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SFly Release Ridge Wingsuit

By adminon - Read 10156 times

SFly have just announced their latest addition to their wingsuit products, with the release of the Ridge. The Ridge has been in development for a while, and saw extensive testing taking place over the past months. The suit will cater towards the more advanced flyers and was developed with skilled BASE jumpers in mind.

Introduction

The new SFLY RIDGE is a wing suit 100% designed for mountain flying. The RIGDE has been developed since the very beginning for the demanding and experienced wingsuit BASE jumpers who open always­ shorter exits and seek for new lines requiring more and more glide performance without compromising on speed.

Its key features are :


­ Ultra short starts


­ High glide ratio


­ High speed


­ Ultra clean pull

The RIDGE development has been made possible by a 15 month collaboration between Stephane Zunino, original SFly designer, François Gouy, mountain guide who has opened numerous exits, and Julien Peelman, aerodynamic engineer mostly known for its high performance parachute canopies designs like the Icarus Petra and the Icarus Leia by NZ Aerosports.

Numerous test­ pilots have tried the various prototypes that have led to the final version: Soul Flyers Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet, as well as the Frenchies from Vercors: Maël Baguet, Vincent Cotte, Jean­Philippe Gady, and Matthieu Leroux.

Last summer François Gouy used a RIDGE prototype to open mythical exits in the french Alps, such as Ceüse or Les Rouies, thanks to both the short starts and the high glide performance.


Overall Design

The RIDGE is probably bigger than other suits.

The RIDGE has a high arm sweep, and a longer and thicker leg wing than other wing suits in this category.

Leading edge

The RIDGE leading edge is designed to match both the best possible aerodynamic performance with the easiest pull. That is why we have split the sleeves in 2 parts: the upper arm, made of parapack with an under layer of soft foam the lower arm, made of neoprene. And we have assembled these 2 parts with a diagonal cut so as to maximize the surface of the combined parapack­foam leading edge.

Finally we have added an inflated cell behind the arm in order to fully fill­ in the sleeve and to get rid of that empty space between the back of the arm and the arm wing. This cell is connected and inflated by the arm wing.



Partitioning

The RIDGE is partitioned in a way to offer the a super tight fit around your body.

This allows better wing control at all times and a great agility.

Start

The large inlets with opened airlocks allow an ultra fast inflation of both arm wings and leg wing.

The higher arm sweep and the larger surface of the RIDGE enable the wing to catch air as on as soon as your feet lift from the ground. Because of its thicker profile the RIDGE starts flying even at very low speed, allowing quicker forward motion start. These unique features give the Ridge an unmatchable exiting profile.

Glide

The high glide performance of the RIDGE is the result of the balance between surface and profile.

Because of its unique profile/surface balance, the RIDGE has an excellent glide ratio. Whatever the wind conditions, our test pilots have experienced and recorded a better glide ratio than with with other wingsuits.

Speed

The drag created by the large surface and the thickness of the suit is compensated by the extended length of the leg wing, allowing the RIDGE to easily match and outcome in speed the other wingsuit of its category. The RIDGE is remarkably fast and easy to fly in any wind conditions.

Agility

The unique partitioning and tight fit around the body make the RIDGE an easy and fun wing suit to fly, yet very responsive. The RIDGE allows aggressive dives as well as sharp turns without loosing control. What’s more, because this wing suit is highly pressurized, it has a incredible lift power in flight.

Opening

The pull is ultra clean thanks to the bevel shaped wrist end of the sleeve. The soft neoprene patch behind the elbow gives extra freedom of movement to ensure an easy bending of the arm and a clean pull. Your hand will reach the pilot chute handle naturally no matter how long you’ve been flying.

Canopy deployment

The neoprene half sleeves allow both an easy punch­out and a high risers reach-
up.

More information can be found at the SFly Website

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JeffCa
A wingsuit purely designed for BASE? Off-topic, no?

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