After competing at the 2024 US Nationals in Wingsuit Performance, Danny White returned home with a Gold Medal in Wingsuit Speed. He described how the Icon V performed flawlessly, with its low, sleek aerodynamic shape enabling him to sweep all three rounds of speed. Next up for Danny is the FAI World Championship! We asked Danny to share some insights into WS speed techniques, and here’s what he had to say:

''In performance wingsuiting, speed is energy, and we want to exit the plane and get head down as fast as possible. We're jumping the biggest wingsuits made, so having that much fabric head down on exit can be very challenging. As we accelerate vertically, we have to transition that vertical speed to horizontal speed by flattening our dive and preparing to enter the competition window at 2500m or approximately 8200ft. It's an invisible line we are aiming for based on the flysight data we hear in our helmets. The transition is the most critical point of a performance wingsuit jump. That's where we have the maximum amount of energy moving in two directions, down and forward. Aerodynamics are most crucial at this point to avoid losing control and ending up in a 200mph flat spin, which would be unrecoverable. If done properly, we slingshot forward with incredible power and speed and either continue that speed for a speed event, or flatten and gain altitude for a time or distance event. Overall it is an incredible feeling, but not without significant risk. My equipment must be 100% dialed in and I have to have complete trust in it. An equipment malfunction at 200mph would be catastrophic.''


Phot cerdit:  https://skydivechicago.com/nationals-competitors/

A very nice shot of ICONs from the Baltic Wingsuit Meet 2024 to picture Danny’s words:

 Photo credit: www.WSpoint.pl