livestock perspective and more of a vehicular one, each trailer has 12 tyres plus a dolly with eight tyres making a total of 20, except for the truck and first trailer, which has 24. So each road train has 62 tyres (not including spares) meaning there are 1,054 tyres on the road here.
While most road trains run at night, some do operate during the day and rub shoulders with ‘regular’ road traffic.
Although a road train might start out a dot on the horizon in a rear view mirror, it rapidly fills the entire viewing area as it approaches, most definitely asserting its presence.
And if you have one in front of you and you’re thinking of overtaking it, well, you had better have a fast car and a long wide straight stretch of road: Road trains in the Northern Territory can be up to 53.5 meters in length (about 175 ft) and there are road signs warning that the driver doing the overtaking must allow more than one and a half kilometres (one mile) – to pass!
Keep on truckin’!
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 05 2012
As it happens, he likes to glide. On wheels. On motorised wheels attached to his shoes.
Peter has developed a pair of battery-powered skates called spnKiX – a fancy way of writing Spin Kicks – which strap right on to your shoes and are hand-controlled by a wireless remote.
The remote, which is the size of a key fob and straps to your hand, allows you to vary the throttle while each skate has its own battery and motor, with the hardware and electronics cleverly integrated into the Nylon-fibre reinforced frame to create a sort of mini Segway for each foot.
“For most of my life, I have been interested in personal mobility and I have been asking the same questions all of you have been asking: Where are our flying cars? Where are the jet packs? Where are my motorised shoes?” says Treadway.
“Well, after spending five years researching, designing and developing a variety of different prototypes, the miniaturisation of certain technologies found in smart phones, laptops and radio controlled cars has finally made it possible for us to integrate them all into a pair of ‘shoes’ so that you can go for a spin!”
To gather the cash necessary to go into a full scale production, Treadway used Kickerstarter.com, the online threshold pledge system that helps to raise capital for projects by harnessing the power of ‘crowd funding’.
“Now the project is funded, we expect our first production run to arrive from the factory towards the end of February,” he says. “So expect the first delivery in March.”
Of course, if spnKiX use mobile phone-like technology, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the weather forecast the days you plan to use them – and not take them out for a spin in the middle of a tropical downpour. “Small rain or water puddles on the street shouldn’t be a problem, but spnKiX can’t be soaked in water, just like your cell phone,” says Treadway.
The robustness of the design will also be challenged by the heftier among us – to the point that the spnKiX team recommend that users weigh no more than 80kg (180lbs) – ruling out most rugby players, American footballers and sumo wrestlers from using them.
To brake with spnKiX, there is a stopper, like on rollerskates. Otherwise, you just take your finger off the gas and you will slow down fairly quickly.
It might be, though, that you come to a complete halt a lot sooner than you wish: The rechargeable lithium battery – which takes 2 to 3 hours to fully load – lets you go about 2 to 3 miles (4.8 to 6.4 km) per charge depending on the angle of the surface you are rolling on.
So, with a top speed of 16 kmh/10mph, that will give you an autonomy of only about 20 minutes, which means you could find yourself taking a long walk or jog home, which, if that were the case, would certainly dispel any accusations that using spnKiX will make the lazy among us even lazier.
“SpnKiX are closer to rollerblades than any ‘upright, stand-on’ vehicle and will not make anyone lazy,” says Treadway. “People will be outside and more active than before – and with more speed and style. These are a range extender!”
For more information, please visit www.spnkix.com and www.kickstarter.com/
SUNDAY JANUARY 15 2012
The phrase came about in the 16th century because the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-east England was based on the mining and selling of coal.
Local supply and demand was such that attempts to sell coal to Newcastle were seen as being doomed to failure.
On a similar note, last year my London-based, Anglo-American parents – victims of the 1970s craze for fondue parties in Britain and the US – kindly asked me if I would like to take off of their hands one of the five fondue sets that they had amassed over the years.
I politely declined their offer as I live in Switzerland, the home of fondue.
But it got me asking myself what real-life examples exist of those people with a bit of initiative who have figuratively managed to “carry coals to Newcastle”.
It actually turns out that the good people of Newcastle have themselves pulled off the unlikely trick of selling Champagne to the French.
