Journal smitty777's Journal: Military Wingsuits 1
Everyone on /. has been following the story of the jetman. It turns out that Wired is now running a story on military grade wingsuits which will allow soldiers to drop in from as great distances. The new lifting body suits have achieved a forward flight ratio of 5:1, which means a drop from 30,000 feet will translate to a 30 mile forward flight. At an estimated 60 mph, this would translate into a 15 minute flight. If you add jets to this thing like Rossy did, it is possible to double that to a 60 mile flight.
Even more interesting, New Scientist is speculating on the possibility of landing these things without a parachute as they currently do. This would be done by increasing the angle of descent from the current 2.5:1 to 4:1. You would also have to detach the lower half of your body to increase the angle if incidence as well. This video shows these crazy people grazing mountain tops as they fly only meters away from the ground on their way down. I may have to take a shot at this if my mid-life crisis keeps up any longer.
Even more interesting, New Scientist is speculating on the possibility of landing these things without a parachute as they currently do. This would be done by increasing the angle of descent from the current 2.5:1 to 4:1. You would also have to detach the lower half of your body to increase the angle if incidence as well. This video shows these crazy people grazing mountain tops as they fly only meters away from the ground on their way down. I may have to take a shot at this if my mid-life crisis keeps up any longer.
Mid-life crisis... (Score:2)
You would also have to detach the lower half of your body
Sounds about fitting for celebrating making it halfway through your life :P