A wingsuit is a jumpsuit with fabric wings between the arms and body and between the legs. Inflated by the airflow, they form aerofoils that generate lift, letting the wearer glide substantial horizontal distance while descending far more slowly than in normal freefall.
What it changes
Vertical speed drops well below the usual 120 mph while forward speed rises considerably, so freefall lasts much longer and covers real ground. A wingsuit flight from altitude can run several minutes rather than under one.
The suit is flown, not simply worn — direction and glide come from subtle changes in body shape.
Experience requirements are real
USPA recommends a substantial jump minimum before a first wingsuit flight, and first flights are made with a wingsuit instructor. The suit changes exits, deployment and canopy behaviour, and restricts limb movement in ways that matter if something goes wrong.
Wingsuit BASE jumping — flying a wingsuit from a fixed object rather than an aircraft — is a different and considerably more dangerous activity, and is not what drop zones teach.
These pages explain what things are so the language makes sense. They are not instruction and cannot substitute for it — skydiving is taught in person by rated instructors at a drop zone, and anything involving equipment handling or emergency procedures belongs there rather than on a web page.