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Flying Humans
Posted by
kdawson
on Tuesday December 11, @09:54PM
from the that-trick-never-works dept.
from the that-trick-never-works dept.
mlimber sends us to the NYTimes for a story about flying people who jump from planes or other high locations wearing a wing suit akin to a flying squirrel's. Their efforts have potential military and Xtreme sports applications. The story profiles, with video, one guy who wants to be the first to jump from a plane and land without a parachute (and live). Here's a YouTube video of another of these fliers skimming six feet above skiers in the Swiss Alps. Quoting: "Modern suit design features tightly woven nylon sewn between the legs and between the arms and torso, creating wings that fill with air and create lift, allowing for forward motion and aerial maneuvers while slowing descent. As the suits, which cost about $1,000, have become more sophisticated, so have the pilots. The best fliers, and there are not many, can trace the horizontal contours of cliffs, ridges and mountainsides."
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64 years late! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:64 years late! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:64 years late! (Score:5, Insightful)
That's not quite the same thing -- they didn't plan to jump without a parachute. If you throw enough people out of aeroplanes (as WWII did), it's not quite so amazing if a couple survive. This guy wants to be one from one -- much more difficult.
Re:64 years late! (Score:4, Insightful)
With a the wind resistance of a skydiver on earth, you would reach your terminal velocity of around 125MPH in about 1500ft or about the height of the sears tower.
Of course this still is pretty high and has a very high risk of death, it would result in only the same risk of death as a fall from 15,000 ft.
Lethal dose of height (Score:5, Informative)
You hit the ground at about 35-36 MPH from a 48 foot fall, at 84 feet - about 50 MPH. Actually speeds are a little bit smaller,since I didn't takeinto account the effect of wind resistance and body density, and just used the simple physica acceleration formula V^2 = U^2 + 2AS
I'm an orthopaedic surgeon, and when fall/jump from those heights, putting them back together can be a bit "tricky", and the pieces don't always go back together well. When the suicide jumper only jumps from 40 feet and lives with horrible fractures, we sometimes joke that they didn't read the literature and plan things out correctly. Now the person is depressed AND may have bad arthritic pain from their smashed joints now, or just be plain old paralyzed.
Life sucks.....and then you live.
Re:64 years late! (Score:5, Funny)
Have you seen jump planes? No seats and there's a huge hole in the wall.
I can honestly say without caveat that of the hundreds of rides I've taken on Twin Otters not once have I safely landed in one.
Re:64 years late! (Score:4, Interesting)
The best fliers (Score:4, Funny)
That is because the bad one die.
Darwinism in action
OB In Soviet Russia (Score:3, Funny)
Re:OB In Soviet Russia (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe they just told us that so we wouldn't bitch about how fast we hit the ground WITH parachutes... One thing the army taught me is that someone ALWAYS has it worse.
Summer recruits (Score:5, Funny)
I got mine... (Score:4, Funny)
Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
That sums up so much. Why does any one do anything? Who does anyone jump out from the sky? Why does anyone contribute to open source?
Because it is there
Re:Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
I mean, why do people go on roller coasters? Not because it's impossible, that's for sure...
Re:Why? (Score:5, Funny)
Hey! (Score:5, Funny)
Darwin Awards (Score:5, Funny)
Darwin in action.
Re:Darwin Awards (Score:4, Insightful)
An understatement (Score:5, Insightful)
I would say it's the only challenge actually. Gliding around in any winged suit is fun and safe as long as you still open the chute at the end.
Re:An understatement (Score:5, Funny)
I ponder (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I ponder (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I ponder (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I ponder (Score:4, Interesting)
Falling with style (Score:3, Funny)
Bad news... (Score:2, Informative)
I have some bad news for this idiot. Plenty of people have survived jumping out of planes without parachutes.
Nick Alkemade was an RAF tail gunner in World War II who jumped out of his flaming plane and fell 18,000 feet. He only suffered a sprained leg after he hit a tree and landed in snow.
Vesna Vulovic was a flight attendant who fell out of a plane after an explosion, fell in snow, and survived.
Re:Bad news... (Score:4, Funny)
And he liked it!
Re:Bad news... (Score:5, Funny)
I don't think so... Vesna Vulovic [wikipedia.org] was female. ;)
Flying? (Score:2)
Re:Flying? (Score:5, Funny)
"That's not flying, it's falling with style"
Woody, Toy Story
Been around for 10 years (Score:5, Informative)
These things have been around for 10 years. Google Birdman Suit [bird-man.com] or go to any skydiving boogie. Anyone with a D license can demo one.
That wasn't flying! That was... falling with style (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:That wasn't flying! That was... falling with st (Score:4, Funny)
Best wingsuit video ever... (Score:1)
Bah (Score:2)
Patrick De Gayardon (Score:4, Informative)
Blue Skies Patrick
Viable or not... (Score:2)
The Man Who Rode the Thunder (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:The Man Who Rode the Thunder (Score:5, Informative)
Gettin' close... (Score:1)
How many people *confirm* the first guys results with *successful* landings of their own, _that_ will make the difference. All the difference in the world.
Good luck to all who try! I hope you have statistically strong results!
Safe Practice (Score:3, Informative)
Now there's a solution, that's probably fun enough in itself that many "skydivers" won't ever have to take a risk at all: SkyVenture [skyventure.com] has wind tunnels set up around the world expressly for simulating skydiving, but without jumping out of a plane. Jumps that last 2-3 minutes, with 45-60 minute setup and plane rides each jump, can now spend hours just "diving" in the chamber.
