Man has been trying for centuries to master the art of flying. However, it wasn’t until the early 1900′s when Orville and Wilbur Wright launched and “landed” their first flying machine that flying really became a reality. We’ve come a long way since (heck, we’ve put plenty of people in space), but we still haven’t been able to figure out a way to individually fly on our own. I think that this desire to achieve individual flight is something that is pretty apparent in our culture. If you don’t believe me, just take movies like Superman, Hancock, or Iron Man. Individuals flying around the world at mach speed is clearly a theme that characterizes those Hollywood productions. Directors just know that we like to dream about flying.

Speaking for myself, I’m no exception to that notion. There have been many times that I have thought or dreamed about flying on my own. When I stumbled across the video of Espen Fadnes, the world’s fastest flying human being, I was immediately drawn in. Now, one might argue that what Espen does in this incredible video shot in the European Alps is merely gliding or “falling with style” but it’s still impressive. Not many people are willing to take the risk of jumping off a cliff to glide down a mountain face with nothing more than a track suit with wings and a parachute to use once you clear the slope. However, the most impressive aspect of Espen’s jump is the fact that he was speeding down the mountain at speeds of around 250 km/hr or roughly 155 mph. In other words, Espen was flying.

I can’t help but think about how cool it must have been to glide down the mountain, but also how terrifying it must have been to dive off the cliff into uncertainty. Let’s just face it, there isn’t much margin for error doing something like that. Needless to say, it’s very cool to watch someone make their dream of flying a reality in such an amazing way.

SENSE OF FLYING from Goovinn on Vimeo.