gliding the english channel on a 6ft carbon fibre wing!

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Yes, but no one had made any big leaps (no pun intended!) until the so
called birdman, with his wingsuit, some time in the 90's. If I remember
correctly, he made a record glide with his wingsuit, for a horizontal
distance of 7 miles. This was just with some webbing between his arms
and legs (of course, with advanced technology, materials, etc). br
br
This one is amazing in that the horizontal distance spanned was 35 km,
at speeds of upto 220 kph (stabilised to 130-190 kph). The aspect ratio
of the carbon fibre wing was 6:1 . br
br
For me, the interest lies in the new technology, and the feasibility of
more to come. Man had always wanted to fly - it will be amazing if it
can be done as close to a bird as possible.br
br
-Sridharbr
br
br
Big John wrote:br
blockquote type="cite"
m"
pre wrap=""I can remember in the late 20's there was a guy who did parachute
jumps at the air shows that came around each year.

He had designed a 'suit' where he had rudimentary wings when he held
his arms out straight and a horizontal stab when he held his legs
apart. With this getup he could maneuver around the sky and do rolls,
loops, etc.

A few years later after first seeing him, I heard that he got tangled
up in his chute when it opened it and had a streamer which killed him.

So, the current 'superman' who just glided across the English Channel
is nothing new <G>

Big John


On Thu, 31 Jul 2003 11:24:54 -0700, Sridhar Rajagopal
a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" "<sri >/a wrote:

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Yes, but no one had made any big leaps (no pun intended!) until the so
called birdman, with his wingsuit, some time in the 90's. If I remember
correctly, he made a record glide with his wingsuit, for a horizontal
distance of 7 miles. This was just with some webbing between his arms
and legs (of course, with advanced technology, materials, etc).

This one is amazing in that the horizontal distance spanned was 35 km,
at speeds of upto 220 kph (stabilised to 130-190 kph). The aspect ratio
of the carbon fibre wing was 6:1 .

For me, the interest lies in the new technology, and the feasibility of
more to come. Man had always wanted to fly - it will be amazing if it
can be done as close to a bird as possible.

-Sridhar


Big John wrote:

I can remember in the late 20's there was a guy who did parachute
jumps at the air shows that came around each year.

He had designed a 'suit' where he had rudimentary wings when he held
his arms out straight and a horizontal stab when he held his legs
apart. With this getup he could maneuver around the sky and do rolls,
loops, etc.

A few years later after first seeing him, I heard that he got tangled
up in his chute when it opened it and had a streamer which killed him.

So, the current 'superman' who just glided across the English Channel
is nothing new G

Big John


On Thu, 31 Jul 2003 11:24:54 -0700, Sridhar Rajagopal
wrote:



http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030731/mxth002_1.html

Sridhar

They are making small turbo-jets for Model Aircraft (5-6 inch diameter
and 6-8 inch long). They have been limited to someting like 35# of
thrust to keep model speed down. Why wouldn't one of those (35-50#
thrust) be ok to tie onto the wing for cruising. They burn a lot of
fuel (turbine down low) but would be something to go fly your turbo
jet powered 'bird' G

Want to bet that something like this is not far away? G

Big John


On Thu, 31 Jul 2003 14:00:25 -0700, Sridhar Rajagopal
wrote:

Yes, but no one had made any big leaps (no pun intended!) until the so
called birdman, with his wingsuit, some time in the 90's. If I remember
correctly, he made a record glide with his wingsuit, for a horizontal
distance of 7 miles. This was just with some webbing between his arms
and legs (of course, with advanced technology, materials, etc).

This one is amazing in that the horizontal distance spanned was 35 km,
at speeds of upto 220 kph (stabilised to 130-190 kph). The aspect ratio
of the carbon fibre wing was 6:1 .

For me, the interest lies in the new technology, and the feasibility of
more to come. Man had always wanted to fly - it will be amazing if it
can be done as close to a bird as possible.

-Sridhar

----clip----

Big John wrote:

Sridhar

They are making small turbo-jets for Model Aircraft (5-6 inch diameter
and 6-8 inch long). They have been limited to someting like 35# of
thrust to keep model speed down. Why wouldn't one of those (35-50#
thrust) be ok to tie onto the wing for cruising. They burn a lot of
fuel (turbine down low) but would be something to go fly your turbo
jet powered 'bird' G

Want to bet that something like this is not far away? G



Now you're talking! That's where I was going with this! I wouldn't mind
being the test pilot! :-)) And add small ailerons, and elevons, and hook
it up to a mind controlled band (something like they show on Discovery
Channel), and you can fly like a bird!

Big John wrote in message . ..
Sridhar

Haven't figured out how to launch yet but to land have one of those
emergency chutes that are power ejected. Put a steerable chute in it
and when ready to land, shut turbine down, blow the chute out, and
then steer it to a safe landing.

Y'all oughta check out powered parachutes. They're also called
paramotors. A Google search will find plenty of sites. These are
folks who use a type of steerable parawings for gliding. Some have
attached motors and propellers in cages on their backs to be able to
lift off when and where they want, weather permitting.

Usually it's for low and slow flight, but some have gotten up to FL180
and above.

-Malcolm

The question I have is where do they draw the line between skydiving and
gliding/soaring? One requiring a license, one not. Not that I'm aiming
for more restrictions, but add a couple of control surfaces to this thing,
and you have an airplane?


"Sridhar Rajagopal" wrote in message
...
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030731/mxth002_1.html

Heres a different story with a pic and video...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/946434.asp?0ql=c7p



"Jeff Franks" wrote in message
...
The question I have is where do they draw the line between skydiving and
gliding/soaring? One requiring a license, one not. Not that I'm aiming
for more restrictions, but add a couple of control surfaces to this thing,
and you have an airplane?


"Sridhar Rajagopal" wrote in message
...
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030731/mxth002_1.html

Would certainly meet the weight limits for ultralight glider. No license
required...

--
Kevin McCue
KRYN
'47 Luscombe 8E
Rans S-17 (for sale)




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Wow! Neat!

Jeff Franks wrote:

Heres a different story with a pic and video...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/946434.asp?0ql=c7p



"Jeff Franks" wrote in message
m...


The question I have is where do they draw the line between skydiving and
gliding/soaring? One requiring a license, one not. Not that I'm aiming
for more restrictions, but add a couple of control surfaces to this thing,
and you have an airplane?


"Sridhar Rajagopal" wrote in message
...


http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030731/mxth002_1.html