SOF Wingsuit in the works?

[FroggyRuminations]

Nice (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/12/look-out-below-wingsuits-pushed-for-airbone-assaults/)

Starship Troopers here we come.

[Titleist]

Very cool....How would that work? Glide into the LZ, then circle to bleed off speed then deploy a chute?

[bugeater]

With the wing thing it's saying your average speed would be about 60mph. No need to circle to bleed off speed, cause terminal is much faster than 60mph. Just pull!

:)

[SOTB]

I know that one of our board members is convinced this is worthless technology -- but I simply cannot believe that. I see potential for these delivery systems -- I just wish there were a way for me to convince someone to let me fly one....

[Tracy]

Needs some more work. A lot more.

[CB]

Uh, yeah. I agree with the worthless, except as a stunt for a movie.

Let's see a wing suit loaded up with rucksack, rifle, helmet, ammo/pyro/demo, water, MRE's, body armor, first aid kit, radio (with spare batteries), etc. etc.

With the ability to fly in silently, at night, land and conceal the equipment.

I don't think so.

Just grab a Little Bird and step off.

[Sinister Dave]

Like the Air Force lieutenant colonel at Scott who said he wanted canopy relative work taught in the MFF Course, I said we'd add it to the POI -- as soon as he gave me a signed official Air Force requirement letter stating they needed it.

[rubberneck]

This 6-foot wing gives a glide ratio of 5:1, which means that a drop from 30,000 feet will allow you to glide about 30 miles. The makers estimate that this would take around 15 minutes, giving an average speed of about 60 miles an hour.

Someone needs to take a remedial math course. At 60 MPH you travel one mile per minute. Since when can you go 30 miles in 15 minutes at that speed?

[smp52]

Someone needs to take a remedial math course. At 60 MPH you travel one mile per minute. Since when can you go 30 miles in 15 minutes at that speed?

Wouldn't this depend on the speed you exit the aircraft at, normal drag, headwinds, etc.? If you're moving along like a car in the X axis at 60mph, it would take half hour, not 15 mins for sure. However, if you're jumping from an aicraft going a certain speed, that would most certainly change the time it takes to travel the horizontal distance.

[Just Another Guy]

Uh, yeah. I agree with the worthless, except as a stunt for a movie.

Let's see a wing suit loaded up with rucksack, rifle, helmet, ammo/pyro/demo, water, MRE's, body armor, first aid kit, radio (with spare batteries), etc. etc.

With the ability to fly in silently, at night, land and conceal the equipment.

I don't think so.

Just grab a Little Bird and step off.

Hey CB. Better clean up that attitude. I'm nominating you as test jumper:smile:

[klrb929]

i have too many problems landing with the wind now.... that thing would get me killed

[Spinner]

I read a book awhile back that covered the history of Wingsuits pretty comprehensively.

This stuff goes back to the mythology of Icarus.

http://www.amazon.com/Birdmen-Batmen-Skyflyers-Wingsuits-Perfected/dp/1400054915

[Tracy]

i have too many problems landing with the wind now.... that thing would get me killed

You could fix most of your problems if you landed into the wind for starters.

Jus' Sayin... :biggrin:

[bugeater]

You could fix most of your problems if you landed into the wind for starters.

Jus' Sayin... :biggrin:

:biggrin::biggrin:

I have a guy in my mff class video talking about how on the final leg of his approach, "the winds were just screaming." How he didn't get as much penetration as he thought he would on his down-wind leg either...it took the instructor saying down-wind landing 3-4 times before he got it.

[Spinner]

My first thought when I saw the illustration in the Wired piece was, "hey, flying turtles!".

My next thought was, "where the hell are those guy's lower extremites?".