After almost three years of development, a six-minute parachute jump followed, in which the Salzburg extreme athlete Peter Salzmann broke three world records. Thanks to new technology, the base jump professional’s spectacular action was more like a gliding flight than a free fall.
On October 24th, Salzmann chose a cliff on the highest peak in the Interlagen region, the Jungfrau, at an altitude of 4,063 meters, as the starting point for his record attempt. The 37-year-old then sailed five minutes and 56 seconds from the jump to the opening of his parachute, reaching a top speed of 200 km/h shortly after the jump. With the new wingsuit foil it was possible to far exceed the previous world record of 7.5 kilometers. He sailed a total of 12.5 kilometers and also set a record for the largest height difference of a base jump from take-off to landing with a height difference of 3,402 meters. The Salzburg extreme athlete now also has the longest base flight time on his business card.
“My jump was extremely challenging,” said Salzmann, who worked with developer Andreas Podlipnik and a team of engineers from Red Bull Advanced Technologies to prepare the project. A total of six prototypes were developed. The 5.45 kilo Wingsuite Foil also incorporates Formula 1 know-how. The wing attaches to the front of the suit and is light and portable enough to allow a wingsuit pilot to hike and fly with ease. At the same time, it is so robust and aerodynamic that it provides lift and exponentially improves the gliding ratio.
