Paraplegic wingsuiting

[jerry81 10]

I just posted this in the 'Skydivers with disabilities' section.

I'm crossposting the link here if anyone wants to chime in on the original thread.
Thanks

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[gzimmermann 0]

Honestly, knowing I am on thin ice and in no way I want to offend someone: After 270 WS jumps, close to 500 jumps overall I am just starting to know what I don't know. I am not an engineer but have some experience what can be done and not. No way I would say technology could substitute for human capabilities. And by this I mean physical and mental. I for my part would not jump even feeling a little dizzy, a sore shoulder or hangover! For the sake of myself and others...

Let me be more specific on my position: As a 6 year old boy I wanted to become a pilot. Unfortunately I was diagnosed as shortsighted and had to wear glasses and contact lenses for the rest of my life. My visual capabilities with lenses are as good or even better compared to the average >40 years old right now. Still I would not be admitted to fly a commercial or military jet plane. Sorry...

[The111 0]

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No way I would say technology could substitute for human capabilities.

Then try jumping from an airplane without your parachuting technology.

I can see both sides here... just playing devil's advocate.

ALL of us are disabled in the sky. None of us can fly without our gear.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[The111 0]

The idea is very cool, and probably possible, but make sure you don't ever get your priorities out of order:

Priority 1: landing safely
Priority 2: flying the wingsuit

A system which almost never flies correctly but always gets the pilot to the ground is far better than a system which always flies correctly, but every once in a while, causes a fatal malfunction. Also, I'd think whoever tests this out would need to be really experienced, since it can only be classified as an experimental system. Even after you find the perfect test pilot and he's jumped it a lot, I'd still say it would be considered an exceptional skydive for anyone else qualified to jump it.

It should be able to be flown without the wingsuit, and done so many times before being attempted with an RW suit, then a tracking suit, then a Classic, etc.

And I hate even having to say this, but in today's world, I'd get a really good waiver from whoever jumps the system you design.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[Sam_Adams 0]

for what its worth, here in eloy there is a skydiver right now who lost his legs and he freeflys and swoops like most of the skydivers with no disabilities only wish they could.
i have seen handicaped people do amazing things in all kind of sports and extrem sports. every individual chooses his limitations himself to a certain degree. people are often capable of way more than they think.

you thought your eyes would stop you from becoming a pilot, but the cockpits of all the major airlines are full of people that use technology (lenses and glasses) to compensate for their handicap of not having normal vision.

sometimes we just see limits where there are none...

You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?"

[BlindBrick 0]

I think ultiamtely it is about personal asusmption of risk. As long as a person makes an informed decision to assuem that risk, in my opinion we shouldn't stand in their way unless it endangers another.

Of coruse I am very biased. When I started jumping, I had a bilateral degenerative eye disease that meant that I couldn't see facial features beyond ~ a yard and could only read an anolog alti with a ~1500 ft margin of error. Now adays, I've got better eyes but got extremely heavy in the recovery phase post-transplants and as a result jump prototypical gear with flight speeds and deployment scenarios that the designers never dreamed of. So without a doubt my risk is elevated, but I feel that as a rigger and an instructor , I have an informed idea of what those risk are, and I choose to accept them.

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[TheCaptain 2]

My first thought is how would one ever deal with a flat spin, with todays wingsuit inflation they can be a handful to deal with(that is with having control of your legs).

Kirk
He's dead Jim

[jerry81 10]

Thanks for the replies so far!

I believe this can be done without increasing the risk too much. I'm not aiming for larger suits, but something like a Prodigy legwing should be docile enough. And like I wrote on the other thread, I want the system to have a neutral freefall position that would be easy to control in case of instabilities, as well as the option of pulling up the legs for canopy flight and landing.

I have until April to design a few possible solutions and then evaluate their feasibility. I'll post what I come up with to get more feedback.

[Skwrl 56]

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And I hate even having to say this, but in today's world, I'd get a really good waiver from whoever jumps the system you design.

As a law talking guy (that's "lawyer" for those of you who didn't see the Simpsons episode), I - unfortunately - would say "THIS".

Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography

Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

[jerry81 10]

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And I hate even having to say this, but in today's world, I'd get a really good waiver from whoever jumps the system you design.

As a law talking guy (that's "lawyer" for those of you who didn't see the Simpsons episode), I - unfortunately - would say "THIS".

Thanks, but I don't think it's such an important issue at this stage. I also don't think the European society is anywhere near as lawsuit-happy as the USA, but I might mention this legal aspect in the final report anyway.

[gzimmermann 0]

Just please think about the person handicaped with his/her legs potentally jumping your robot constuction and others being there in the same airspace. Never mind about legal issues. Sorry, had to say this.