Not a bird, or a plane
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E-mail China Daily, June 6, 2012
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Corlisso rockets through a hole on Tianmen Mountain in September 2011.[China Daily] |
Joby Ogwyn, an experienced wingsuiter, recently had a test flight that was 45 seconds long.
The race is not for learners or secondary players, in view of the challenge of taking such a sharp turn in the air.
"Only about 100 wingsuiters have jumped from a mountain, and we invite the 16 best among them, such as Jeb, Joby and the guy you may have seen in Transformers 3 last year," says Iiro Seppanen, BASE jumper and president of the World Wingsuit League, referring to the stunt scene in Michael Bay's film.
Corliss hopes the race will raise more awareness of the excitement of wingsuit flying and promote its development in technology and equipment.
"Competition basically fuels the innovation and makes the technology move more rapidly," he says. "Every competitor will try to enhance their equipment to win the race."
It will be a race against time and last three days. The 10 fastest will enter the latter stages and on the live TV show. Six will compete to be crowned champion.
Corliss will compete hurt and it will be his first wingsuit competition after the incident in South Africa.
His other dream targets in China include the new headquarters of the China Central Television (CCTV) - a 234-meter-high Beijing skyscraper colloquially known as "big boxer shorts" because of its shape - a 460-meter-high bridge in Jishou, Hunan province, and the 474-meter-high Shanghai World Financial Center.
"I like things that have never been done before," he comments.
Born to a couple of international artifacts dealers, Corliss' childhood was spent traveling around the world. By the time he was 6, he had lived in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, where his parents scouted for art.
Always the new kid, he was a frequent target of bullies in school. After his parents divorced when he was 8, Corliss and his sisters and mother settled in Palm Springs, California. By the end of sixth grade, he was pulled out of school.
"Flying is the thing that turned me from being a dark, unhappy child to what I am today: talkative, happy and cheery."
Corliss was first acquainted with BASE jumping on TV. He saw a man walk to the edge of a cliff, step off and perform a gainer.
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