Most wingsuit videos are all air, but not this four-minute trailer. Director Matt Sheridan knows that as thrilling as flight is, the real fear is felt with toes over the edge, just moments before the fall. It’s then that a thrill seeker still has a choice: he or she can still turn away.

The pilots in Birdmen: The Original Dream of Flight, however, rarely do that.  Fear is what pushes them off rocks and down hillsides at more than 150 mph. The fear of an ordinary life, that is.

Totaling 52 minutes in length, Birdmen: The Original Dream of Flight tracks the human urge to fly through the centuries. From the ill-fated flights of wingsuit pioneers Otto Lilienthal, Clem Sohn and Leo Valentin to the high tech glides undertaken by modern wingsuit pilots Ellen Brennan, Mike Steen and Matt Gerdes, Birdmen takes a look at some of the most influential minds in aviation.

It’s a thrilling ride through the history of a sport many have paid to play with their lives. To see it yourself, you just have to pay $2.99.