Wingsuit Flying
Wingsuit flying involves wearing a garment of flexible material that forms wings between a parachutist’s arms, legs and torso, creating an aerodynamic planform designed to generate forward movement through the air using only the force of gravity. There are two competitive wingsuit events, performance wingsuit flying and acrobatic wingsuit flying. Both events use a position logging device (PLD) mounted on the wingsuit flyer’s body or equipment to record their real-time, three-dimensional position.
Official rules: Skydiver's Competition Manual Chapter 14
Performance Wingsuit Flying
Objective:
Fly a wingsuit in three separate tasks to demonstrate a combination of best lift (time task), best glide (distance task) and least drag (speed task). Each competitor has three jumps in each task for a total of nine jumps.
Time Task:
Stay in the competition window for the longest amount of time, measured in seconds.
Distance Task:
Fly as far as possible in a horizontal line across the ground, measured in meters.
Speed Task:
Fly as fast as possible while in the competition window, measured in kilometers per hour.
Competition Window:
A vertical 1,000-meter window, starting at 2,500 meters geometric altitude* and ending at 1,500 meters geometric altitude, in which the performance of the wingsuit flyer is evaluated.
*Geometric altitude measurement is typically performed using GPS, although there are other methods which would give the same result. A geometric altitude measurement tells you exactly how far you are from the ground. This is the measurement you would expect to get if you had a very long ruler. In practice, making geometric altitude measurements requires specialized electronic equipment like a GPS.
Acrobatic Wingsuit Flying
Acrobatic Team:
Consists of two performers and one videographer. The performers complete wingsuit flying maneuvers while being filmed by the videographer. The video is then given to the judges for scoring.
Competition Window:
7,500 vertical feet measured by the judges with data from the PLD worn by the Designated Team Member (DTM).
Exit Altitude:
Teams leave the plane at a maximum of 12,500ft Geometric Altitude (GA) and minimum of 12,000 ft. GA.
Free Routines:
Three of the seven competition jumps are free-routine jumps. The team creates the free routine, which judges score based on style, dive-plan and camerawork.
Compulsory Routines:
Four of the seven competition jumps are compulsory-routine jumps. Each jump consists of three sequences of maneuvers determined by a draw prior to the start of competition. The team repeats the sequence of maneuvers as many times as they can while in the competition window. Scores are based on the team's flying style and number of grips they achieve.