Wingsuit towing

[base695 0]

Just wondering if anyone has had a go at any form of wingsuit towing?

Thinking along the lines of:
being towed by rope from the back of a pick up screaming across the salt flats (bit like parascending)
or
towed behind a plane (bit like a glider)
or
tethered flights in a horizontal wind tunnel

[PhreeZone 15]

Felix got towed behind a B-24 I think. Totally tore the airplane up from the cable being jammed around inside it. Joe Jennings on the other hand was towed behind a Cessna with his camera suit and it worked ok.

Doing it with a wingsuit is like having a bottle rocket on a sting, you never know what direction it wants to drive at. But what ever direction it is... it wants to go there fast.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[leroydb 0]

i will look for the link to the video when i get home

Leroy


..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio...

[riggerrob 558]

I would pay up my medical insurance before trying this stunt.
Also consult all the guys who have tried towing ram-air canopies behind cars and no longer walk straight.

First of all, you need a really long rope to get you clear of the turbulence behind a car.
Secondly I would first attempt it when surface winds are blowing at 40 to 50 knots, at least your ground speed will be slow enough to reduce road rash.

Finally, please report back to us from your hospital bed.

[j3zz 0]

Do not take the below seriously but just had a thought

Could you potentially ground lauch and wing suit with let say a 500ft rope a fast car then use a base rig?

Might want to try launching of a old style removable undercarraige, a skate board might be a bit scetchy

Let me know if that works for you
Jezz

"Now I know why the birds fly"
Hinton Skydivers

[VectorBoy 0]

Wasn't there a fatality were a skysurfer was being towed or pulled by a tracker with something like a ski rope? ( as it was described to me ). The rope was accidentaly let go by the tracker and it fatally wrapped the skysurfer.

Calmer minds relate this story to me whenever I think of dumb stuff to do with extra lines and wingsuits. I don't know how true it is and the guys that were more involved with Skysurfing may have the factual data.

[badenhop 0]

Hello,
After giving it some thought,
I prefer the door of an Otter @ 13.5,
or a rock in Norway.
I came up with that in just a few seconds.

Avery

==================================

I've got all I need, Jesus and gravity. Dolly Parton

http://www.AveryBadenhop.com

[notsane 0]

You're thinking of Jerry Loftis' death in 1998 at WFFC in Quincy. He was jumping his board and was playing with a ski rope with another jumper. They were intentionally spinning and got too low. Jerry had a malfunction and simply ran out of time. A very sad end to a great, great guy.

[VectorBoy 0]

Quote

You're thinking of Jerry Loftis' death in 1998 at WFFC in Quincy. He was jumping his board and was playing with a ski rope with another jumper. They were intentionally spinning and got too low. Jerry had a malfunction and simply ran out of time. A very sad end to a great, great guy.

Did the mal result from the rope solely and directly or a multitude of things?

[PhreeZone 15]

Here is the write up on Jerry's accident:

The deceased experienced a pilot-chute-in-tow (or perhaps bag-lock) malfunction on a skysurfing jump. He jettisoned the board, but pulled the reserve too low for inflation. He died immediately on impact with the runway. Though the deceased had a CYPRES, it appears to have been turned off on this jump. The reserve pin was pulled, and the loop not cut. He was heard to remark to someone on the previous jump that he had forgotten to turn his CYPRES on. The batteries were replaced within the previous 10 days.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[wpturner 0]

will someone please post a working video of either felix or joes attempt at the towing wing suit, camera suit concept.
this was discussed in a different thread and two links were posted but neither of them were functioning.

[mccordia 73]

Holy resurected thread batman!

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[dthames 0]

Since this seems to be some insane idea, I will throw in my 2cents.

For the tow plane rig a long rope (with some "give") with a bar like a watersky rope that is about 4 foot wide. Design it so that it will fly without spinning around, and fly horizontal. Put the tow plane into a shallow dive at slow foward speed.

From a second aircraft, have your master WS pilot swoop down and grab the bar with hands far apart. Hang on!

Good luck.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[cs_troyk 0]

You missed and important detail - the wingsuit pilot will most likely want to fly a larger suit with grippers. Hands will already be otherwise engaged with that.

Better idea;

Tow plain trails a rope with a hook on the end (with stabilizing fins so the hook is oriented upward).

Wingsuit pilot wears a helmet with a ring attached to the top. It's important that the helmet have double-reinforcement to secure it - like, put a 2nd chin strap on your Oxygen.

Once successfully docked, tow plane can speed up, and the WS pilot has full control range (within the confines of what the tow plane and rope allow).

[Bealio 0]

cs_troyk

Wingsuit pilot wears a helmet with a ring attached to the top. It's important that the helmet have double-reinforcement to secure it - like, put a 2nd chin strap on your Oxygen.

His head may rip off.

[Doug_Davis 0]

Bealio

His head may rip off.

Just a minor detail.

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

mccordia

Holy resurected thread batman!

I got creeped the fuck out when I saw the post from LeRoy Buckley (who died on a WS BASE jump with FAR too-low an exit point.

[dthames 0]

cs_troyk

You missed and important detail - the wingsuit pilot will most likely want to fly a larger suit with grippers. Hands will already be otherwise engaged with that.

Better idea;

Tow plain trails a rope with a hook on the end (with stabilizing fins so the hook is oriented upward).

Wingsuit pilot wears a helmet with a ring attached to the top. It's important that the helmet have double-reinforcement to secure it - like, put a 2nd chin strap on your Oxygen.

Once successfully docked, tow plane can speed up, and the WS pilot has full control range (within the confines of what the tow plane and rope allow).

I think if you are being towed, you can afford to let go of the grippers. But I guess the more fundamental question is, are you being towed to altitude and released or do you plan to zig back and forth on the tow rope? That would then be a different matter.

Honestly I had a dream the other night that airtwardo was doing some sort of a towed WS demo low over the field at a boogie. The first time, it worked okay. The second time, not so well. Then I woke up, thankful it was just a dream.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”