BravestDog 0 #1 December 16, 2003 Wondering if anyone has ever flown or seen a Skyray flown? How does a Skyray fly compare to a wingsuit? Any comments on this solid wing device? Do you know of websites with video or photos re the Skyray? Here are some links for pictures, and thanks for your responses. http://www.freesky.de/Other/SKYRAY5.jpg http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/wing.html Here is a video link of the skyray. http://www.freesky.de/movpics.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevin922 0 #2 December 16, 2003 skyrays are more expensive, more pain in the ass, but perform better.. of course it's like comparing a wingsuit to a hang-glider really. I don't think they'll ever catch on, they're too big of a pain in an aircraft.. I don't see how you'd be able to get into an otter with one and not inconvenience everyone on board. The wings aren't collapsable I don't believe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #3 December 16, 2003 QuoteHow does a Skyray fly compare to a wingsuit? The first thing that occurs to me is that there is no way to adjust the control surface to change direction/rate of fall. The S3 in particular allows for 3 axis + flight control. Arm position controls like ailerons, flaps and speedbrakes, and the tail operates like a rudder and horizontal stabilizer. The position of the torso, the amount of arch/dearch controls the aerodymics of the fuselage, something I don't think any plane is really doing. The skyray probably does the straight and level flight thing more efficiently over longer distances, cause arm strenght doesn't appear to be as critical, but I've never seen two of them docked in flight. The Birdman is all about the flock. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skylark 0 #4 December 16, 2003 If one wants to fly Skyray, one might as well fly an aeroplane. Wingsuits are about flying your own body. "Into the dangerous world I leapt..." William Blake, Songs of Experience Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,009 #5 December 16, 2003 >Wingsuits are about flying your own body. Tracking is about flying your own body. Wingsuits are gadgets as much as a skyray is (although they're a lot easier to fuss with in the plane.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 1 #6 December 16, 2003 I agree with both you and Skylark to a certain extent. Wingsuit control depends almost entirely on body position (I don't fly WS yet, so correct me if I'm wrong), while with a Skyray or something more like a hang glider, control depends on a mechanical input to the rigid wing system. Though obviously your body position matters while flying a Skyray, if you were to stick one leg into the airstream asymmetrically, you'd spin like a mofo, I'd assume. It's an interesting thing to consider... Wingsuit = skydiving BUT BASE = "related sport" ?www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skylark 0 #7 December 17, 2003 QuoteTracking is about flying your own body. Wingsuits are gadgets as much as a skyray is (although they're a lot easier to fuss with in the plane.) Surley a wingsuit is not a 'gadget'. Skyray is a 'gadget', a rigid wing that one 'wears', not disimilar to a hang-glider. A wingsuit surely must feel more like an extension of one's own arms, much like the wings of a bird? "Into the dangerous world I leapt..." William Blake, Songs of Experience Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,009 #8 December 17, 2003 >A wingsuit surely must feel more like an extension of one's own >arms, much like the wings of a bird? Why? There are a million ways to fly. Our arms can't support our weight in the same way a bird's wings can, so that's a dead end past a certain point. Someone doing RW is surely flying in their own way, but their legs are doing far more work than their arms. A skysurfer uses a board to help him fly. A Skyflyer 3 uses ram-air pressure to shape the wing; that's something our arms can't do by themselves, so we use a clever design to utilize air pressure to do that for us. It's not much different than a ram-air parachute in that regard. The future is going to hold a lot of interesting developments for people who want to fly their bodies. We already have a spectrum of flight, from a tracking jump wearing nothing but a rig to a paraglider that weighs 30 lbs and can keep us in the air for hours. Wingsuits fill out once niche in that long progression; rigid wings fill out another. To me they seem far more like slightly different approaches to a common problem than completely different items. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leroydb 0 #9 December 18, 2003 Quote A Skyflyer 3 uses ram-air pressure to shape the wing; that's something our arms can't do by themselves, so we use a clever design to utilize air pressure to do that for us. It's not much different than a ram-air parachute in that regard. There is an article that states that a single membrane layer provides the same flight capabilities as the original classic BM. Now I understand that with out the ram air concept we cant have either the GTI or SF3.Leroy ..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
earthcurve 0 #10 December 19, 2003 I wonder how much a webbed leg section would extend flight - like the web on a birdsuit - with one of these wings..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #11 December 19, 2003 probably not at all. You change the pitch of those devices by sliding yourself fore and aft under then wing. Critical to setup of SkyRays is center of balance. Dan Preston posted some pics and detail of one a few months ago from his last trip to Europe. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leroydb 0 #12 December 19, 2003 contrary to what most people think, I would like to fly the skyray...... no matter what others say... they propbally said the same thing about skysurfers or Bm back in the late 90'sLeroy ..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
speedformula 0 #13 December 19, 2003 does the skyray have a cutaway system ? hmmm I wouldnt want to deal with a malfuntion on that thing.....uugghhh it would probably feel like a fly caught up in a spider web. does the skyray have a cutaway system ? Keeping it real 22x7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leroydb 0 #14 December 19, 2003 yes there is a cutaway system... www.skyray.de i think thats the websiteLeroy ..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevin922 0 #15 December 19, 2003 Quotecontrary to what most people think, I would like to fly the skyray...... no matter what others say... they propbally said the same thing about skysurfers or Bm back in the late 90's one of the reason skysurfers stop skysurfing (besides the fact it is so dangerous) is because it is such a pain in the plane and an inconvenience to others (this is what some skysurfers have told me ) the skyray is 10 times the inconveniece in an airplane with a side door, I don't see how this will catch on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cvfd1399 0 #16 December 20, 2003 It would be cool if the wings shot out and extended like buzz lightyear form toy story! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Airborne03 0 #17 December 20, 2003 QuoteIt would be cool if the wings shot out and extended like buzz lightyear form toy story! "To infinaty and beyond!!!!" "Airborne all the way" EL Cantador Rodriguez Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greybeard 0 #18 December 22, 2003 I gave up skysurfing when I realized it just wasn't as much fun as it looked on video. Cool in itself, but not near as much fun as freakflying, crw, rw,or anywhere close to ws. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
