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Fred Fugen is among the two athletes

Two wingsuit parachuting specialists set a world record in Slovenia by being propelled vertically by a…

catapulte, imaginez, slovénie, autant, fred fugen, deux, propulsés, secondes

Key facts

  • Fred Fugen is one of the two athletes. The machine takes them from 0 to 180 km/h in two seconds. Accounts of the test also mention 2.15 seconds of…
  • Two specialists in wingsuit parachute jumping set a world record in Slovenia by being propelled vertically by a catapult.
  • The altitude reached is 456 meters. It is this ceiling that marks the record associated with this human catapult.

Fred Fugen is one of the two athletes. The machine takes them from 0 to 180 km/h in two seconds. Accounts of the test also mention 2.15 seconds of propulsion and a speed of 150 km/h.

Two specialists in wingsuit parachute jumping set a world record in Slovenia by being propelled vertically by a catapult.

The altitude reached is 456 meters. It is this ceiling that marks the record associated with this human catapult.

The device resembles a gigantic chimney. The two men take their places in a box, wait for the countdown, then are ejected upward.

Fred Fugen is more accustomed to descending in free flight, including from a catapult set in front of a precipice. This time, the propulsion is vertical.

The sequence remains brief and intense: a little more than two seconds of acceleration, then two rocket-men who laugh after the thrust.

Dig deeper

Who is Fred Fugen?

Fred Fugen is a French specialist in wingsuit flying and BASE jumping, known for extreme proximity flights; here he is one of the two athletes ejected by the catapult.

What is Slovenia in this account?

Slovenia is a country in Central Europe: that is where the two winged-flight specialists set this vertical-propulsion record.

What is a wingsuit, or flying-wing suit?

It is a suit with membranes between the arms and legs that allows the wearer to glide after a jump; both men are wearing one at the moment of ejection.

Why is a record of 456 meters being discussed?

This altitude is the ceiling reached thanks to the vertical human catapult, and it is this ceiling that constitutes the record.

How does this catapult change Fred Fugen’s usual practice?

He ordinarily takes off from a catapult facing a precipice in order to descend in free flight; here, the thrust is vertical, in a device resembling a giant chimney.

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