Speed flying and speed riding

They are similar to sports to paragliding, but have smaller wings, higher flying speeds, and flightpaths descending close to a mountain slope.

[6] This succeeded and became the hobby of a small group of 5 pilots[6] (Frédéric Fugen, Frank Coupat, David Eyraud, François Bon, Antoine Montant), who coined the term speed-riding ('riding' from freeride skiing, and 'speed' for the velocity that gives non-rigid wings their aerodynamic properties,[7] thus an important element of reliability and adding to freeriding the possibility to just fly fast and safe over dangerous alpine portions such as rocks, glacier seracs and crevasses, or avalanche-prone terrain).

[9] One of them, Francois Bon, a paraglider test pilot, unsatisfied with foot-launched parachute performance, helped perfect the first speed wing design,[10] the Gin Nano.

[11] This evolved into other commercial wings (between 9 and 14 square metres) designed for speed, portability, and a glide ratio much lower than a paraglider but higher than a parachute.

[12] On 2 February 2006, the French Free Flight Association (FFVL) officially recognized speed riding as an independent sport under its umbrella.

[18][19] Speed wing pilots have already garnered media attention with rapid descents from summits such as Aconcagua in the Andes[20] and various peaks in the Alps.

[21] There are established flying sites all over the globe, including dedicated ski runs at several resorts in France, and over 100 instructors in around 20 different countries.

[1] The wing's small size and unique design give it a much smaller glide ratio making it more suitable to fly close to the slope.

Because of the high flight speed (30–152.9 km/h or 20-95 mph),[26] and close proximity to the slope and obstacles, injury and death are considerable risks in this sport.

[30][7] Proper equipment such as helmets, back protectors, gloves and padded harnesses can help reduce injuries, as well as reserve parachutes for high-altitude flights (preferably with a cut-away system to avoid entanglement with the main wing, as both use suspension lines of similar length).

Out of 158 registered fatalities in foot-launched flying sports (including paragliding, hang-gliding, speedflying, and others) between 2000 and 2018, 42 took place in the canton of Berne, out of which 7 speedflyers (5 Swiss nationals and 2 foreigners), all of them in the Lauterbrunnen valley.