BMW introduced the world’s first electric wingsuit. With it, you can not only plan down, but also climb.
BMW’s designers worked on the wingsuit with their internal unit Designworks and professional wingsuit pilot, the Austrian Peter Salzmann. Salzmann was also the first to test the company’s development.
The company modified the standard wingsuit with two carbon propellers called impellers. They allow planning for longer distances than conventional suits.
During the flight of Salzmann, the wingsuit had a speed of almost 300 km/h. To do so, he and three other skydivers took a helicopter 3,000 metres and then flew over the Austrian mountains. At the same time, Salzmann’s colleagues in ordinary wingsuits were able to reach a speed of only 100 km/h. At the end of the flight, all three parachuted down to the ground.
The wingsuit is based on the i EV technology, which is also used in BMW electric vehicles.
The suit is equipped with a special carbon plastic backpack; two electric motors with 10 horsepower carbon screws each; propellers that rotate at 25,000 revolutions per minute – they allow you to develop up to 300 kilometers per hour; 50-volt lithium battery, 5 minutes of work.
At the same time, the total weight of the backpack is only 12 kilograms, and the battery charge is enough for five minutes of flight.
