Engineer Reacts to Wingsuits Flying Through London’s Tower Bridge | Red Bull | Behind The Scenes
In May 2024, Red Bull did it again: two wingsuit pilots — Marco Fürst and Marco Waltenspiel — flew through London’s iconic Tower Bridge.
Yes, you read that right. They jumped from a helicopter, dove through the narrow gap between the towers, and landed safely on floating platforms in the River Thames.
But behind the adrenaline and jaw-dropping visuals lies an incredible amount of planning, engineering, and precision flying.
As an aerospace engineer (and skydiver), I wanted to break down exactly what’s happening in this stunt — from takeoff to landing — and show you how physics and flight mechanics play a crucial role in pulling off something this insane.
Highlights of the Stunt
Here’s a quick breakdown of what happened:
The Launch: Jumped from a helicopter hovering at ~3,000 feet (~914 m), roughly 0.75 miles (1.2 km) away from the bridge.
The Approach: Controlled glide to check alignment, altitude, and timing.
The Dive: A high-speed pitch-down maneuver to gain horizontal speed, timed precisely to fly through the 35-meter opening of the bridge.
The Flare & Landing: Pulling up sharply to gain altitude post-passage, deploying parachutes, and landing on platforms floating in the Thames.
Step 1: The Launch – Setting Up the Flight Path
The jump was made from a helicopter hovering at approximately 3,000 ft (914 m), giving the pilots enough altitude to build speed and assess alignment.
The horizontal distance from jump point to the bridge was roughly 0.6–0.75 miles (1–1.2 km).
At this distance, a wingsuit pilot flying at a typical glide ratio of 2.5:1 to 3.0:1 would cover it comfortably while still preserving enough vertical space to accelerate before entering the dive.
Technical insight:
With a wingsuit horizontal speed around 100–120 mph (160–193 km/h) and vertical speeds between 40–60 mph (65–97 km/h), the pilots had to calculate the exact moment to pitch down for maximum horizontal velocity right before the bridge.
Any delay or deviation in launch orientation would throw off the final alignment.
Estimation:
Tower Bridge’s central opening is about 35 meters (115 feet) high. Considering safety margins, this allows maybe ±5 meters vertical wiggle room at high speed — that’s precision flying at its best.
Step 2: The Approach – A Glide With Constant Corrections
Contrary to what many might imagine, they didn’t go into a steep dive immediately after jumping.
The approach is a shallow glide where the pilots fine-tune:
Yaw (left/right drift)
Pitch (angle of attack)
Lateral symmetry (roll)
This phase is all about positioning and timing. They need to align:
Their body orientation with the bridge's centerline.
Their vertical drop to match the future energy requirement for the upcoming dive.
Their speed to ensure they have enough kinetic energy at the start of the dive, but not too much that it becomes uncontrollable.
Engineering insight:
The approach is like setting up an aerobatic maneuver: you can’t fix your path once you're committed to the dive. The “setup” is where the success or failure is decided.
Step 3: The Dive – Trading Height for Speed
As they neared the bridge, they initiated a steep pitch-down maneuver. This is called the “dive” in wingsuit flying.
Here, they convert potential energy (altitude) into kinetic energy (speed) by diving fast.
This maneuver allows them to reach speeds well above 150 mph (241 km/h) — necessary to stabilize their trajectory and fly through the bridge horizontally, rather than just falling through it.
Why it's critical:
Higher speed = better control authority on the wingsuit surfaces (arm and leg wings).
It also shortens time spent in the “danger zone” — the small window under the bridge.
You need enough kinetic energy to pull out immediately after without stalling.
Aerodynamics note:
In this phase, the wingsuiters are momentarily in very low AoA (angle of attack), almost zero, to stay as flat and fast as possible through the bridge.
The Bridge – The High-Risk Zone
The Tower Bridge clearance is 35 meters high at its center.
Flying at over 240 km/h, the pilots had less than 1 second to pass through safely.
That means:
Tiny errors in timing, roll, or pitch would lead to a crash.
Vertical tolerance? ~±2.5 m maximum.
Lateral clearance between towers? ~25 m — narrow when flying at speed.
Step 4: The Flare – Pulling Up With Precision
Immediately after passing the bridge, the pilots execute a flare maneuver: pitching their bodies upward to convert forward speed into vertical lift.
This gives them altitude gain — from the lowest point of the dive to an upward zoom of around 262 feet (80 meters).
Why flare?
To create room to deploy the parachute at a safe altitude.
To reduce horizontal speed before deploying (parachutes don’t like being opened at 150+ mph).
To align with the floating landing platforms on the Thames.
Key physics:
This is an energy transformation:
Enter bridge → high kinetic energy, low altitude.
Exit bridge → sacrifice kinetic energy, regain altitude.
It's the wingsuit version of the zoom climb fighter jets do.
Final Thoughts – From Stunt to Engineering Masterclass
What looked like a crazy Red Bull stunt is actually a masterclass in flight planning, precision aerodynamics, and energy management.
Behind the scenes:
Over 200 training jumps
A full-size mockup training rig in Oxfordshire
Wind tunnel practice
50+ cameras to capture everything
This wasn’t luck. This was physics + training + nerves of steel.
🔗 Want to see it in action?
Watch the official Red Bull video here:
