The BMW Group electromobility division BMW i has developed and tested the “Electrified Wingsuit by BMW i” with electric drive in cooperation with Designworks and the Austrian professional wingsuit pilot Peter Salzmann. As BMW announced in a message as part of the BMW #NEXTGen 300, Salzmann achieved a top speed of more than 300 kilometers per hour.

Flying fun with electric Propellers The drive unit including the battery should be powerful, compact and light. The BMW Group does not provide precise data on dimensions and weight. The unit consists of two electric motors that are provided with carbon propellers and work as an encapsulated impeller. As BMW announced, the drives should each have an output of 7.5 kW. The propellers should be up to 25. 000 revolutions per minute. For around five minutes of flight fun, the battery should be enough at full power of 15 kW, BMW continues. This means that speeds of more than 300 km / h can be achieved. For comparison: Conventional wingsuits reach about 33 km / h.

The idea of ​​a wingsuit with an electric drive comes from Salzmann, who wanted to raise the wingsuit sport to “a new level”. The 33 – year old Austrian, who is a skydiving trainer, base jumper and wingsuit pilot, was part of the BMW i development team and the BMW Design consultancy Designworks provided advice during the three-year development phase of the electric flight suit and then also carried out the test flight in the Austrian Alps.

The video shows the premiere flight of the electrified wingsuit from BMW.

(Source: BMW Group) Salzmann, who in 3000 meters high with the E-Wingsuit jumped out of a helicopter, said that as a pilot you experience an immediate acceleration after switching on the electric drive. Salzmann was accompanied by two other pilots with conventional wingsuits without a drive. While these two were sliding towards the earth, Salzmann was able to initiate a climb with the electric wingsuit activated, fly over a mountain peak and join the formation again before he and his companions deployed their parachutes and landed safely.

BMW i and Designworks announced that they will continue the development of the electrified wingsuit. Salzmann is convinced that electric drives should not only be on the road, but also in the air in the future. The project of the electrically operated wingsuit is proof of the “undreamt-of possibilities” that are possible with the help of electric mobility. (olb)