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matc

Glide ratio

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Why would wind be less of a factor in BASE than a jump from altitude?

I've never done BASE but I've climbed enough rock to know that there is usually wind in those canyons. So whether the wind is at altitude or driving up the face of a cliff (we have all seen hang gliders riding ridge and cliff lift) it still introduces an error when calculating glide ratio based solely on geographic datum, and I'd suggest possibly even more so in a BASE environment because the winds tend to have a substantial vertical component.

From a plane, you can at least fly upwind/downwind legs to try and determine what effect the winds are having on your data (agreed this is not perfect since the winds can vary significantly depending upon altitude). However, in a BASE environment this form of wind error estimation/correction is not possible.

In BASE, if you have good winds, you have awesome glide ratios, with bad winds, you possibly have not only bad glide ratios, but a very bad day.

Like I said, I've never done BASE but from my climbing days I've felt varying degrees of wind on a cliff face, and since the comments I've seen here have suggested that BASE jump glide ratio calculations are not affected by wind, I'd suggest otherwise.

Really looking to hear from the guys that make the BASE jumps to hear how much wind they typically jump in and if they feel it is significant enough to affect their flight results.
Play like your life depends on it.

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hello krisflyZ,
i also must diasagree on this one, i and have seen (regularly jump with) people much taller than robi with huge leg wings that fly mucho excelente.
enjoy,
luka



Let me see a picture of these guys standing on the ground wearing the suit with the wings spread. Are they flying much better than 2.7?

Kris.

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sorry gents but the tall skinny guys win out on this one. I've had students that would give any top wingsuit pilot a run for their money, doesn't matter how many jumps you have, someone taller and lighter than you will be able to out fly you if they can fly reasonably well. Robi is about the same height and weight as me, so I would be interested in flying with him for max glide, maybe at flock and dock we could do a two way just to see.
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sorry gents but the tall skinny guys win out on this one.



This is an obvious and big advantage, but only to a point where endurance comes to play. When you have to hold it for a long while, tall and skinny may have a harder time.

So, how about a few cliffs this summer? ;)

bsbd!

Yuri.

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Why would wind be less of a factor in BASE than a jump from altitude?



Generally we just don't jump if there is much wind, and being right there before exit, we can easily check direction and speed of whatever wind there is. But anyway, flights we use for determining D/L are simply made in zero-wind conditions.

bsbd!

Yuri.

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Why would wind be less of a factor in BASE than a jump from altitude?



Generally we just don't jump if there is much wind,



Thanks Yuri for that bit of info - I just figured the number of days with minimal wind were few. In that case the data is about as accurate as it gets. Now, just don't start messing it up by flying those canyons in ground effect. :)
Mike
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sorry gents but the tall skinny guys win out on this one.



This is an obvious and big advantage, but only to a point where endurance comes to play. When you have to hold it for a long while, tall and skinny may have a harder time.

So, how about a few cliffs this summer? ;)

haha, so base is for the taller weaker sex
bsbd!

Yuri.

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im 6'7" and 185lbs. I jump a middle size suit and i can leave anybody in the dust. I have jumped with every suit. exept tony wing suits. and none of them can keep up with me in my old suit. Even when i had 1 wing suit jump i still had to go down to everyone. Im thinkin about buying a tracking suit so i dont have to deal with all that flapping.
deinflate your ego

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For those who knew Patrick De Gayardon or were around that time, what kind of glide ratios he was getting in his first ever ram-air wingsuit?

Judging by the angle of smoke trail in this picture, he was not far off from today. ;) (It might have been a planeout; in this article he mentions that he would sometimes intentionally gain extra 20-25mph to temporarily slow the fallrate. He does mention "I also used a barograph, an airspeed indicator and a GPS." And another history germ: "In Italy, I could make a 32 second delay. The wings offered me 1100 m of altitude. [....] I did the last jumps with a stiletto 135, no more need for a BASE jump rig!" :))
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For those who knew Patrick De Gayardon or were around that time, what kind of glide ratios he was getting in his first ever ram-air wingsuit?

Judging by the angle of smoke trail in this picture, he was not far off from today.

And another history germ: "In Italy, I could make a 32 second delay. The wings offered me 1100 m of altitude. [....] I did the last jumps with a stiletto 135, no more need for a BASE jump rig!" :))



AFAIK at ITW he never made it to LZ. Making LZ requires 1.5..1.7, depending on your start and opening altitude allowances.

Also, 32sec was done at ITW in a tracking suit.

bsbd!

Yuri.

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Judging by the angle of smoke trail in this picture, he was not far off from today.



Be careful with visual judgement of slope by smoke on a pic or vid. It's confusing, and you'll almost always think the GR is better than it is actually.

Just watch the Soul flyer 2 vid. Seems like nobody can beat them, until the camera flyer comes to the side and we see the real angle... And then, it's closer to 1.something.

To give a realistic angle, a pic needs to be taken for the side, on the same level, and from far enough.

GPS is the best tool.


Fabien
BASE#944

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im 6'7" and 185lbs. I jump a middle size suit and i can leave anybody in the dust. I have jumped with every suit. exept tony wing suits. and none of them can keep up with me in my old suit. Even when i had 1 wing suit jump i still had to go down to everyone. Im thinkin about buying a tracking suit so i dont have to deal with all that flapping.



Who's alter ego are you? ;)

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deinflate your ego



Ego?? There is no such thing. Skydivers and BASE jumpers don't have egos at all. :D:D

Kris.

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