BMW's Electric Wingsuit: Pilot Flies at Speeds Over 300 km/h

BMW i, in collaboration with Designworks and Austrian wingsuit pilot Peter Salzmann, has made a dream come true by creating the world's first electric wingsuit. This innovative suit allows the pilot to reach speeds of over 300 km/h.

BMW i, in collaboration with Designworks and Austrian wingsuit pilot Peter Salzmann, has made a dream come true by creating the world's first electric wingsuit. This innovative suit allows the pilot to reach speeds of over 300 km/h.

Developed with Designworks and Salzmann, the electric wingsuit features a new propulsion system with two carbon propellers, each delivering 7.5 kW of power and achieving around 25,000 rpm, generating a total power of 15 kW for approximately 5 minutes.

While conventional wingsuits can achieve horizontal speeds exceeding 100 km/h, the electric wingsuit boosts speeds up to 300 km/h.

The design and testing took three years, including wind tunnel tests at the BMW Group Aerodynamics Test Centre. During the first flight of the electric wingsuit, the pilot jumped from a helicopter at 3,000 meters altitude along with two other operators in conventional wingsuits over the Austrian mountains.

Immediately after the jump from 3,000 meters, all three pilots flew towards the mountain range. With the help of the electric drive, Peter Salzmann accelerated faster than his colleagues and was able to fly over the summit. He also managed to meet two other pilots, who flew around the mountain in a glider, opened their parachutes, and landed together.