Admittedly, it’s not Newcastle-cultivated Champers – the Tyneside climate isn’t exactly conducive to that.
Nevertheless, the Newcastle business Lovely Bubbly – set up in 2006 to give British drinkers access to quality Champagnes from independent French producers – struck a deal to supply Champagne to the French Consul in Edinburgh.
Perhaps even better is Fracino. Don't be fooled by their Italian-sounding name as the
award-winning Italian-style coffee machines manufacture is actually based in Birmingham, England, and was founded in the 1960s by the very un-Italian sounding Frank Maxwell, who was inspired by a coffee machine bought while holidaying in Italy with his family.
The small yet innovative manufacturer is not only the UK’s only coffee-machine maker, but it also now exports its cappuccino and espresso machines to over 25 countries – including Italy, the land of coffee connoisseurs if ever there was one.
Following Fracino’s lead is Scottish pizza kitchen Cosmo who, you’ve guessed it, sell their gluten-free varieties to Italy. The next thing you know, the Italians will be exporting haggis to the Scots.
It should be pointed out that Cosmo are slightly helped by the fact founder and chairman Cosmo Tamburro is an Italian himself, having emigrated to Edinburgh in 1958.
Meanwhile, the Central Australian Camel Industry Association have succeeded in selling 119 camels to none other than Saudi Arabia.
Australia has a sizeable population of camels – around 500,000 – the direct descendants of the 20,000 brought over in the 19th century from India and the Canary Islands, animals which were left in the wild once their use for exploration had finished.
Beside a means of transport, camels have often been an integral part of the traditional Muslim diet. Thousands are annually slaughtered during Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca.
The Saudis have traditionally got their camels from North Africa, but disease, drought and political instability have seen them turn to the Aussies for some hump-backed help.
Along very similar lines, Perth-based GMA Garnet managed to get the Saudis to buy Australian sand. The special alluvial sand is suited for sandblasting because it is free of silica, which creates dust that can cause lung cancer and silicosis in workers.
So the next time you hear 'Coals to Newcastle', don't laugh, it may just be an excellent business opportunity!
SUNDAY JANUARY 01 2012
But on this 1st day of the New Year, it isn't the time to play it safe. It's a time to seize life by the scruff of the neck. A time to get your heart pounding so you know you are alive.
A sure-fire way of getting the adrenaline coursing through your veins is to fly. But not 'flight' as in wrapped in a hermetically sealed plane while reading a book and sipping champagne.
'Flight' as in feeling the air pulling at your body and roaring in your ears.
And not 'flight' high above the ground, but high-speed flight hugging the ground - and by 'hugging we mean close enough to caress it!
And if that sounds dangerous it's because it is so the only thing better than doing it yourself is finding someone else to risk their life so that we can experience the thrills vicariously (and safely).
So top up your glass, move a little closer to the fire, put your feet up and hit 'play'.
Danny Strasser - dubbed 'Rollerman' - is a German thrill-seeker with a penchant for rolling downhill - rolling extremely fast downhill with just a wheel-studded suit between him an the tarmac. In this video, Strasser speeds down the Alps, weaves through the traffic in South Korea, and launches down a bobsleigh track in Germany.
For more information (and videos), please visit http://danny-strasser.de/videos.php
Norwegian daredevil Jokke Sommer is one of the world's foremost wingsuit fliers, which entails him jumping from a plane, or base-jumping off something high enough, while wearing a wingsuit that enables him to glide - to fly. But what makes this vide really mind-blowing is that it was filmed with a 360° camera so you can use your computer arrow keys to look in any direction. It's like riding in Summer's back!
For more information, please visit http://jokkesommer.com/
We trust that has blown the 2011 cobwebs away and wish you all an excellent start to 2012.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 09 2011
The mountain in question was Tianmen Cave (pictured above) near Zhangjiajie City in China, nicknamed the Gateway of Heaven and regarded as the highest elevated natural arch in the world at 1,500m (5,000 feet).
Oh, and Jeb was flying on his own?
Not ‘on his own’ as in a solo flight in an aeroplane, helicopter or airship, or even just alone with a pair of glider wings and jet pack strapped to his back.
No, ‘on his own’ as in ‘he was flying by himself’ – no machines, no glider frame, no engines.
