Congratulations to Chilean wingsuit pilot Sebastián Álvarez who just claimed 3 world records in a single flight.
Known as ‘El Ardilla’ (The Squirrel in Spanish), Álvarez jumped from an airplane cruising at 41,470ft (higher than most commercial flights) in a custom made wingsuit optimized with features like aerodynamic wingtip extensions to increase the wings’ aspect ratio and special fairings around his feet to reduce drag. Durning his faithful flight El Ardilla set the records for top speed (342mph), most distance traveled (33.22 miles) and longest duration flight (11 minutes, 1 second):
The Three Records:
- Speed: Álvarez reached 550kph (342mph), flying faster than an F1 car by harnessing the Earth’s jet streams. The previous Guinness world record had stood at 397kph (247mph).
- Distance: He travelled over 53.45km (33.22 miles) – almost double the distance of the previous official FAI record of 29.06km. This also meant he covered more than a marathon distance in just over 10 minutes.
- Time: With a flight time of 11m 1s, Álavarez’s flight was exactly 1.30s longer than the previous official FAI record of 9m 31s. He demonstrated extraordinary endurance, maintaining a body position that would feel like a two-hour plank.
