So, here on the Texas coast we're bracing for the oncoming hurricane, with 125 mph winds. And that got me thinking. That's freefall speed wind! Would this be possible? Suppose you tethered a wingsuit flyer on a rope - would he be able to fly like a kite in a hurricane force wind? Yeah, I know it would be dangerous. But theoretically possible? After all, wingsuiters exiting high speed tailgates can actually climb upward for a few seconds relative to the plane. And that is only ended when drag and gravity takes over, But with a hurricane, the air speed would be constant. Like a horizontal exit speed that doesn't diminish from drag - a forward throw that lasts forever. You can fly anything given enough air speed, surface area and control of the angle of attack. Just look at those high speed racing boats that hit a little wave wrong, lifting the bow, and the boat goes airborne. Boats can fly! They have speed and surface area, but no control once airborne... And you have to control the angle of attack, so that you deflect the wind downwards, to make the object go upwards. Newton's law of equal and opposite reaction. As a kid I never understood how a box kite could fly. But fly they do. Surface area to deflect the wind, the proper angle, and up they go. Even though it's just a box on sticks with a couple of fabric panels. So, back to the theoretical wingsuit jumper. Suppose you tether him to a sturdy object in a hurricane force wind. Can he angle himself into the wind, and fly off the ground like a kite? Inquiring minds want to know. And you have just a day or two to get ready for hurricane landfall.
