Jason Johanson – Aviator & Flight Instructor:

“When I mentioned it to my good friend Jason Johanson, a general building contractor and flight instructor from Turlock, CA, he loved the idea and told me he knew a farmer that dabbled in airfoil design. Twenty minutes later, we jumped on a couple of small dirt bikes and rode 2 miles through the long rows of almond orchards to arrive at Bob’s house. I will never forget the first time I met Bob, a humble farmer. His workshop was a little messy, dusty and dark. An old CNC machine was in the middle of the room and a series of drill presses, lathes and other interesting machinery used for farming were scattered around. In the middle of the shop was a dusty PC computer. Little did I know at the time but that PC, the old CNC (that Bob built himself) and this humble farmer would shape the future of our project.”

“Bob the Farmer” – Airfoil Designer:

“Bob took an interest in what we were doing and agreed to design the delta wing, reflex airfoil we needed for safe tailless flight. Two hundred hours later Bob finally said he was ready to turn on the CNC machine and cut an airfoil profile. As the CNC spooled up and started cutting the shape, it sent shivers down my spine. The perfect airfoil curve emerged from a blank piece of wood. For me it was the first time the project felt very real. We were doing it! “

Sean – The Paint Artist:

“During the time Bob was designing the airfoil, Jason was researching fiberglass and composite construction. Using some of Burt Rutan’s methods we hot-wired foam core and our wing came to life. Both working hard at full time jobs, for the next 15 months Jason and I had many late nights, fueled by Red Bull and passion. We slowly built the wing, working things out as we progressed. Adding the harness hard-points, winglets and control surfaces, carbon fiber panels and glassing everything over. Everyone we spoke with about the project offered help and time. It’s amazing what sharing a passion with people can do! Jason’s next-door neighbor Sean, came around to check out what we were doing up so late. Sean works as a window tinter during the week and custom car engineer during the weekend. Sean looked at the wing and quickly offered to give it sex appeal! For hours he body worked our messy composite work and painted it a beautiful blue.”

Once the team came together, the next step was developing the parachute systems. The team met up with Kelly Farrington of Velocity Sports Equipment. Kelly is a designer/manufacturer for some of the most recognized skydiving equipment in the world, and he designed a custom parachute container with harness system for the wing. Pete Swan (a master rigger out of Lodi Ca) designed and built the reserve chute system for the wing and made some final modifications to the harnes.

After the equipment was designed, the test flight was scheduled. A very unique group of people came together at a farm field near Pas Robles Ca. This group included Jason, Bob, Sean, Melissa Pemberton, wingsuit world-record holder Jhonathan Florez, and of course, Project Xwing Pilot Rex Pemberton. “As they cinched down my harness straps for the first flight, it took my breath away and I was secretly holding back a flood of tears. A dream was coming true.”

To read more about the Xwing Project test flights, and what the future holds for the Pemberton Aerosports Team, please visit the following links:

Click HERE to Visit Rex Pemberton’s Website

Click HERE to Visit Melissa Pemberton’s Website

Click HERE to Visit Rex Pemberton’s Facebook Page

Click HERE to Visit Rex Pemberton’s YouTube Channel