19/11/2020
Flight suit with BMW i motors tested in Austria
Wingsuit is a special wing suit, the design of which allows an incoming air flow to fill the wings between the pilot's legs, arms and body, thereby creating an aerodynamic profile so that the pilot can perform gliding flights after jumping from a high cliff or aircraft. Typically, such jumps can reach speeds of about 100 km / h, but BMW i and Designworks have developed an additional device that allows you to accelerate up to 300 km / h.
An additional twin-motor electric drive system with carbon propeller impellers and a compact energy storage is integrated into the front of the wing suit, and during flight is located in the chest of the parachutist. The power of each motor is 7.5 kW. The propellers rotate at 25,000 rpm, and the lithium battery has enough charge for 5 minutes of flight. The whole structure weighs 12 kg.
The first flight was originally planned to be made in the city of Busan (South Korea), however, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the test site was moved to the Austrian Alps. There, 33-year-old Salzmann jumped from a helicopter at an altitude of 3000 meters, accompanied by colleagues in classic suits without motors. After activating the device, the Austrian began to accelerate quickly and outstripped the other pilots.
