Team Eagle Wingsuits: Sewing Seeds of Greatness

Team Eagle Wingsuit, an ongoing multi-disciplinary project, has been producing unique insights in wingsuit aerodynamics for the last nine semesters. As wingsuits grow in popularity, the demand for performance and safety has increased. The team goal is to increase performance and reduce the risk of wingsuit flight accidents. The primary hypothesis was, current wingsuit fabrics are not aerodynamically sound. To test this hypothesis, the team successfully built a test apparatus to research current wingsuit construction fabrics in the wind tunnel. This effort has produced unique information and unexpected results that are important to the entire wingsuit industry. Test results of combinations of materials, in the patterns and shapes (morphologies) used in wingsuit design will aid in the selection of alternate materials for wingsuit design. Graphical comparison of the performance of the tested materials shows a clear difference and reveals a potential factor involved in the number of fatal accidents involving elite world class wingsuit pilots. The current research phase involves using our apparatus to test ram-air inflated airfoils. Current ram-air inflated wingsuit designs deform in flight due to the dynamic air pressure. This deformation is hypothesized to reduce lift and controllability. In addition, the team will conduct CFD analysis on potential wingsuit designs to optimize performance and reduce production costs. After completing preliminary tests, the team intends to improve upon existing wingsuit designs and produce a next generation wingsuit to fly in the 2017 Wingsuit World Cup competition. Eagle Prize Awar