Re: BD-5 crash in Australia

[wright1902glider]

> You may have finally made a positive point for hot-dogging. Anyone think of
> a down side?
> --
> Jim in NC

Impact with unusual terrain or obsticles maybe. If there was enough
weather, such as windshear, microburst downdrafts, or severe
crosswinds I'd keep that rollerskate on the ground.

Thanks for the update Stealth. The last BD-5 I saw was a Corky
Forneau's (sp?) back in the mid 80's (the James Bond ship). I don't
remember a lot of the interior details, but the fuze did remind me of
a few dragsters that I've sat in. Not much between your backside and
the world. I've been considering an pioneer-era plane that has a very
low seating position and I've often thought about how to prevent
injury from spinal compression. I've thought about EPS foam like the
kind used in helmets as a way to absorb some of the energy. I know
that paraglider pilots have some sort of protection built into their
harnesses, but I've never seen exactly what its made of. Anyone ever
do any testing in this area?

Harry

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, wright1902glider > said:
>a few dragsters that I've sat in. Not much between your backside and
>the world. I've been considering an pioneer-era plane that has a very
>low seating position and I've often thought about how to prevent
>injury from spinal compression. I've thought about EPS foam like the
>kind used in helmets as a way to absorb some of the energy. I know
>that paraglider pilots have some sort of protection built into their
>harnesses, but I've never seen exactly what its made of. Anyone ever
>do any testing in this area?

It doesn't matter what sort of foam you've got if you haven't got
distance. You've got to get from the speed you impact at to zero in the
distance your butt is above the ground at impact, and the only way to make
it safer is to make raise your butt to give you more distance and fill the
gap with something that will use the whole distance to decellerate.


--
Paul Tomblin > http://blog.xcski.com/
'Vegetarian' -- it's an old Indian word meaning 'lousy hunter'.
-- Red Green

[cavelamb himself]

wright1902glider wrote:

>>You may have finally made a positive point for hot-dogging. Anyone think of
>>a down side?
>>--
>>Jim in NC
>
>
> Impact with unusual terrain or obsticles maybe. If there was enough
> weather, such as windshear, microburst downdrafts, or severe
> crosswinds I'd keep that rollerskate on the ground.
>
> Thanks for the update Stealth. The last BD-5 I saw was a Corky
> Forneau's (sp?) back in the mid 80's (the James Bond ship). I don't
> remember a lot of the interior details, but the fuze did remind me of
> a few dragsters that I've sat in. Not much between your backside and
> the world. I've been considering an pioneer-era plane that has a very
> low seating position and I've often thought about how to prevent
> injury from spinal compression. I've thought about EPS foam like the
> kind used in helmets as a way to absorb some of the energy. I know
> that paraglider pilots have some sort of protection built into their
> harnesses, but I've never seen exactly what its made of. Anyone ever
> do any testing in this area?
>
> Harry
>
>
Harry, If you ever get a chance, take a look at the seats in a Helio
Courier. The legs are not straight tube, but curved so that they will
do a controlled collapse when over stressed.

Having broken my back in helicopters (twice actually), it has become
sorta important to me to protect what's left...

Richard

[Stealth Pilot[_2_]]

On Wed, 23 May 2007 15:12:00 +0000 (UTC),
(Paul Tomblin) wrote:

>In a previous article, wright1902glider > said:
>>a few dragsters that I've sat in. Not much between your backside and
>>the world. I've been considering an pioneer-era plane that has a very
>>low seating position and I've often thought about how to prevent
>>injury from spinal compression. I've thought about EPS foam like the
>>kind used in helmets as a way to absorb some of the energy. I know
>>that paraglider pilots have some sort of protection built into their
>>harnesses, but I've never seen exactly what its made of. Anyone ever
>>do any testing in this area?
>
>It doesn't matter what sort of foam you've got if you haven't got
>distance. You've got to get from the speed you impact at to zero in the
>distance your butt is above the ground at impact, and the only way to make
>it safer is to make raise your butt to give you more distance and fill the
>gap with something that will use the whole distance to decellerate.

soft foam padding actually adds to the damage by delaying the onset of
deceleration of your body.

I read of a vertical slide tester that was set up to thest just this
problem and calibrated with the dummy sitting on a block of white
polystyrene just to get it in position.
then the various seats were put in place and tested for crash
worthiness.
the testers were surprised that none of the seats performed as well as
the polystyrene block.

If you look at a corby starlet plan the pilot is sitting on a six inch
block of polystyrene for just this reason.

Stealth Pilot

[jerry wass]

Stealth Pilot wrote:
> On Wed, 23 May 2007 15:12:00 +0000 (UTC),
> (Paul Tomblin) wrote:
>
>> In a previous article, wright1902glider > said:
>>> a few dragsters that I've sat in. Not much between your backside and
>>> the world. I've been considering an pioneer-era plane that has a very
>>> low seating position and I've often thought about how to prevent
>>> injury from spinal compression. I've thought about EPS foam like the
>>> kind used in helmets as a way to absorb some of the energy. I know
>>> that paraglider pilots have some sort of protection built into their
>>> harnesses, but I've never seen exactly what its made of. Anyone ever
>>> do any testing in this area?
>> It doesn't matter what sort of foam you've got if you haven't got
>> distance. You've got to get from the speed you impact at to zero in the
>> distance your butt is above the ground at impact, and the only way to make
>> it safer is to make raise your butt to give you more distance and fill the
>> gap with something that will use the whole distance to decellerate.
>
> soft foam padding actually adds to the damage by delaying the onset of
> deceleration of your body.
>
> I read of a vertical slide tester that was set up to thest just this
> problem and calibrated with the dummy sitting on a block of white
> polystyrene just to get it in position.
> then the various seats were put in place and tested for crash
> worthiness.
> the testers were surprised that none of the seats performed as well as
> the polystyrene block.
>
> If you look at a corby starlet plan the pilot is sitting on a six inch
> block of polystyrene for just this reason.
>
> Stealth Pilot

I came to this conclusion 5 or 10 years ago & found some Urethane foam
that has more density & NO resilience than styrofoam & it's not
flammable either I have about 7" of room..Jerry