SinkingSamara

Yes - a flat spin with the human body as the rotor and specially designed suit with 4 blades for arms and legs. Controlling the angle of attack by slightly twisting legs and arms would allow one to slow spin rate and decrease drop speed. I suspect one could easily blackout unless longer extensions are added and the human is extremely strong, well trained and half crazy. Or perhaps an orangutan might be trainable (I've always believed they could land a wingsuit with more grace than a human and without any cardboard boxes to cushion landing).

Has anyone experimented with thin bladed attachments to arms and legs allowing a significant decrease in drop speed. I acknowledge an extreme risk due to potential high spin rates trying to become the first human gyrocopter.

Yes. A real flapping success. http://www.ornithopter.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4533&page=8 When will the batwinged unicyclist get off the ground?

How about landing in a fields of wheat or a swamp of cattails? Is there any chance extraterrestrials use wheat fields to slow their spinning saucers to soft cushioned landings? How long of a crop line would a wingsuit landing at 70mph leave behind? What is the highest speed anyone ever reached after jumping off a barn roof into a hay stack (landing without a parachute)? How fast might one drop inside a practically empty 100ft Silo?

That article talks about Maria von Egidy's IGALS (Integrated Glide and Landing System) design plans: "The most innovative part of the design, though, is that it allows the pilot to drop out of the wing just before landing and hang beneath it, rather like a hang-glider pilot does, making it easier to flare without losing control." Is it a wingsujit or a hang-glider if the pilot can drop out and hang beneath it before landing? I personally believe the most impressive landing would be with corrugated wings styled after dragonfly wings and samara seeds designed to allow a last second burst of human energy by someone who has increased pectoral strength through years of intense flapping training. Aerodynamic characteristics of dragonfly wings Maple seeds and animals exploit the same trick to fly

With longer arms, stronger pectorals and a gift for aerial acrobatics an orangutan has a better chance than a human ape to land a wingsuit without dangling like a puppet from canopy strings. Has anyone ever trained an orangutan to skydive?