What the 35-year-old did have at his disposal was a wingsuit, a high-performance body ensemble that transforms you into something like a flying squirrel.
“You have nylon wings between you arms, nylon wings between you legs,” explains Corliss. “As you’re flying, instead of going straight down, you move forward three feet (0.9m) for every foot (0.3m) you fall. It gives you a glide angle so you’re no longer flying directly towards the ground, you’re flying on a slope."
“Flying across Tianmen Mountain was the most challenging task in my life. I have visited and investigated many places, but there's no place like Tianmen Mountain.”
Jeb’s ‘investigations’ have seen him BASE jump – i.e. deploy a parachute after leaping from a fixed object – from the Seattle Space Needle, Venezuela’s Angel Falls, the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Earlier this summer in Switzerland, Corliss became the first man to fly through a waterfall wearing a wingsuit as he engaged in some white-knuckle ‘proximity flying’ – the risky yet spectacular technique of gliding close to the face or ridges of hills and mountains.
In China, Jeb started his Tianmen Mountain flight by jumping from a helicopter before eventually deploying a parachute to land – currently the sole method available of bringing a wingsuit outing to a safe conclusion.
But that will change if Corliss gets his way. The Wingsuit Landing Project is the Californian’s ongoing quest to be the first human to leap from an aircraft and land without a parachute.
“The attempt is to jump from an aircraft, reach terminal velocity and then make a non-parachute landing,” he says. “The hard part is to survive uninjured."
“A wingsuit landing will only be successful if you can do it 10 times out of 10 without being injured. I’m talking no broken toes, no broken anything.”
A wingsuit could potentially slow a vertical descent, albeit briefly, to about 50km/h (30mph) – a massive reduction on the usual 180-225 km/h (110-140 mph).
But the pilot would still be moving forward horizontally at 120 km/h (75mph) at least – more likely at a considerably faster speed – meaning any faulty movement would lead to a fatal crash.
So what does Jeb have in mind to increase the likelihood of a soft landing?
Well, he’s fairly tight-lipped about his plan as he isn’t the only one obsessed with making history. Other wingsuit pilots around the world – Frenchman Loïc Jean-Albert and Brazilian Luigi Cani, for example – are also plotting to perform the first ever non-parachute landing.
But Corliss has hinted at constructing a custom-built runway while also talking about attaching his helmet to a rigid-framed exoskeleton
Writing on science and technology website Popular Mechanics, journalist James Vlahos has made a good stab at guessing how Corliss might pull off the stunt and it’s worth checking out here: www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/diy-flying/how-to-land-in-a-wingsuit-sans-parachute
Vlahos reckons he will most likely try to land like an Olympic ski jumper, matching the angle of the slope as closely as possible, though Corliss will be hurtling along at nearly twice the speed and will try to land on his front, not on his legs.
“This is something people have wanted to do since the story of Icarus,” says Corliss. “In this day and age it’s hard to do something that has never been done before."
“This will be the first time a human being has reached terminal velocity and landed on their face at over 110mph (180km/h) and gotten up and done it again. That’s a very special thing.”
Indeed it is, as is the cost of constructing such a runway: about two million dollars.
Corliss adds: “Everyone thinks this is so impossible, you can’t do that. Well, the only reason you think it can’t be done is because you haven’t done it. I believe I can and that’s probably why I am going to.”
Watch the video above for an idea of what it's like to fly along the ground. Landing without a parachute is the hard bit!
Australian Road Trains
We’ve all at some time been stuck behind a ‘long vehicle’, perhaps a car towing a caravan or a big truck and trailer. Overtaking on the motorway/highway usually isn't so difficult, but it's another matter entirely on smaller roads.But imagine finding yourself behind one of these enormous beasts. This is an Australia road train comprising a very powerful truck, or tractor, pulling three and sometimes even four trailers at a time.
In Australia, they transport everything from livestock to consumer goods to fuel. The road trains pictured here are loading cattle at Helen Springs in Northern Territory, from where they will make the 1,125km /700-mile, 14-hour, non-stop journey to the port of Darwin for live export to Japan, south-east Asia and the US.
Time for a bit of maths to appreciate the enormity of what’s going on in these photos: There are 17 trucks loading cattle here, each with three two-deck trailers, making 102 decks. With roughly 28 cattle per deck (they load by volume, not weight as scales aren’t used in the outback) that totals 2,856 head of cattle.
