Draft:Vincent Descols

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Vincent Descols
Born (1984-01-28) January 28, 1984
Céret, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Other name"Le Blond"
OccupationsProfessional skydiver, wingsuit pilot, stunt coordinator, aeronautical engineer
EmployerSkyvibration
Known forWingsuit BASE proximity flying, tandem wingsuit, E-Wings

Vincent Descols, known as "Le Blond" (born January 28, 1984, in Céret, Pyrénées-Orientales, France), is a French professional skydiver, wingsuit pilot, stunt coordinator and aeronautical engineer, specializing in wingsuit BASE proximity flying. A pioneer in several disciplines, he holds numerous world firsts in wingsuit flying.[1] He is the co-developer of tandem wingsuit flying within the Skyvibration team, the first organisation to research and develop tandem wingsuit flying and to offer it to people without prior skydiving experience.[2] He is also an aeronautical engineer, trained at France's École nationale de l'aviation civile (ENAC), and presents at international events on risk management, team performance in high-stakes environments, and pioneering innovation.

Biography

Early life and education

Vincent Descols grew up in a small mountain village in the French Pyrenees. Passionate about aviation from childhood, he obtained his private pilot license at the age of 15. He went on to study aeronautical engineering at the École nationale de l'aviation civile (ENAC), one of France's leading aerospace institutions.

Early skydiving career

He began skydiving in 2005 and transitioned to BASE jumping in 2008, which led him to develop his wingsuit proximity flying practice across the Alps and Pyrenees.

The 2009 accident and return to sport

In 2009, Descols was involved in a serious railway accident that required a year of hospitalization. Physicians informed him he would likely never run again and would face permanent difficulties walking. Through intensive rehabilitation, he returned to sport the following year, including hiking to jump sites on crutches to resume his BASE jumping practice.[3][4]

Professional transition

Alongside his athletic career, Descols worked for the French civil aviation authority. In 2020, he left this position to dedicate himself fully to professional skydiving, aerial shows, stunt coordination and innovation projects in human flight.

Sporting career

Wingsuit BASE proximity flying

From 2011 onward, Descols established himself as a leading figure in wingsuit BASE proximity flying — a discipline involving flight at very low altitude along terrain features. His 2011 video BASE Jump Fall Session, featuring unprecedented long-distance proximity flights in the mountains, gained wide reach within the international wingsuit community, and was covered by The Daily Telegraph.[5][6]

In 2018, Alpine Mag, a leading French mountain sports publication, covered his proximity flight along the "Denivelator" line — a route through a couloir in Les Deux Alpes descending more than 2,000 metres — filmed alongside American pilot Brian Drake.[7]

In March 2019, Descols performed a wingsuit flyover above the audience of the Rock The Pistes festival at Portes du Soleil, Haute-Savoie, covered by France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.[8]

Competitions

Descols has competed consistently at the highest level of wingsuit racing:

  • World Wingsuit League (China): 3rd place (2013); 5th place (2014); 9th place (2015); 1st place in speed and 1st place in precision (2016); 2nd place in precision (2017); 1st place in precision (2023)[9][10]
  • Base Race World Championship (Norway): 2nd place (2016)[11]
  • Wings for Love World Cup (China): Winner (2016)[12]
  • Red Bull Aces (USA): Participant[13]
  • French Wingsuit Championship: 1st place (2019)[9]

World firsts and records

Proximity flying and new jump sites (2012–2013)

Wingsuit acrobatics (2017–2020)

  • 2017 — World first: Wingsuit Rope Swing (giant swing from a wingsuit in flight)[15]
  • 2019 — World first: bungee jump from a wingsuit in flight[15]
  • 2020 — World first: bungee jump from a wingsuit (triple length); leader of the French wingsuit formation record (17 pilots)[15]

Tandem wingsuit (2021–2023)

Vincent Descols, Marine Descols and Ambroise Serrano spent three years developing and testing tandem wingsuit configurations and procedures, ultimately becoming the first team to offer tandem wingsuit flights to the general public. Skyvibration remains the only organisation in the world to offer this activity commercially.[2][16][17]

  • 2021 — Official public launch of tandem wingsuit; world first: tandem at 6,000 m altitude (20,000 ft); world first: tandem over an active volcano (Piton de la Fournaise, Réunion Island)
  • 2023 — First tandem wingsuit flight in Asia, performed at Tianmen Mountain, Zhangjiajie, China, with Chinese mountaineer Luo Jing[18]

