Clements Joseph Sohn (December 7, 1910 – April 25, 1937) was an American

airshow An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without which they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air ...

daredevil in the 1930s from Fowler,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

. He perfected a way of

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...

through the air with a home-made

wingsuit Wingsuit flying (or wingsuiting) is the sport of skydiving using a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit called a wingsuit to add webbed area to the diver's body and generate increased lift (force), lift, which allows extended air time (parachuting), air time ...

. He had himself dropped from an airplane at a height of approximately and would glide down until he was only to from the ground, at which point he would open his

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

for the final descent. He made the wings from

zephyr cloth Zephyr or zephyr cloth is a sheer, lightweight cotton fabric, usually plain woven, used for dresses, blouses, and shirts. It may be striped or checked. It is named after Zephyr In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, n ...

mounted on steel tubes, forming a large web under each arm which was clasped to his hips. A feature of the wings was a device to prevent them from opening out too far and ripping his arms from their sockets. A loose cloth formed another web between his legs, which acted like a bird's tail. His large goggles gave him an appearance which led to his becoming known as "The Batman" or "The Batwing Jumper". Clem was badly injured during the opening ceremony of Gatwick Aerodrome, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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, when his primary

tangled in his wings. He broke and mangled his shoulder on landing, after opening his emergency parachute at an

altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...

of only and crashing into a taxi. Sohn's career came to an end on April 25, 1937, in

Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Before taking off, Clem had remarked, "I feel as safe as you would in your grandmother's kitchen". During his descent on that day, his

did not open. A crowd of 100,000 watched him frantically tug on the ripcord of his emergency chute, but that failed too, and Sohn, 26 years old, plunged to his death.

Marketing

There was at least one attempt to exploit Sohn's fame with a product tie-in. A UK manufacturer made the 'Welcom' Clem Sohn Bird-Man Glider, featuring "a red suited male figure with fold-out arms" and rubber wheels. It is now a collectible.A specimen in good condition, complete with the original box
sold on eBay in 2008
for GBP 100 (US$147.76). Retrieved December 10, 2008.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sohn, Clem 1910 births 1937 deaths American skydivers People from Clinton County, Michigan Sport deaths in France Wingsuit flight deaths