Wing Suit Development
Rule 28 was founded with one aim in mind - get aero, ride faster. No other factors were important to us, just the pursuit of the fastest clothing possible.
For the past three years, we have been developing our magnum opus. Something game changing, outrageous and uniquely Rule 28.
The idea started with the development of our UCI Illegal overshoes. Ignoring the UCI rule book allowed us to bring increased performance advantages to riders. But why stop at overshoes? Why not tear up the rulebook and produce the world’s first purpose designed Illegal skinsuit.
We bring you the Rule 28 Wing Suit.
Where traditional skinsuits employ various textured fabrics to help trip the boundary layer of air moving around the arm, to help reduce the low-pressure area behind the arm caused by moving through the air, the wings of our suit are designed to fill in the low-pressure area itself, creating a more streamlined profile and reducing the riders drag coefficient.
Using a 3D scan of an elite TT rider, we conducted CFD modelling to validate our working hypothesis as well as establish the rough shape and size of the wing.
CFD results showed a direct correlation between the size of wing and drag reduction. From this we then worked with leading experts in sail design come up with several different shapes, focusing on attachment points on the arm, hip and fabric tension.
The final design was then tested in the Boardman Performance Centre Wind tunnel against an extensive range of skinsuits from across the market.
All tests were conducted at 50kph across a yaw spread from -1 to -10 degrees of yaw. System weight was taken before each run to ensure accurate results.
Results below:
| Non Aero Bibs and Jersey Baseline | Suit E1 | Suit N1 | Suit C | Suit E2 | Suit A | |
| Yaw -10 | 353.6 | 344.1 | 352.3 | 343.3 | 341.4 | 344.6 |
| Yaw -7.5 | 352.3 | 346.3 | 350.8 | 348.2 | 345.9 | 344.6 |
| Yaw -5 | 356.9 | 358.2 | 355 | 348.5 | 346.7 | 348.4 |
| Yaw -2.5 | 364.4 | 374.5 | 355.5 | 355.2 | 358.7 | 353.8 |
| Yaw -1 | 360.9 | 362.6 | 353 | 357.1 | 358.7 | 358.3 |
| Average | 357.6 | 357.1 | 353.3 | 350.5 | 350.3 |
349.9 |
| Suit N2 | Suit R1 | Suit B | Suit V | Suit R2 | Rule28 Wing Suit | |
| Yaw -10 | 343.6 | 341.1 | 341.8 | 334.3 | 335.7 | 321.8 |
| Yaw -7.5 | 346.8 | 344.4 | 344.1 | 341.1 | 336.2 | 326.1 |
| Yaw -5 | 347 | 346.3 | 343 | 344.8 | 338 | 331.2 |
| Yaw -2.5 | 353 | 350.3 | 342.2 | 345.4 | 341.9 | 341.4 |
| Yaw -1 | 354.2 | 353 | 344.9 | 346.2 | 341.1 | 350.1 |
| Average | 348.9 | 347 | 343.2 | 342.4 | 338.6 | 334.1 |
A noticeable fact from the results is the significant reduction in drag found at higher yaw angles whilst using the wing suit vs. other skin suits, something that is fairly common in time trialling in the UK thanks to passing traffic on A roads. This is caused by the wings actually generating thrust. Even at lower yaw angles, the wing suit offers significant advantages over every other suit we tested, thanks to the fact that the volume of the wing offers improved reduction in pressure drag behind the arm over standard textured fabrics on the arms. The one exception to this result for -1 degree of yaw. This was caused by the fabric of the wing being loose and loosing support, this issue has now been remedied in production suits.
As the performance of the wing is dependent on the fabric being taught, the suit is designed for a modern, beyond vertical upper arm with slight overlap between the knee at the top of the pedal stroke and elbow height. Consideration of the differences in rider geometry has been taken into account and fine adjustment of wing shape is possible through a simple adjustment of how tight the suit is pulled and angled around the elbow.
