Tracking and Wingsuits - Blurring the boundaries

[Dwain 0]

With many of the new products and innovations, it is becoming less clear where the boundary lies between regular freefall/tracking, wingsuit flying and glider flying.

One classic example of this are the "Smoking Pants". With the crotch moved down toward the knees and the inflation of the Pants in this area, what we end up with something similar to the leg wing on a Classic wingsuit (just not as efficient).
Also the total surface area of somebody wearing a heavy rain jacket and Smoking Pants would be beginning to approach the surface area of the same person wearing a tight fitting Classic wingsuit.
So are the Smoking Pants a really good regular tracking outfit, or are they just a poorly performing wingsuit?

In comparison to the Birdman Pantz, the Smoking Pants have the potential to provide more performance simply because they create a larger surface area.
Birdman could easily make a higher performing product by adding a small ram-air wing to the crotch of their Pantz (which would be much more efficient than just moving the crotch lower down). However many would argue that this is clearly crossing the line into what is considered a wingsuit (albeit, a wingsuit with very poor performance).

So yes, the Smoking Pants (or derivates thereof) can provide better glide when compared to the BM Pantz, however they also provide less glide compared to a Classic wingsuit (which is just as fair of a comparison to make).

Perhaps the only truly pure form of human flight is during naked jumps. Naked, lift is generated only with our body and not by any artificial material. Although to be perfectly pure we'd also have to be rigless, as the harness and container interacts with the airflow as well.

On a side note: In the history of human beings, has anybody ever efficiently max-tracked totally naked at terminal without a rig on? Perhaps that is one of the few remaining frontiers of true human flight….ha ha.

On the other end of the wingsuit spectrum is the Wingsuit vs. Skyray vs. Hang Glider issue. The following question has been frequently raised: Is it fair to compare a Skyray to a Wingsuit?
In terms of human flight the makers of the Skyray have stated that the Skyray is indeed human flight and does loosely belong to the wingsuit category, because the body makes up 60% of the total surface area. (Personally I'm a little skeptical of the last piece of that argument as, yes the wing may only be 40% of the total surface area but it is creating a hell of a lot more than 40% of the total lift being generated. In terms of flight the lift that is generated means everything, not surface area).

Other people say the Skyray is not human flight and belongs to the glider category. The reasons given are as follows: To be part of the wingsuit category, the human body must form the shape and structure of the wing (although me-thinks even this distinction can start to get slightly blurred when I look at the Mylar ribs in my S4 prototype, especially where the center of the leg wing extends slightly longer than my feet).

But back to the original issue at hand:
For the sake of comparisons, clarity and communication we tend to need to establish some distinction or categorization.
Currently, the two most widely used categories in the world of human flight (ignoring the Skyray for now) are "regular tracking" and "wingsuit flight".
If someone does a 28 second track covering 3000' horizontally on a 3000' high BASE jump, will we classify it as a really exceptional regular track or as a really crappy wingsuit flight?

So how can we make this distinction? Two suggested examples (of many) are given below: "The Outline of the Human Form", and the "Feeling of the Track".

The Outline of the Human Form:
With regular tracking the outline of the body in flight must resemble that of the normal human form/shape. Also the range of movement of the body must not be restricted in any way by the clothing worn.
Given this distinction the Smoking Pants would fall under the wingsuit category as the torso length is artificially lengthened and doing the splits (or anything even close to it) would be impossible whilst wearing the Smoking Pants in their in-flight configuration.
Given this distinction the Birdman Pantz would fall into the category of regular tracking.

However, given how close the Birdman Pantz and the Smoking Pantz are in design and performance, separating them into two different categories would be ridiculous.

Further problems with this distinction come when you start playing with other things: What if I shove a plastic dinner tray down the front of my jacket, creating a flat rigid surface across my chest? What if I build channels into my jumpsuit which direct the air towards my feet? What if I wear wide shoes that are 5 sizes too big?

The Feeling of the Track:
Another distinction (albeit a highly subjective one) is the "feeling" of the track. Flying a wingsuit is a totally different sensation to regular tracking. Does tracking with the BM Pantz or Smoking Pants feel closer to tracking naked, or does it feel closer to a wingsuit flight (say a Classic)?
This is hard to say as tracking naked feels (OK I've never tracked naked, but I've tracked a number of times at/near terminal wearing nothing but a rig and board-shorts) totally different to tracking while wearing a rain jacket and Tracking Pantz. Also there are times that during a really good track with the Pants, it definitely feels like more like a crappy wingsuit flight. This is highly subjective and very dependent on the efficiency of the individual tracker.

