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andy2

slowest descent rate?

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whats the slowest descent rate you guys get with your wingsuits? I'm interested in wing suit flying, but of course am getting bunches of general skydiving experience first. Out of curiousity whats the slowest you go? Does weight have a lot to do with it? I'm small at 5'7" 125 pounds. Does weight to height ratio have anything to do with the descent rate or only with the glide ratio?

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whats the slowest descent rate you guys get with your wingsuits? I'm interested in wing suit flying, but of course am getting bunches of general skydiving experience first. Out of curiousity whats the slowest you go? Does weight have a lot to do with it? I'm small at 5'7" 125 pounds. Does weight to height ratio have anything to do with the descent rate or only with the glide ratio?



I've got my gti down to the high 40s i believe 49 or so.. once.. my new SF3 will be here tomorrow.

i'm 5'9 155 (exit wt)

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Does weight to height ratio have anything to do with the descent rate or only with the glide ratio?



The wingloading of a Birdman suit is just like the wingloading of any other aircraft or parachute. Less weight under the same wing size and shape will enable you to decend slower. That said, wingloading is not the primary factor in distance. As a matter of fact, with a fixed-wing aircraft and ONLY changing the wingloading, the glide distace remains unchanged -- only the rate of decent down the glide slope changes.

Flying a wingsuit however is far more variable than a fix-wing aircraft. Further, I do not believe that the slowest decent rate will necessarily give you the farthest distance except with a fairly strong tail wind. So, it really depends on what your goal in Birdman flight is. If it is to cheat gravity as much as possible and extend you time aloft, that's one thing, but if it's to eek the most efficiency out of the potential energy you have and go the farthest distance, that's something else entirely.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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Does weight to height ratio have anything to do with the descent rate or only with the glide ratio?



The wingloading of a Birdman suit is just like the wingloading of any other aircraft or parachute. Less weight under the same wing size and shape will enable you to decend slower. That said, wingloading is not the primary factor in distance. As a matter of fact, with a fixed-wing aircraft and ONLY changing the wingloading, the glide distace remains unchanged -- only the rate of decent down the glide slope changes.

Flying a wingsuit however is far more variable than a fix-wing aircraft. Further, I do not believe that the slowest decent rate will necessarily give you the farthest distance except with a fairly strong tail wind. So, it really depends on what your goal in Birdman flight is. If it is to cheat gravity as much as possible and extend you time aloft, that's one thing, but if it's to eek the most efficiency out of the potential energy you have and go the farthest distance, that's something else entirely.

I believe you are correct in your statement about the slowest descent rate and furthest distance traveled.. they are two totally different aspects of birdman, furthermore the "30's and 40's" that you hear are not SUSTAINED they are peak. My average descent rate is 55 - 60 on a GTI and no telling on the newer SF3. You can really get into the suit and get it hauling butt but your descent rate wont necessarily be in the 30s..

Kevin

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My personal best average is 48 mph. lots in the low 50's. By JumpTrack I did hold 40 mph for about 12 seconds once. That's my best effort at sustained slow. I remember fighting the stall the entire time.

Super slow decent always seems to cost me glide.

But I know if I'm really hauling forward I can get a lot of that back as extra lift.

It's kinda like a canopy. To come down slow you can either be in brakes/rears and flatten it out, (drop yer knees a bit and de-arch hard) or be going balls out fast forward and get lift from the speed(push yourself really long/tall and de-arch).

ok, lame analogy, but worth a thougth i think.

-c

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Actually, the best explaination about the difference between slowest decent and farthest distance can probably be found HERE.

A BirdMan, a Canopy and a Glider all work pretty much the same, just with different wingloadings and different drag ratios.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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On my GTi, I average in the high 40s every single time. Because I don't have the JumpTrack software, I don't know how low I've been able to go. My best overall average was 46, but I usually get 47-48 every time.

A good foward drive is what I use for my slow decent rate. The faster I'm going forward ,the more lift I get, which gives me more freefall time and a slower decent rate. I get in the 40s for an overall average for every jump, and I'm also covering a lot of ground.

I'm going to try some friend's Skyflyers a few jumps and see what my averages are. After I get used to the Skyflyer, I'll try the S3 and see what averages I get. I'll post results, but it may be a while ...


Trailer 11/12 was the best. Thanks for the memories ... you guys rocked!

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My best whole jump average speeds have been around 43-44mph (TAS) with the Skyflyer. For the slowest momentarily I don't know as I do not have the Jumptrack software. Exit weight about 150lbs, 5'8" tall. Waiting for my S.3 to arrive someday...should get below 40mph mark.
Vesa

"Fear is the path to the Dark side"
(Master Yoda)

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All of the above advice is really good. To truely test yourself go out a few seconds after a bunch of flockers. Try to catch them. Since they are a flock they probably won't be making radical changes in speed to keep every one close and safe ( WE hope). See what you have to do to catch them. Hord altitude and slow up or compromise with a good forward drive, you WILL be suprised. You may end up high on them. Watch closing speeds and be safe. Its all good. Glen

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Totes. In my time here in DeLand, I'm really exploring what I can do with the wings for forward speed, as opposed to fall rate. I check in with the low fall rates on some jumps. But for the most part, it's all about tearing across the sky, not just falling slowly. Prfft. I'm going to stop speaking English.
"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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