outrager 6 #1 July 22, 2002 Yo ! I took a GPS up on a couple of flights over the weekend. GPS was mounted on a helmet. OziExplorer (.plt format) track file is attached. The first flight is maxing it out trying slightly different body positions. Second flight is playing with the suit - in particular, diving and flaring. Here is a brief summary for the first flight: Exit: 4370m (14330ft) Pull: 743m (2400ft) Time: 3:15 Distance: 6.15km (3.8mile) Average horizontal speed: 113kph (70mph) Average vertical speed: 18.6m/s (41mph) Average L/D 1.7 The following data is an average from a 30sec crosswind segment: Sustained vertical speed: 15.8m/s (35mph) Sustained horizontal speed: 113kph (70mph) Sustained L/D: 2.0 The winds were light, about 9mph average according to the upwind/downwind horizontal speed difference. The second flight data has an interesting part on flaring the suit: it appears that following a steep dive the suit levels and actually goes up for about 2 seconds, climbing 30..40m. I have done 3 dives/flares in a row and they have very similar profiles. This is not to be trusted blindly, though, because: 1. it looks too good to be true ;) 2. 1-sec sampling is a bit low for measuring short events like this 3. the data may be affected somewhat by the changing airflow during the flare (altitude data here is barometric) On the other hand, it looks quite similar to the climb after a high-speed tailgate exit (50..100ft above the aircraft)... bsbd! Yuri. all-jul21.plt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #2 July 22, 2002 What GPSR unit are you using for these jumps?quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
outrager 6 #3 July 22, 2002 Garmin eTrex Summit (GPS + barometric altimeter in a single unit) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
outrager 6 #4 July 22, 2002 Yo ! Garmin has released an updated firmware (2.12) for eTrex Summit that keeps logging altitude data even when GPS signal is lost (inside an airplane, for example). This is a must-have update that makes life so much easier! bsbd! Yuri. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cpoxon 0 #5 July 23, 2002 For those of you who can't (or won't!) install the OziExplorer software, here are some captures of the graphs that are produced and a plot of the paths taken. Note the speed measurements are horizontal, i.e. across the ground. The increases in altitude are visible in AltVsTime2 and AltVsDistance2. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyFlyer 0 #6 July 24, 2002 Yuri- Can you elaborate on the types of body positions that you tried? What gave you the best vertical flight, what did that position feel like i.e. what was the sensation when you were in the position. Congrats on pushing wingsuit analysis even further! Baxter. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
outrager 6 #7 July 24, 2002 I'm still alternating between two positions. Both are the usual roll the shoulders, dearch variants. I either grab the wingtips or simply rest my fingers on top of them - they are actually well pressurized and stable so there's no real need to hold them. The difference (and an open question) is what to do with legs. I have tried to fly with my legs open as wide as possible, but then i have to bend my knees a bit (and push them down, dearching at the hips). Alternatively, i can fly with my legs straight but then i have to keep them very narrow to hold the correct angle. Both ways feel about the same, and i believe it can be flown a bit better, so more fine-tuning is needed. I think the best thing to do is to visit a local gym for a couple of years in a row ;-) Sheer muscle power is what's really needed for maxed-out long flights... bsbd! Yuri. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites