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Witness History: The invention of the wingsuit

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The invention of the wingsuit

03/01/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The invention of the wingsuit

In 1999, skydiver Jari Kuosma developed the first commercial wingsuit

In the summer of 1999, two skydivers created the first commercial wingsuit.

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)

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