Looking at it from less of a livestock perspective and more of a vehicular one, each trailer has 12 tyres plus a dolly with eight tyres making a total of 20, except for the truck and first trailer, which has 24. So each road train has 62 tyres (not including spares) meaning there are 1,054 tyres on the road here.
While most road trains run at night, some do operate during the day and rub shoulders with ‘regular’ road traffic.
Although a road train might start out a dot on the horizon in a rear view mirror, it rapidly fills the entire viewing area as it approaches, most definitely asserting its presence.
And if you have one in front of you and you’re thinking of overtaking it, well, you had better have a fast car and a long wide straight stretch of road: Road trains in the Northern Territory can be up to 53.5 meters in length (about 175 ft) and there are road signs warning that the driver doing the overtaking must allow more than one and a half kilometres (one mile) – to pass!
Keep on truckin’!
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 05 2012
spnKiX motorised roller skates - imagine a mini Segway on each foot
Peter Treadway is a design consultant based in Los Angeles and with a name like his you would think that he likes to walk places.As it happens, he likes to glide. On wheels. On motorised wheels attached to his shoes.
Peter has developed a pair of battery-powered skates called spnKiX – a fancy way of writing Spin Kicks – which strap right on to your shoes and are hand-controlled by a wireless remote.
The remote, which is the size of a key fob and straps to your hand, allows you to vary the throttle while each skate has its own battery and motor, with the hardware and electronics cleverly integrated into the Nylon-fibre reinforced frame to create a sort of mini Segway for each foot.
“For most of my life, I have been interested in personal mobility and I have been asking the same questions all of you have been asking: Where are our flying cars? Where are the jet packs? Where are my motorised shoes?” says Treadway.
“Well, after spending five years researching, designing and developing a variety of different prototypes, the miniaturisation of certain technologies found in smart phones, laptops and radio controlled cars has finally made it possible for us to integrate them all into a pair of ‘shoes’ so that you can go for a spin!”
To gather the cash necessary to go into a full scale production, Treadway used Kickerstarter.com, the online threshold pledge system that helps to raise capital for projects by harnessing the power of ‘crowd funding’.
“Now the project is funded, we expect our first production run to arrive from the factory towards the end of February,” he says. “So expect the first delivery in March.”
Of course, if spnKiX use mobile phone-like technology, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the weather forecast the days you plan to use them – and not take them out for a spin in the middle of a tropical downpour. “Small rain or water puddles on the street shouldn’t be a problem, but spnKiX can’t be soaked in water, just like your cell phone,” says Treadway.
The robustness of the design will also be challenged by the heftier among us – to the point that the spnKiX team recommend that users weigh no more than 80kg (180lbs) – ruling out most rugby players, American footballers and sumo wrestlers from using them.
To brake with spnKiX, there is a stopper, like on rollerskates. Otherwise, you just take your finger off the gas and you will slow down fairly quickly.
It might be, though, that you come to a complete halt a lot sooner than you wish: The rechargeable lithium battery – which takes 2 to 3 hours to fully load – lets you go about 2 to 3 miles (4.8 to 6.4 km) per charge depending on the angle of the surface you are rolling on.
So, with a top speed of 16 kmh/10mph, that will give you an autonomy of only about 20 minutes, which means you could find yourself taking a long walk or jog home, which, if that were the case, would certainly dispel any accusations that using spnKiX will make the lazy among us even lazier.
“SpnKiX are closer to rollerblades than any ‘upright, stand-on’ vehicle and will not make anyone lazy,” says Treadway. “People will be outside and more active than before – and with more speed and style. These are a range extender!”
For more information, please visit www.spnkix.com and www.kickstarter.com/
SUNDAY JANUARY 15 2012
Coals to Newcastle
You may have heard the saying “carrying coals to Newcastle”, an expression sometimes used to describe a futile endeavour.The phrase came about in the 16th century because the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-east England was based on the mining and selling of coal.
Local supply and demand was such that attempts to sell coal to Newcastle were seen as being doomed to failure.
On a similar note, last year my London-based, Anglo-American parents – victims of the 1970s craze for fondue parties in Britain and the US – kindly asked me if I would like to take off of their hands one of the five fondue sets that they had amassed over the years.
I politely declined their offer as I live in Switzerland, the home of fondue.
But it got me asking myself what real-life examples exist of those people with a bit of initiative who have figuratively managed to “carry coals to Newcastle”.
It actually turns out that the good people of Newcastle have themselves pulled off the unlikely trick of selling Champagne to the French.
Admittedly, it’s not Newcastle-cultivated Champers – the Tyneside climate isn’t exactly conducive to that.
Nevertheless, the Newcastle business Lovely Bubbly – set up in 2006 to give British drinkers access to quality Champagnes from independent French producers – struck a deal to supply Champagne to the French Consul in Edinburgh.
Perhaps even better is Fracino. Don't be fooled by their Italian-sounding name as the
award-winning Italian-style coffee machines manufacture is actually based in Birmingham, England, and was founded in the 1960s by the very un-Italian sounding Frank Maxwell, who was inspired by a coffee machine bought while holidaying in Italy with his family.
The small yet innovative manufacturer is not only the UK’s only coffee-machine maker, but it also now exports its cappuccino and espresso machines to over 25 countries – including Italy, the land of coffee connoisseurs if ever there was one.
Following Fracino’s lead is Scottish pizza kitchen Cosmo who, you’ve guessed it, sell their gluten-free varieties to Italy. The next thing you know, the Italians will be exporting haggis to the Scots.
It should be pointed out that Cosmo are slightly helped by the fact founder and chairman Cosmo Tamburro is an Italian himself, having emigrated to Edinburgh in 1958.
Meanwhile, the Central Australian Camel Industry Association have succeeded in selling 119 camels to none other than Saudi Arabia.
Australia has a sizeable population of camels – around 500,000 – the direct descendants of the 20,000 brought over in the 19th century from India and the Canary Islands, animals which were left in the wild once their use for exploration had finished.
Beside a means of transport, camels have often been an integral part of the traditional Muslim diet. Thousands are annually slaughtered during Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca.
The Saudis have traditionally got their camels from North Africa, but disease, drought and political instability have seen them turn to the Aussies for some hump-backed help.
Along very similar lines, Perth-based GMA Garnet managed to get the Saudis to buy Australian sand. The special alluvial sand is suited for sandblasting because it is free of silica, which creates dust that can cause lung cancer and silicosis in workers.
So the next time you hear 'Coals to Newcastle', don't laugh, it may just be an excellent business opportunity!
SUNDAY JANUARY 01 2012
Videos: Blow the cobwebs away and launch into an adrenaline-packed 2012.
The word 'flying' brings to mind graceful images of flight high above the earth's surface. Altitude provides both plenty of time to enjoy the view as well as time to sort out any problems.But on this 1st day of the New Year, it isn't the time to play it safe. It's a time to seize life by the scruff of the neck. A time to get your heart pounding so you know you are alive.
A sure-fire way of getting the adrenaline coursing through your veins is to fly. But not 'flight' as in wrapped in a hermetically sealed plane while reading a book and sipping champagne.
'Flight' as in feeling the air pulling at your body and roaring in your ears.
And not 'flight' high above the ground, but high-speed flight hugging the ground - and by 'hugging we mean close enough to caress it!
And if that sounds dangerous it's because it is so the only thing better than doing it yourself is finding someone else to risk their life so that we can experience the thrills vicariously (and safely).
So top up your glass, move a little closer to the fire, put your feet up and hit 'play'.
Danny Strasser - dubbed 'Rollerman' - is a German thrill-seeker with a penchant for rolling downhill - rolling extremely fast downhill with just a wheel-studded suit between him an the tarmac. In this video, Strasser speeds down the Alps, weaves through the traffic in South Korea, and launches down a bobsleigh track in Germany.
For more information (and videos), please visit http://danny-strasser.de/videos.php
Norwegian daredevil Jokke Sommer is one of the world's foremost wingsuit fliers, which entails him jumping from a plane, or base-jumping off something high enough, while wearing a wingsuit that enables him to glide - to fly. But what makes this vide really mind-blowing is that it was filmed with a 360° camera so you can use your computer arrow keys to look in any direction. It's like riding in Summer's back!
