The invention of the wingsuit
In 1999, skydiver Jari Kuosma developed the first commercial wingsuit
Witness History · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
The wingsuit is the ultimate in extreme sports clothing. The aerodynamic outfit allows base jumpers and skydivers to free-fall for longer before opening a parachute.
The road to creating it was littered with casualties, but in 1999 skydivers Jari Kuosma and Robert Pecnik developed the first commercial wingsuits.
In 2019, Jari told Jonathan Coates how exciting, but also how dangerous they can be.
(Photo: Jari in his wingsuit. Credit: BBC)