Innovation projects

E-Wings: the electric wingsuit

In 2020, Descols completed the world's first flight of the E-Wings, a wingsuit equipped with four electric turbines, developed in collaboration with French engineer David de Nardis. The project aimed to expand the glide and manoeuvrability of wingsuit flight through electric propulsion.[19][20][21]

The E-Wings project also provided a key technical foundation for the development of tandem wingsuit flying, demonstrating that a wingsuit pilot could safely manage significant additional weight and open a parachute under constrained aerodynamic conditions.[2]

Film and stunt work

Descols served as stunt coordinator and actor in the French-Belgian television film La Vengeance sans visage (France 2 / La Une, 2022), directed by Claude-Michel Rome. Described by producers as a world wingsuit BASE champion and pioneer of proximity flying, he was approached by Aubes Productions to coordinate all aerial parachute stunts for the production. He and Marine Descols subsequently joined the cast as actors, playing roles Eric and Malou respectively. The film was shot in the Hautes-Alpes and Bouches-du-Rhône departments.[22][23]

Conference speaking

In November 2022, Descols presented at the European Skydiving Symposium in Warsaw, Poland — an international event gathering 565 participants from 21 countries — where he spoke on the development of tandem wingsuit flying and the process of transforming a seemingly impossible project into reality.[24] He has also spoken at public events in Savoie alongside Marine Descols.[25]

Drawing on his career in high-risk environments, Descols speaks at corporate and institutional events on three themes: mental risk management and decision-making under pressure; teamwork and collective responsibility in high-stakes contexts; and pioneering project management, illustrated by the development of the E-Wings and the global launch of tandem wingsuit flying.

References

  1. "Wingsuit — le vertige des hommes volants". Paris Match. 22 October 2016.
  2. "World Premiere: Wingsuit Tandem". Skydive Mag. 20 July 2021.
  3. "Instructor — Vincent "le Blond" Descols". Next Level.
  4. "Interview Skyvibration : À la rencontre des 2 entrepreneurs". CSactu.
  5. Vincent Descols (2011). "BASE Jump Fall Session". YouTube.
  6. "Is this the most exhilarating wingsuit flight ever captured on camera?". The Daily Telegraph. 25 June 2014.
  7. Jocelyn Chavy (29 May 2018). "Wingsuit — Denivelator, l'hommage de Vincent Descols à Brian Drake". Alpine Mag.
  8. Anne Hédiard (25 March 2019). "Passage en wingsuit au-dessus du public lors du festival Rock The Pistes aux Portes du Soleil". France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
  9. "Challenge wingsuit — le champion du monde de Base Jump Vincent Descols revient aux sources". Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire. 27 July 2019.
  10. "Gallery: Wingsuit Daredevils". Caixin Global. 21 September 2023.
  11. "Base Race World Championship 2016". YouTube. 2016.
  12. Lesley Gale (31 October 2016). "Wings for Love". Skydive Mag.
  13. Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire (21 March 2018). "Les vidéos complètement folles de Vincent Descols, wingsuiter de l'extrême qui vit à Paray-le-Monial".
  14. Erich Beaud (April 2016). "Topo Paralpinisme" (PDF). base-jump.org.
  15. Vincent Descols (20 July 2021). "World Premiere: Wingsuit Tandem". Skydive Mag.
  16. Raffaela Schaus (10 August 2023). "Vincent Descols — der einzige Wingsuit-Tandem-Springer der Welt in Spa". BRF Nachrichten.
  17. Killian Kerbrat (31 October 2021). "Voler tel un oiseau, c'est désormais possible à La Réunion !". Clicanoo.
  18. "French-Chinese duo complete wingsuit tandem challenge in central China". Xinhua. 15 September 2023.
  19. "E-Wings — First electric wingsuit flight". Dailymotion / Skyvibration. 2020.
  20. "Des turbines électriques pour propulser un wingsuit — première mondiale avec une entreprise landaise". ICI / France Bleu Gascogne.
  21. "Vincent Descols veut emmener la wingsuit dans les nuages grâce à des turbines électriques". Le Dauphiné Libéré. 26 August 2024.
  22. Bruno Passe (8 February 2023). "La vengeance sans visage". Paramag.
  23. Thibaut Durand. "Hautes-Alpes : un tournage en apesanteur en pleine montagne". Alpes 1.
  24. Lesley Gale (24 November 2022). "European Skydiving Symposium 2022 – It's a Wrap". Skydive Mag.
  25. Philippe Hamelin (7 March 2024). "Marine et Vincent Descols ont partagé leur passion du wingsuit". Le Dauphiné Libéré.

Category:French skydivers Category:People from Céret Category:French stunt performers Category:1984 births Category:Living people