BravestDog 0 #1 January 21, 2004 2 questions please. 1. Do current wingsuit designs have hard flexible cambers and battens similar to the system used on modern sailboard sails to give the wing more shape or is it being tested/designed now? 2. How about braces used to keep the arms out lessening arm fatigue. Has this been tested or designed? Please add anything relative. Thankyou Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrogNog 1 #2 January 21, 2004 I've only seen one in person once, but my understanding is they are not stiffened in the manner you described, and the wing areas are engineered similar to ram-air canopies. I believe I read that various types of stiffeners had been tried historically and contributed significantly to the near-100% fatality rate of wingsuit experimenters before the "modern" style came about in, I believe, the mid-90's. Plus if you get too much bracing, it's called a hang-glider or a SkyRay, not a WingSuit. -=-=-=-=- Pull. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
base704 0 #3 January 21, 2004 They have neither...You can get a lot more done with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #4 January 21, 2004 Some prototype suits have been built with stiffeners of various kinds to try keeping the airfoil in the optimum shape. Production costs were too high for the gains in flight performance, as far as I know.-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peej 0 #5 January 21, 2004 I saw a guy at one of our local DZ's who was working on a BASE-specific wingsuit. He was jumping a prototype with batons on the ends of the wings. He would hold these in his hands to increase the surface area of the wing. Whether it helped increase flight time or not i have no idea... safe skies PJ Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicknitro71 0 #6 January 21, 2004 I think the Skyflyer.4 will...Memento Audere Semper 903 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #7 January 21, 2004 QuoteHe was jumping a prototype with batons on the ends of the wings I think you saw a Skyflyer 3 and what you saw on the end of the wings are standard on all Skyflyer 3s. As for the the next suit released, it will not have any of the things mentioned for just the reasons mentioned."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #8 January 21, 2004 QuoteQuoteHe was jumping a prototype with batons on the ends of the wings I think you saw a Skyflyer 3 and what you saw on the end of the wings are standard on all Skyflyer 3s. As for the the next suit released, it will not have any of the things mentioned for just the reasons mentioned. I'd guess that, given his location (SA), he saw Shaun testing his Sugar Glider. He had an early prototype with "paddles" (his term) to increase surface area and try to eliminate wingtip vortices. When last I spoke with him about it (August) he had abandoned that train of research. I think he was having too much trouble holding the paddles in position and staying stable. Is this pic of Shaun flying yet another of his prototypes something like the suit you saw?-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #9 January 21, 2004 QuoteI'd guess that, given his location (SA), he saw Shaun testing his Sugar Glider. Ahhh, good point. Very well could of been that."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robibird 3 #10 January 21, 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------- .....to increase surface area and try to eliminate wingtip vortices. ---------------------------------------------------------- Vortex can't be eliminated, can be reduced :) Regards RobibirdRobert Pecnik robert@phoenix-fly.com www.phoenix-fly.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites