Skydiver Designed First-Ever Electric Wingsuit With BMW That Hits Speed Of 186 Miles Per Hour

Wingsuit flying had captured people’s attention when it first hit the headlines around the turn of the millennium. But flying suits had been limited as the acceleration source is gravity, and one’s flight could only ever take a downward turn. As it appears, traditional suits might be going into extinction, specifically as Skydiver Peter Salzmann, in collaboration with BMW, has designed and unveiled the first-ever electric Wingsuit hitting a speed of 186mph.  

Skydiver Peter Salzmann, in collaboration with BMW, has unveiled the first-ever electric wingsuit

For years, Professional Skydiver Salzmann from Austria had been thinking of how to include some sustainable propulsion and climbing function to the Wingsuit experience. He teamed up with creative engineers at BMW’s Designworks studio and did officially created the chest-mounted set of electric impellers, including wingsuits that would work correctly with them.  

The suit houses two carbon propellers in a bid to deliver a speed of an estimated 25,000rpm, a power of 7.5K.W, and an output of 15KW. Launching its first maiden flight, Skydiver Peter was brought to feet of 10,000 into the air over the Alps mountain range. Interestingly, the electric wingsuit had started with sketches before transforming into digital models and then its prototype. 

‘The very first one was designed out of cardboard. I built it so that I could get a feel for the fly unit’s size, i.e., the impeller unit, the batteries, and every other thing that goes with it. Originally, we had the plan to place the propulsion unit on the back, but after thorough discussions with aerodynamics experts, we moved the fly unit to the front.’ Salzmann explained.  

The global pandemic has paid to this aspiration, and undoubtedly, Salzmann did settle for something truly outstanding. Salzmann added that the group had equally worked on a smaller system, an estimated 40 inches wide, designed with two-five inch propellers. Nevertheless, Salzmann accelerated faster than the other two pilots who had flown in glide flight around the mountain. The jump specifically took place near the Drei Bruder peaks in the Hohe Tauren Mountain range in the Alps.