In my opinion the above two distinctions are overly simplistic and lead to unfair comparisons. There are no clean cutoff points, but simply a smooth range of products that take us across the entire spectrum from being naked to flying a hang glider and beyond.

However (as stated before) we still tend to need to make distinctions and categorizations in the world of human flight in order to avoid being overly verbose. For example:
"I did a 32" second track covering 3300' horizontally on a 3000' high BASE jump by increasing my body surface area by 21% via inflatable clothing and also by adding stiffeners to 70% of my torso region. I believe I have set a new world tracking record in the 21%-body-surface-increase-with-70%-stiffened-torso category of tracking".
As you can see, it gets rather pointless.

In the reality it really doesn't matter what the hell we call it: Tracking, wingsuit flying, glider flying etc. It's all about fun, not semantics.

I guess my end point is using simply categorization for direct product comparisons can be misleading. Yes the Smoking Pants may outperform the BM Pantz, however they also suck compared to the Classic.

Enough said – let's go fly our bodies…or the stuff attached to them….or….whatever.

[ManBird 0]

To further complicate things:

http://www.bird-man.com/?n=piece&a=id&v=80 ;)

For skydivers, the real question would be whether or not you'd log that activity as freefall. In thinking about the Skyray and reading this post, I think I'd log it (though I'm definitely with you on the 60% claim). Basically, if I'm using a parachute to land, I'd consider it to be freefall.

I think BirdMan needs to release a line of carbon fibre shoes. Each one should come with some sort of sandwich.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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[TomAiello 25]

I think that most people would tend to categorize their "flight clothing" by another category entirely: how much it restricts them in their exit, landing and emergency procedures (in the "uninflated" state).

I know several people who don't want to jump wingsuits (instead preferring some kind of inflatable tracking wear) because they feel that it may inhibit their ability to control their equipment (i.e. reach handles and risers) in the event of an emergency. Another consideration is the ability to run out a landing (or land in a bad landing area) after a low pull.

I think that these "restriction of movement" considerations will be more important to most people than the aerodynamic ones, simply because they are the ones that will effect survival in an emergency. This will be even more true as jumps (or flights, if you prefer) are pushed to the edge of performance (i.e. jumpers are dumping low over a talus that they are barely out-tracking/flying).

So, in that sense, the smoking pants and the tracking pants (and any kind of inflatable tracking suit, with or without miniature leg wings) are in one category (no or minimal restriction of movement when uninflated) and most designs of wingsuits are in another (emergency maneuvers restricted prior to disengaging the suit).

Of course, this discussion leaves entirely aside the issue of price--which was the original motivating factor in the creation of the smoking pants.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[andy2 0]

[QUOTE]On a side note: In the history of human beings, has anybody ever efficiently max-tracked totally naked at terminal without a rig on? Perhaps that is one of the few remaining frontiers of true human flight….ha ha.[/QUOTE]

hehe, you first, bro!

Great post man, I think I'm gonna have to read that once or twice more to really get everything you talked about. Rock on.

---------------------------------------------
let my inspiration flow,
in token rhyme suggesting rhythm...

[lazyfrog 0]

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[QUOTE]On a side note: In the history of human beings, has anybody ever efficiently max-tracked totally naked at terminal without a rig on? Perhaps that is one of the few remaining frontiers of true human flight….ha ha.[/QUOTE]

hehe, you first, bro!
*******
I wouldn't do it without protection ;-)

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Fumer tue, péter pue
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ourson #10, Mosquito Uno, CBT 579

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[JohanW 0]

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The Feeling of the Track
Another distinction (albeit a highly subjective one) is the "feeling" of the track. Flying a wingsuit is a totally different sensation to regular tracking.

If it is, you're not tracking hard enough. Shape your body, wear an RW-suit with booties (cheating, yes yes, I know), and feel the lift. It's a difference of degree, not of kind, with a wingsuit.

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Enough said – let's go fly our bodies…or the stuff attached to them….or….whatever.

I'll go fly a canopy for the last couple of thousand feet down if you don't mind

Johan.
I am. I think.

[ManBird 0]

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If it is, you're not tracking hard enough.

Maybe you're not flying a wingsuit hard enough. ;) Doing 40 down and 90 forwards does NOT feel like doing 80 to 90 in both directions. A track, even a good one, feels a lot closer to normal freefall than a proper wingsuit flight. A crappy wingsuit flight can feel like a good track, but I have yet have the pure flight feeling I get from wingsuit flying matched by a track, and my fall rate is pretty much always between the high 70s and the low 90s (depending on what I'm wearing, of course) on non-wingsuit flights.

No offense, I just disagree.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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