True Performance is a balance of ideals. It is not a fictional glide ratio, a mythical top speed, or a competition title. It is a blend of safety, comfort, agility, and speed, and when each of those factors comes together properly, the result is a suit which you can truly use to your full potential.
LEADING EDGE
The Colugo's leading edge is a multi-layer design finished in GlideSkin™. Inside the sandwiched construction is a layer of non-flexible AirMesh material, which prevents deformation or stretching in the leading edge. What this means is that the material which covers your arm and forms the leading edge is flexible at the wrist but stable in high speed flight. The material will stretch and flex over the natural curves of your arm as you adjust your position through various modes of flight, and then give you a comfortable flex when you reach back to pull. The foam edge is removable and adjustable for careful customization to the shape of your arm.
HIGH PRESSURE
The Squirrel 3D inlet maintains its size and shape no matter what position or abuse you subject it to - the multi-axis reinforcement keeps it open and feeding your wing as you move your arm through the many positions necessary during a proximity flight. Arm wing pressurization is crucial at every moment of your flight, from exit to pull time. A lack of internal pressure during the pull sequence can cause top surface fabric from the first cell to cover your PC. The 3D inlet and also the shortened height of the first rib near your PC help to ensure that the pull is ultra-clean, every time.
GLIDE PERFORMANCE
The glide performance of the Colugo is excellent for its surface area. It is no longer accurate to make broad assumptions on the glide performance of a suit based on its surface area alone. More surface area always means less agility, so it is important to squeeze the maximum amount of performance from every bit of surface area in the suit. As for speed, we strove to achieve a wide usable speed range that would allow a fast start and also a stable dive for proximity flying. 17 ribs and mini-ribs at the trailing edge of the leg wing keep it sharp and smooth, preventing "ballooning" and unnecessary drag. A mild camber combined with moderate forward thickness lends stability across the suit's speed range, and helps ensure the fastest start possible. A medium-volume wing and carefully moderated bottom surface tension also help the Colugo to achieve a quick start. Experienced pilots will easily reach full flight inside of 3 seconds.
ALL NATURAL
We think that wingsuits should fly well in a relaxed and natural body position. No elbow kinks, no strange rotation of your forearm - just a natural arm position that is supported by the internal pressure of your wings. The Colugo flies straight and stable in this relaxed position, and requires no special effort on the part of the pilot to achieve a decent glide. "Maxing" out the suit for best l/d performance is intuitive. At the end of your flight, when you transition from steeper terrain flight to flatter "glide" flight, you will experience a shorter and more powerful recovery arc, convert speed to lift more effectively, and pull higher at the end of your flight.
SKYDIVE IT SAFELY
We believe that skydiving is critical to BASE training. For that reason, the Colugo is fitted with the Innie-Outie BASE / Skydive system that allows you to choose between BASE and Skydive modes. When BASE jumping, placing your harness inside your suit creates a more uniform surface and slightly increased wing area. Simply unzip and re-fasten to expose the entire front of your harness for safe and normal skydive rig use.
THE PULL
The single most important factor when flying a wingsuit in the BASE environment is being able to deploy your parachute easily. The Colugo has the cleanest pull we have experienced. The ultra-simple arced wrist design allows you to reach back for your PC while pulling less of your wing's top surface with you, and there is less material hindering the twist of your wrist. High internal wing pressure, thanks to the 3D inlet, makes reaching around the wing easier. We have done our best to join the top surface of the wing to the area around your back smoothly and without ballooning cells which can hinder PC access. Because of this unique design, all Squirrel suits are flown using BOC PC position. With the RAD system, quick brake toggle access is also very simple and we have fine-tuned the now widely accepted cutaway-free concept with the wrist-arc, allowing your forearm to slide through more easily.
Developing the Colugo was an exciting process and we are looking forward to sharing the results with you and hearing your feedback. Cheers from the whole Squirrel Team, we hope to share an exit point with you one day!
Main Surfaces: Our main concern was finding an ideal ratio between weight and durability, along with high mechanical stability and good results in stretch and tear tests. Our main surface fabric is a 210D Ripstop, with very low stretch, and a good rigidity to comfort ratio.
Internal Ribs: All ribs are constructed from the renowned Porcher Skytex 40, which has an unparalleled stability-to-weight ratio.
Leading Edge Mylar: We offer two choices for wing surface Mylar reinforcement on your Squirrel Suit:
- Porcher Sport (white / translucent). This is our standard option.
- Dimension Polyant Carbon-Graphite (black / clear). The highest quality laminate on the market, with a carbon and graphite weave. It's black, and it's more rigid, but there is not a measurable performance difference over the Porcher mylar.