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Flying Humans, Hoping to Land With No Chute
NY Times ^
| December 10, 2007
| MATT HIGGINS
Posted on 12/09/2007 11:48:50 PM PST by neverdem
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Axel Koester for The New York Times, left; Perry Trowbridge/AFP
Jeb Corliss, left, is dreaming of flying with just a wing suit, and maybe a prayer. Right, skydivers with wing suits flying over the Florida Keys before releasing their parachutes. Recent innovations could soon make it possible to land without relying on a parachute.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/sports/othersports/10flying.html?hp
Copy and paste that url for the regular webpage with a video.
James Bond-style strap-on jet pack flying wing to extend special forces' reach
1
posted on
12/09/2007 11:48:52 PM PST
by
neverdem
To: neverdem
The guy on the left needs one of these:
2
posted on
12/09/2007 11:53:53 PM PST
by
Huntress
(The essence of war is violence. Moderation in war is imbecility.--Admiral Sir John Arbuthnot Fisher)
To: neverdem
I’m betting it’s going to hurt- real bad.
To: neverdem
4
posted on
12/10/2007 12:00:25 AM PST
by
MaxMax
(God Bless America)
To: neverdem
What could possibly go wrong with this brilliant idea?
And I didn't know that there was competition to win the fabled Darwin Award.
5
posted on
12/10/2007 12:04:11 AM PST
by
FormerACLUmember
(When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.)
To: FormerACLUmember
I thought they already did this stuff in the 1930's.
6
posted on
12/10/2007 12:07:00 AM PST
by
Dumpster Baby
("Hope somebody finds me before the rats do .....")
To: neverdem
ROFL...i thought this was about the flying imams wanting to land without a chute!!! I was all for it!
7
posted on
12/10/2007 12:09:12 AM PST
by
Chani
To: neverdem
This is for wimps! I plan to sign up to sky dive from outer space, 60 miles up.
8
posted on
12/10/2007 12:11:02 AM PST
by
FormerACLUmember
(When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.)
To: neverdem
Landing without a parachute is easy. The trick is doing it twice.
9
posted on
12/10/2007 12:12:03 AM PST
by
Slings and Arrows
("Bush is destroying the solar system:The ice caps on Mars are shrinking too." --Right_Wing_Madman)
To: neverdem
Unless their suits can produce enough lift at very slow speeds, it's not going to happen. There are very good reasons why hang-gliders have lifting surfaces as large as they do.
Now, if they wanted to make rather complicated personal wings with slats and flaps, I'd be more convinced, but it's not going to be from a webbed suit like this.
In order to even experience wing-in-ground effect (provided these suits actually create useable lift) he'd have to be only a couple feet off the ground, which is too low for him to even put his feet down.
Besides, with "wings" this small, he'd really have to be cooking and he wouldn't want to even think about touching the ground at that speed.
10
posted on
12/10/2007 12:14:05 AM PST
by
Squeako
(Don't get fat, let Al Gore ease your burden. Buy his Calorie Credits and Save The World.)
To: Squeako
This thread is as funny as it is interesting. I just hope my husband who has sky dived in the past doesn’t read this and get any bright ideas LOL...Hey Mr.Beauty, if you are reading this...I think this is a bad idea! LOL
To: neverdem
newsreporter: Wow! Landing without a parachute! That was fantastic! Most amazing we have ever seen. Will you be doing that again?
jumpee: slowly shakes his head: I....just.....don't....think....I....want....to....do....that.....again
To: neverdem
Cool!
This is exactly the kind of story the NY Times should concentrate on, and back away from helping the rats turn America into a Euro-style, secular-socialist welfare state.
To: neverdem
15
posted on
12/10/2007 1:13:16 AM PST
by
D-fendr
(Deus non alligatur sacramentis sed nos alligamur.)
To: Squeako
Now, if they wanted to make rather complicated personal wings with slats and flaps, I'd be more convinced, but it's not going to be from a webbed suit like this.">
16
posted on
12/10/2007 1:17:47 AM PST
by
MrEdd
(Heck is the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aren't going.)
To: Dumpster Baby
To: neverdem
Where’s Super Dave Osborne, now that we need him?
I once saw a helmet cam clip taken by a base jumper whose chute streamered. He’d jumped off of a dam. He bounced off of it a couple of times, then smacked into rocky dirt at the bottom. He broke multiple bones, but survived.
After hearing the sounds that came out of this guy, the notion that ‘in the air, altitude is life’ became even more firmly fixed in my brain.
I used to skydive. I shied away from base jumping at the time, and am glad I did. No low jumps, no low pulls.
And DEFINITELY no jumping without a chute. :-)
18
posted on
12/10/2007 1:40:59 AM PST
by
Riley
(The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.)
To: MrEdd
I'm aware of this wing. But, you'll note that he also did not land without a parachute. He was able to achieve level flight for a bit (until his micro-jet turbines ran out of fuel), but he had to deploy a parachute to land and had to jump out of an airplane to begin his flight.
Plus, his wing was a simple foil, lacking any of the lift devices such as slats and flaps. It all boils down the getting the landing speed down to something reasonable, e.g. walking or running speed. So I really don't see how they're accomplishing anything aside from enjoying and extended-distance fall.
People are already doing what these fellas want to do. Here is someone in a foot-launched powered hang glider, taking off from a trot and landing on his feet.
19
posted on
12/10/2007 1:45:29 AM PST
by
Squeako
(Don't get fat, let Al Gore ease your burden. Buy his Calorie Credits and Save The World.)
To: neverdem
"As God is my witness....."
20
posted on
12/10/2007 1:53:15 AM PST
by
Dumpster Baby
("Hope somebody finds me before the rats do .....")
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