Maybe once the skills of maneuvering are learned in the tunnel, a suit wearer can tackle the real sport: facing the fear of jumping out of a plane with nothing but a simulator history to save them from smashing to bits.
Better video (Score:5, Informative)
Why fly a glider... (Score:1)
warren miller (Score:1)
Any Aerodynamics Testing? (Score:4, Interesting)
It appears that the suits are just trading vertical speed for horizontal speed. That might keep the flyer from making a crater in a field somewhere, but the human body won't tolerate a 100 MPH slide along the ground very well either. It might be possible to 'land' on a ski slope or a lake. But if the goal is to set down on flat ground, that speed will have to be reduced.
The aero folks get concerned with things like wing loading, drag and stall speed when figuring aircraft landing characteristics. The same would appear to apply here. Unfortunately, we already know what one suitable (no pun intended) glider configuration looks like that is safe for humans. It's a paraglider configuration. I don't think you can hang that much airfoil between your arms and legs.
Obligatory Far Side Caption (Score:4, Funny)
Flying Dreams (Score:2)
Maybe I'll try one out someday...
Pass... (Score:3, Funny)
Forget jumping from airplanes (Score:2)
Come to think of it, landing in one of these jet suits would also be tricky. Parafoil guys can manage a running landing because the wing has great lift at low speeds. The batsuit guys tend to be traveling way too fast for non-Evil Kinevel landing.
A suit? (Score:5, Funny)
Gypsy Moths (Score:2)
Tracing what? (Score:2)
I'm confused. The worst fliers, people who are merely falling... do they trace the horizontal or vertical contours?
Free Fall? No Problem! (Score:2)
Admit it: You want to be the sole survivor of an airline disaster. You aren't looking for a disaster to happen, but if it does, you see yourself coming through it. I'm here to tell you that you're not out of touch with reality--you can do it. Sure, you'll take a few hits, and I'm not saying there won't be some sweaty flashbacks later on, but you'll make it. You'll sit up in your hospital bed and meet the press. Refreshingly, you will keep God out of your public comments, knowing that it's unfair to sing His praises when all of your dead fellow-passengers have no platform from which to offer an alternative view.
Let's say your jet blows apart at 35,000 feet. You exit the aircraft, and you begin to descend independently. Now what? First of all, you're starting off a full mile higher than Everest, so after a few gulps of disappointing air you're going to black out. This is not a bad thing. If you have ever tried to keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you know what I mean. This brief respite from the ambient fear and chaos will come to an end when you wake up at about 15,000 feet. Here begins the final phase of your descent, which will last about a minute. It is a time of planning and preparation. Look around you. What equipment is available? None? Are you sure? Look carefully. Perhaps a shipment of folded parachutes was in the cargo hold, and the blast opened the box and scattered them. One of these just might be within reach. Grab it, put it on, and hit the silk. You're sitting pretty.
Other items can be helpful as well. Let nature be your guide. See how yon maple seed gently wafts to earth on gossamer wings. Look around for a proportionate personal vehicle--some large, flat, aerodynamically suitable piece of wreckage. Mount it and ride, cowboy! Remember: molecules are your friends. You want a bunch of surface-area molecules hitting a bunch of atmospheric molecules in order to reduce your rate of acceleration.
Re:Free Fall? No Problem! (Score:4, Funny)
Unfortunately at this point, all those bits are still wayyyy above you, flapping about as they tumble gently to earth. You, however, having been in the "dead spider" position for a few minutes, are wayyyy below them. Bummer.
But still, keep your hopes up and your mind clear, and you'll be able to take some nice shots with your cameraphone, smiling and waving cheekily as you plumment to earth. Try and get into one of those legs-crossed hindu levitation positions for the last ones - they'll look a treat.
Perris, California (Score:2)
Mental Image (Score:1, Redundant)
Where do these guys get money from? (Score:2)
Chaos theory and Mother nature will not be stopped (Score:1)
Wingsuits have been around for ages now... (Score:2)
first to live (Score:1)
Oh dear.. (Score:1)
As with many things... (Score:2)
The goblin word for "flying" is more accurately translated as "falling slowly." [starcitygames.com]
Too late. (Score:2)
Jeff Corliss (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug1rCyeNujU [youtube.com]
It's disturbing. Extreme BASE jumpers like Corliss have friends die left and right, and they just keep on doing. They're clearly crazy, but I still find I that I have a certain respect for their commitment to pushing the limits.
Military Use? ummm.. .k (Score:2)
Not many of the best fliers... (Score:4, Insightful)
Would there not be many because few have tried, or because when you try you have two outcomes: Live or die? Those that live become the best I assume? What about the average ones?
It reminds me of a saying: "There are stupid exterme skiers and there are old extreme skiers, but there are no old, stupid extreme skiers..."
Didn't I see this (Score:1)
Maybe that's why this is news for nerds.
Has it been in a bond flick yet? (Score:2)
Bomb Proof Fabric to the Rescue? (Score:2)
Bomb Proof Fabric and a reinforced carbon fiber bodysuit/skid plate would make landing on your stomach doable I bet. If they can get the speed down from 75mph(half terminal velocity) to 50mph with enough technology, well, people survive that all the time with airbags and other safety devices.
In fact, this fabric might be the answer to a lot of similar applications, since its fibers expand under stress and get stronger(plus ripping looks to be nearly impossible). Even sailboat sails would be improved I bet. rip resistant and they get stronger and stiffer the more wind hits them.
This has been in military use for decades (Score:1)
It's not that new - and, yes, it was based on designs by a certain Italian inventor named Leonardo da Vinci.
Warren Miller (Score:1)
Flying? (Score:1)
Re:there's a better video (Score:1)