For more information, please visit http://jokkesommer.com/
We trust that has blown the 2011 cobwebs away and wish you all an excellent start to 2012.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 09 2011
Jeb Corliss: Flying on a wing(suit) and a prayer - through a mountain!
Last month Jeb Corliss became the first human ever to fly through a mountain. That’s right, through a mountain. Not over it. Not around it. But through it.The mountain in question was Tianmen Cave (pictured above) near Zhangjiajie City in China, nicknamed the Gateway of Heaven and regarded as the highest elevated natural arch in the world at 1,500m (5,000 feet).
Oh, and Jeb was flying on his own?
Not ‘on his own’ as in a solo flight in an aeroplane, helicopter or airship, or even just alone with a pair of glider wings and jet pack strapped to his back.
No, ‘on his own’ as in ‘he was flying by himself’ – no machines, no glider frame, no engines.
What the 35-year-old did have at his disposal was a wingsuit, a high-performance body ensemble that transforms you into something like a flying squirrel.
“You have nylon wings between you arms, nylon wings between you legs,” explains Corliss. “As you’re flying, instead of going straight down, you move forward three feet (0.9m) for every foot (0.3m) you fall. It gives you a glide angle so you’re no longer flying directly towards the ground, you’re flying on a slope."
“Flying across Tianmen Mountain was the most challenging task in my life. I have visited and investigated many places, but there's no place like Tianmen Mountain.”
Jeb’s ‘investigations’ have seen him BASE jump – i.e. deploy a parachute after leaping from a fixed object – from the Seattle Space Needle, Venezuela’s Angel Falls, the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Earlier this summer in Switzerland, Corliss became the first man to fly through a waterfall wearing a wingsuit as he engaged in some white-knuckle ‘proximity flying’ – the risky yet spectacular technique of gliding close to the face or ridges of hills and mountains.
In China, Jeb started his Tianmen Mountain flight by jumping from a helicopter before eventually deploying a parachute to land – currently the sole method available of bringing a wingsuit outing to a safe conclusion.
But that will change if Corliss gets his way. The Wingsuit Landing Project is the Californian’s ongoing quest to be the first human to leap from an aircraft and land without a parachute.
“The attempt is to jump from an aircraft, reach terminal velocity and then make a non-parachute landing,” he says. “The hard part is to survive uninjured."
“A wingsuit landing will only be successful if you can do it 10 times out of 10 without being injured. I’m talking no broken toes, no broken anything.”
A wingsuit could potentially slow a vertical descent, albeit briefly, to about 50km/h (30mph) – a massive reduction on the usual 180-225 km/h (110-140 mph).
But the pilot would still be moving forward horizontally at 120 km/h (75mph) at least – more likely at a considerably faster speed – meaning any faulty movement would lead to a fatal crash.
So what does Jeb have in mind to increase the likelihood of a soft landing?
Well, he’s fairly tight-lipped about his plan as he isn’t the only one obsessed with making history. Other wingsuit pilots around the world – Frenchman Loïc Jean-Albert and Brazilian Luigi Cani, for example – are also plotting to perform the first ever non-parachute landing.
But Corliss has hinted at constructing a custom-built runway while also talking about attaching his helmet to a rigid-framed exoskeleton
Writing on science and technology website Popular Mechanics, journalist James Vlahos has made a good stab at guessing how Corliss might pull off the stunt and it’s worth checking out here: www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/diy-flying/how-to-land-in-a-wingsuit-sans-parachute
Vlahos reckons he will most likely try to land like an Olympic ski jumper, matching the angle of the slope as closely as possible, though Corliss will be hurtling along at nearly twice the speed and will try to land on his front, not on his legs.
“This is something people have wanted to do since the story of Icarus,” says Corliss. “In this day and age it’s hard to do something that has never been done before."
“This will be the first time a human being has reached terminal velocity and landed on their face at over 110mph (180km/h) and gotten up and done it again. That’s a very special thing.”
Indeed it is, as is the cost of constructing such a runway: about two million dollars.
Corliss adds: “Everyone thinks this is so impossible, you can’t do that. Well, the only reason you think it can’t be done is because you haven’t done it. I believe I can and that’s probably why I am going to.”
Watch the video above for an idea of what it's like to fly along the ground. Landing without a parachute is the hard bit!
