DUBAI 30 November 2017: SkyDive Dubai-based ‘wingsuit’ duo – Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet, known as the Soul Flyers – recently completed an unbelievable stunt following a B.A.S.E. jump from the top of the Jungfrau mountain in Switzerland and caught up with and flew into a plane in mid-air.
The breathtaking and highly challenging extreme sport of wingsuit flying was taken to the next level by the two Frenchmen as part of their project ‘A Door in the Sky’, which they had spent several months training for by completing more than 100 test flights in Empuriabrava in Spain.
The duo B.A.S.E jumped from the top of Jungfrau, one of Europe’s highest mountains, and flew into a Pilatus Porter light aircraft in mid-air.
At the controls of the plane was experienced pilot Philippe Bouvier. He was supported by co-pilot and project coordinator Yves “Jetman” Rossy, who himself shot to fame in the extreme sports community with his incredible rocket-powered flights.
After agreeing on the perfect airplane and the perfect support team, the French duo needed to find a location offering the right conditions to make their ambitious dream a reality. One of the most important elements was to have the longest possible freefall in order to give Fugen and Reffet enough time to catch up with the plane and, if anything should go wrong, abort the attempt and land safely.
The 4,158m Jungfrau in the Swiss Alps met all these requirements and, fortunately, had recently been approved by the local authorities for wingsuit flying. After B.A.S.E jumping from the peak the two men would have 3,200 vertical metres of freefall and 2:45 minutes to complete the daring stunt.
On 13 October, after several postponements due to poor weather, everything was finally set for the attempt. On their first jump the Soul Flyers didn’t manage to catch up with the plane in time and had to abandon. Undeterred, they returned to the top of the mountain and jumped again. The second attempt was perfect and Vince Reffet flew into the cabin through the open door, followed a few seconds later by Fred Fugen.
“The conditions were perfect and we were well prepared, but it was still an incredibly difficult challenge,” commented Vince Reffet after landing safely in the plane!