Towing a banner

[bdrake529 0]

I'd like to make a video of myself flying my wingsuit, trailing an advertising banner behind me, like those planes do above the beach/sports arenas.

It is not my goal for the banner to be legible from the ground, only that it's recognizable from the vantage point of another wingsuiter flying a camera.

I imagine this is logistically (including safety concerns) similar to freeflying with a (streaming) tube (which I've not done). Except it is my hope that the banner/tube will lay out horizontally (as much as possible) behind me and still be readable.

Is this possible?

One concern I have is that the banner will spin and twirl behind me, making its message impossible to see. Would a tube be a better shape to maintain correct orientation? Or is there a way to strategically place drag, or devise a multi-point attachment system to keep the banner taught and stable?

Size? I would guess something around 10 feet long and a few feet tall. Again, I only want video of this so it doesn't have to be any bigger than what will increase the odds of success.

Thanks in advance for any advice provided.

Brian

Brian Drake

[mccordia 73]

Quote

Is this possible?

Here's some photos by David Haygarth (the text labels on the images are incorrect) for our new TopGun website (coming soon)

Mark Harris is backflying with the Banner.

Pulltime was supposedly quite scary, with the banner loving to eat the pilotchute/bridle at pulltime, as it dances in and out of the burble.

I'll give Mark a shout about this thread, he'll probably have some usefull tips.

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[avenfoto 0]

try a tube attached to both feet, attachments in the middle on both sides...

it will probably kill your glide ratio, and go up diagnoaly, but its wort a shot...

good luck.

[yuri_base 1]

As can be seen from these pictures (especially the 2nd one, which clearly shows L/D = 0.5 - worse than a good tracker can do in a tee and jeans), flying banner can make a good ad for a pizza place, but outright embarrassing for a wingsuit company.

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[mccordia 73]

its mostly the banner dancing in the burble, just like smoke forming a ball/puff on the back, which is why its so hairy at pulltime. as it is not angled the same direction your pilotchute/bridle go, as they do get clean air. mark experienced some scary openings.

so the angle of the flag is not representing the actual glide angle., though backflying and trailing a meter of material, i think you can save yourself another night of lone math problem solving by predicting its not the best ever flown:)

fun to try, not recommendable for low experienced flyers....or drunk Russians ;)

ps typing this on my new mobile..24/7 online..all hope is lost

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[bdrake529 0]

I'm actually a bit concerned about pull-time, so I've been devising a simple cutaway system so I can detach from the banner before pulling.

I plan to do this jump at a desert DZ so I'm not worried about the banner hitting anything, nor would I anticipate it'd have much of a fallrate on its own anyway.

Would extending the tow lines (between my feet and the banner) let the banner avoid my burble and therefore lay more horizontally? Or would the longer tow lines introduce more instability resulting in a spinning piece of fabric?

The "Blade" banner in the pics looks like a tube. Was it? Will I need to construct it to be inflatable (to some extent) or would a simple, two dimensional strip of fabric work?

Brian Drake

[diablopilot 2]

Use a freely tube. It will maintain shape better and thus your image will be preserved better. A double foot 3 ring attachment should prevent spin. Because it's "inflated" it resists entanglement with the pilot chute better.

Worked fine when I did it 5 years ago.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[notsane 0]

Medusa did a cool banner one time by tying a flag in between his ankles. From above or below, it was very visible.

[scottygofast 0]

Yeah heres a few pics of Medusa from that jump, worked pretty well actually~~

Scotty~

Z Flock #11; Muff #1909; PFI #15, USPA Lifer
Commercial Multi-Inst. Airplane/Rotory
www.flyteskool.ws Aerial Photography