yuri_base

Without the grid, the left wingtip is just obviously a random blob of people. But with the grid, it's a "Formation". So, what if the rest of the group was the same mess as this one, but everyone's touching their imaginary box, would this big mess still called a formation? Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

You nailed it, brother. Flocking = gay parade in the sky. dz.com wingsuit forum = online gay club. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

Wow! 200mph horizontally!!! Anyone have a proof? And talking about 3:1 glide ratio as if it was a commonplace? Why they don't tell whuffos the truth that a typical flocker moves about 40mph horizontally and 6 inches forward per foot down? That would still impress them without lying.

It's amazing how much noise f**ckers can generate in no time from nothing. It must be the winter deprivation from all that touching and kissing during the summer flocking. Scott is talking about a very rare, but possible situation when immediately after extracting the pin the PC gets sucked back into the burble and bridle goes lump. While the PC is making its mind in the burble, a little friction holding D-bag in place would definitely not hurt. In BASE, there's no friction holding the canopy in place, corners or not; instead, a larger PC (36-38") is used to mitigate the chance of it getting sucked into the burble. Rare? Yes. Possible? You don't want to find out. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

My advice: get his Learning To Fly DVD and you'll forget what the word 'flocking' means. ;) Lots of footage from most beautiful flights in the world. You'll fall out of your chair a couple of times guaranteed, as you'll be sitting on the edge watching low pulls and close range proximity flying. For beginners, very inspiring how much you can achieve in just one year, and educational, too, as mistakes are honestly shown. If you like to FLY, Chris' movie is a must have. Yuri Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

6 inches forward for every foot down is the lowest L/D I've ever seen in wingsuits... how do you guys do that? (1:50, entering clouds) It's officially a record, indeed. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

With so many f**ckers f**cking on the West Coast, the skies on the East Coast look delightfully clear. From above, I can see for miles and miles without seeing two or more men holding their hands and winking at each other. Even L/D seems to be better - with air undisturbed by horrendous burbles behind bodies in expensive mattre$$es plummeting to Earth at higher vertical speeds than horizontal, the airflow seems to be fully laminar, almost attached to every dimple on my body! I love f**cking world records! Yuri Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

Is this your dream that campers will be staring at your butt? Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

Those who can see and hear, will. It's blind and deaf who need big formations to see and hear. ;) Actually, just returned from a trip where this exact scenario happened: campers in the forest heard sound of a jet plane and saw a human flying. Doesn't happen on every jump... Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

Here's a philosophical question: why creatures that have poor L/D (fish, as their weight is 100% balanced by buoyancy, not by aerodynamic lift, have nearly zero L/D; geese and similar ugly birds with poor aerodynamics; cows, sheep, goats, who hardly have any lift at all; stupid penguins, and finally, people in inflatable mattresses) tend to flock? While creatures of superb aerodynamics tend to soar alone and enjoy the flight itself, not the view of a buddy's butt in front? I see this correlation but cannot explain it. Solitarity -> high L/D. Herd behavior -> low L/D. Why?

At 3:00 you can clearly see about the same L/D as that of a typical flock, and that's 2x higher than that of Jarno "smoking" his comrades at breakoff. So, it's not the suit, it's the pilot, indeed. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

How far will be the jumprun from the summit? Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

It is possible to roughly estimate the gate entry speed from the average speed and time. When flying horizontally, you decelerate at the fraction of g that is equal to the reciprocal of your momental L/D: a = g/(L/D) For the rough estimate, one can assume constant L/D (which is not true - as you slow down, your canopy must produce the same lift - equal to your weight - at slower speed, therefore, it must change angle of attack and as a result, L/D is constantly changing. But for an estimate, the changes in L/D are relatively small if one exits the course with high speed still.) Assuming L/D ~ 2.5, we have a ~ 0.4g. If V0 is the gate entry speed and V1 is the course exit speed, average speed Vavg = (V0 + V1)/2 (for constant deceleration), and V1 = V0 - a*t, where t is time. So, Vavg = (V0 + V0 - a*t)/2 = V0 - a*t/2, and V0 = Vavg + a*t/2 = Vavg + g*t/2/(L/D) In this particular case, V0 = 28.6m/s + 9.8m/s^2 * 2.45s/2/2.5 = 33.5m/s = 120.6km/h = 75mph. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

How about spring-loaded PC mounted on a side of the wingsuiter's leg, so it launches away from the burble, not into it? If it can launch 3-4ft to the side, it's in completely clean air. If you saw that video with a jumper jumping a skydiving container with only a reserve in it, off that famous NorCal A (if not first, surely one of the few jumps of this kind), what do we see happening on pull? A big, classic spring-loaded PC bounce in the burble... Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

Flocking record = record number of people who can't fly, falling like bricks simultaneously, creating an illusion of forward movement by aligning special arrow-like body bags in the same direction. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

10. Yuri - not going, confirmed. I like to fly... For everything else, there's f**cking. Come to the Ranch if you like to max out and know the secrets... Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

There's certain minimum L/D required for canopy to naturally planeout after a dive. In the simplest model when L/D is assumed to be constant during the dive and maximum possible speed is achieved and the canopy is planing out at the same L/D, planeouts will become level at L/D = 2.63 and higher (attached pic is a simulation of a wingsuit dive, but applicable to any nonpowered gliding flight alike). Lighter loaded canopies have higher L/D compared to highly loaded (of the same design and trim) ones, due to lesser effect from body drag at slower speeds, and are more "prone" to level planeout. If your canopy tends to fly up by itself on a natural planeout, perhaps, a little bit more aggressive trim will stop this and also extend the swoop? Just an idea - I don't know how common custom re-trimming or relining are. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

This is a good point, about increased speed of more aggressive trim offsetting the effect of downdrafts on the canopy. I think that while it diminishes the effect, it is still there: the first effect (change in AoA when entering downdraft) is of the first order of AoA, while the offset due to increased speed is of the half of order of AoA (since the speed changes approximately proportionally to the square root of AoA inversed). The net result is approximately of the half order of AoA and thus lower AoA still leads to greater susceptibility to collapse in downdrafts. I agree with your thought that lower front riser pressure (given fixed wingloading) probably makes canopy more susceptible to collapses. Lower tension on the lines means lower difference between pressures on the bottom and top skins of the canopy. The lower this difference, the more chance that some rotor will have pressure gradients higher than this difference and cancel it out, making the nose fold under. Does our genius theory mean that making a front riser turn on a lightly loaded canopy in turbulence is not a good idea? Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

I don't need GPS or Z-Schlong to see that he's flying at better L/D without wingsuit than 99% of the flockers out there. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

I think in general the less the angle of attack of a ram-air canopy in sustained flight, the less resistance it has to sudden collapse. One way of arriving to this conclusion is to take it to the extreme: imagine a canopy trimmed so steep that the angle of attack (relative to the line of zero lift) is nearly zero. Then even a slight decrease of AoA (for example, due to powerful downdraft) will cause the catastrophic collapse of the top skin and total loss of lift. Another way involves some illustrative calculations. Suppose we have 2 canopies of the same area and same airfoil trimmed to have angle of attack (measured from the line of zero lift) A1=10 degrees and A2=5 degrees in full flight, respectively. Also, the canopy 1 has the total speed of 26.9mph (25mph horizontally, 10mph vertically), canopy 2 flies at total speed of 33.5mph (30mph horizontally, 15mph vertically) due to more aggressive trim. The canopy 1 sees relative wind hitting it at 26.9mph which has 26.9*cos(10)=26.5mph longitudinal (parallel to the line of zero lift) component and 26.9*sin(10)=4.7mph tangential (perpendicular to the line of zero lift) component hitting it from below. The canopy 2 sees relative wind hitting it at 33.5mph which has 33.5*cos(5)=33.4mph longitudinal component and 33.5*sin(5)=2.9mph tangential component. Now, both canopies fly into a 3mph downdraft. If you draw a diagram, it's easy to find out that this 3mph downdraft has a tangential component to the line of zero lift equal to 3mph*cos(G-A), where G is canopy's glide angle. For canopy 1, G1=atan(10mph/25mph)=21.8 degrees, for canopy 2, G2=atan(15mph/30mph)=26.6 degrees, so for canopy 1 this tangential component of downdraft will be 3mph*cos(21.8-10)=2.9mph, while for canopy 2 this tangential component of downdraft will be 3mph*cos(26.6-5)=2.8mph. Now, canopy 1 will see the relative wind hitting it from below at 4.7-2.9=1.8mph, a 62% decrease, while canopy 2 will see the relative wind hitting it from below at a mere 2.9-2.8=0.1mph, a catastrophic 97% decrease! For canopy 1, the relative wind is now hitting at approximately asin(1.8/26.9)=3.8 degrees (instead of initial 10), while for canopy 2, the relative wind is now hitting at approximately asin(0.1/33.5)=0.2 degrees (instead of initial 5). Thus, canopy 2 will have much more dramatic reaction to downdraft and will most likely fully collapse. At small angles of attack (~12 degrees or less), wings generally have a linear dependence of coefficient of lift vs. AoA: Cl ~ A. Therefore, canopy 1 will lose (10-3.8)/10*100%=62% of lift, while canopy 2 will lose (5-0.2)/5*100%=96% of lift (if not collapse completely and instantly). According to this theory, just a bit of rear riser or brake input (=increased AoA) should make the canopy more resistant to [at least] downdrafts. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

Ah, flocking... the most boring thing to do when jumping from an airplane. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

As the Chief of L/D Police Department, I must say that swooping tandems at L/D ~ 1 is a slap on the face of FLYING.

It's like saying, "When I'm walking or driving, my feet or my car are turning in the direction the road is coming from." Even in situations when the relative wind is not created by the motion of the canopy itself, the canopy does not have tendency to turn into the wind. For example, when you kite the canopy, you make it turn into the wind by orienting your shoulders and giving inputs to keep heading. Turn 90 and see if the canopy wants to turn into the wind. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

I think the opposite is true: the canopy doesn't turn into [suddenly changed] relative wind, it turns away from it. If the former was true, the gusts will have self-stabilizing effect on canopy, while I haven't experienced such an effect or saw it once: sideways gusts always push the canopy in the direction of the gust. Everyone experienced this, but here's a good example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1bFXlwfs9Q at 1:39. The root of this effect is in different dynamic characteristics of the canopy and the pilot: gust coming from the right will quickly push canopy to the left and tilt it due to its low mass, while the pilot stays in place, so the canopy turns left. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio

How about this mathematically precise definition then: the line connecting my nipples is parallel to the horizontal component of the tandem's velocity at all times I'm less than 1000ft (but never less than 200ft) from them. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio