Target Practice

This past fall, a group of elite skydivers jumped off a 1,460-meter (4,780-foot) cliff in Tianmen Mountain National Park in China. They flew using specialized wingsuits—garments that help skydivers glide long distances. These daredevils were competing in the 6th Carabao World Wingsuit Championship—a contest in which participants whiz through the air and try to hit as many polystyrene targets with their bodies as possible.

A wingsuit has flaps made from a specialized blend of materials that stretch between a wearer’s arms and legs. These flaps catch air, which pushes against the suit as a skydiver falls. That creates lift—an upward force that helps wingsuit wearers stay aloft and maneuver through the air.

“If you were ever a kid who spread his arms and hoped to fly, this is the fulfillment of that dream,” says Tim Sestak, a professor, wingsuit flyer, and engineer who studies wingsuit design at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.