Anyone know anything about aerodynamics, etc.??

[nina]

Ok so I'm wondering if anyone can help me out with this. It's going to sound crazy, I know. But I want to do it so bad. And I think it could work. I dunno maybe I'm nuts. I live on the 14th floor of an apartment complex. The ocean bay is about, say...50ft from the building. Basically...I want to jump from where I am, into the bay. Yes. You heard correctly. I am thinking about flying squirrels, and how they sort of have those flaps that let them glide a bit. I'm wondering if I can attach something to like say...my wrists and ankles that would provide a good amount of drag. So I'd jump like flying squirrel style, with a little mini parachute to get me out far enough to make it into the water...and not hit at full force. I dunno, is it possible? There's also a LOT of wind up here. This idea might be completely improbable but I can't stop thinking about how much FUN it would be haha.

[Night Wolf]

Uh, not knowing too much about aerodynamics myself, I would suggest a hang-glider from the roof of the building. Probably more of a safe approach. It might not have the effect you're looking for, but perhaps leaving the flying to the lucid dreams is a better idea. If you manage to have them that is. Oooh, or you could try base jumping. However that could get messy...... It would be interesting to see if anyone actually has something that would work though, hell, I would be interested!

[♥Mark]

You're crazy! Even if you make it to the water, it's really gonna frickin' hurt to slap the surface of the water after a 14th(!) story fall. I think you should learn a little more about surface tension, rather than aerodynamics. You know how you can skip a rock across water, right? Well this time it's not a rock, it's your face, and it's not skipping across the water, it's being slapped directly into it. Besides, how deep is this water, anyway?

[nina]

Yeah I thought about a glider type of thing. The water is deep. And yes, I know about surface tension which is why I would like something that provides some drag/resistance. But I'm not sure exactly how much would be needed to avoid having my skin peel off.

[R.Carter]

Sounds like you need a zip line more than a hang glider. All you need is a place to tie off in the bay and you'd be good to go! In theory, mind you. You could use your heels to break the surface before impact..er..I mean splashdown.

[Howie]

Of coarse there has to be a mathematical formula based on your weight what you use and everything. But I think you should instead use your charm to get some guy drunk and use him as a guinea pig. (make sure he thinks it is his idea. lol) Hey. So the new place rocks?

[Seeker]

I know a little about aerodynamics, the glide ratio of a human pretty much sucks. You have seen those videos where people assume a glide position when sky diving? Or when they wear capes and try that? They do get some serious horizontal motion going, but only after they have accelerated to a pretty good clip. Somewhere >100mph. Someone mentioned here about what happens when you hit the water? 14th floor=approx 168ft. Unless you hit the water EXACTLY right, it will be fatal. A parachute might work.

[Darkmatic]

You basically need some kind of wing to glide , like a hanglider . But that being said , if a massive gust of wind were to catch the wing you would most likely be thrown out of control and plumment to an almost certain death . The theory of flight involves 4 main forces at play in flight . the are - *Lift *Weight *thrust *drag To achieve flight , you need enough thrust to produce lift (through the aid of a wing) . Flight is a real balancing act , and the human body isnt really that streamlined , and so it will produce excess drag which will counteract thrust and inhibit the production of lift . So , for a human to achieve flight they need A) to decrease their bodies drag B) A source of thrust , gravity can achieve this for gliders . C) A source of lift , usually by a wing of sorts . It can also be noted that thrust isnt necesarily needed , just a relative movement through the airflow . Kites achieve this once airborne , and need no thrust but can stay aloft merely by the relative movement through the airflow . So it seems your best bet to actually fly would be a glider . If you just want to make it to the water , it would be risky and dangerous to try a homemade parachute . I cant really think of a way you could get to the water from your balcony using a conventional bedsheet without risking your life . Maybe use the lift if there is one , this is a safer alternative though not as fun and daredevilish obviously .

[kimpossible]

Nah, she needs a flight-suit. I have two at home. The most fun you can have outside of the bedroom... The most times you can get arrested for having that much fun. Think Tombraider/Cradle of Life (I believe it was - where she dives off the skyscraper?) - that shot was effect-free.

[Ynot]

I love the zip line idea

[nina]

Hehe thanks for the suggestions guys...still not sure what to do yet...

[R.Carter]

Originally posted by Ynot I love the zip line idea LMAO! Thanks Ynot !

[kimpossible]

zip lining is not nearly as much fun as free-fall. Giving it some thought - you're not going to BASE or SkyFly that. It's not high enough. For some reason, I was thinking a LOT higher... Here's a picture of SkyFlying though:

[Xisdence]

hey nina, I reckon you should give it a try one day. You could only do it though with an onshore breaze that is blowing into your apartment, that will give you lift. Or an even cooler idea (more dangerous) you can use a traction kite or kitesurfing kite with an offshore breeze. That way you can do it from the roof, let the kite pull you off in one HUGE jump. As long as you have a lucky landing and your kite doesn't stall or go the wrong way, and everything else is perfect you'll be fine. Livin on the edge hun

[Neruo]

If you die can I have your computer? lol anyhow: A zip line would be the least leathal idea... But I don't know or it's legal and stuff. Maybe you could allso try a mini hot-air baloon? =) and a fan? =D

[Jrels]

lol Reminds me of the time when I was younger, and we convinced my brother to jump off our parents' roof with a trash-bag parachute.

[InTheMoment]

You guys are thinking way too technically. All you need is some liquid courage (in the form of your favorite alcohol) and a good running start. ~ Let the good times roll...all the way down the side of the building.

[nina]

Hmm I have to say that zip lining is out of the question. I dunno I could work with the mini parachute idea. But yeah, that flight suit thing and I'd drop like a rock.

[psirotta]

OK, Rocky, this is Bullwinkle, warning you not to even think about doing this without a glider that has a wingspan of at least 30 feet, or a ram paraglider, or a parachute that opens in under 1 second, otherwise you will be mashed on impact with the water. I am a hangglider pilot among other things, so I do know what I'm talking about. There is nothing you could stretch across your anatomy that would slow you down enough to prevent death. Humans just weigh too much relative to size. Flying squirrels and bats are extremely light and their wings are more than sufficient for their purpose. Anyway, upon entering the water attached to any flying device, you would probably drown. Many people have already proven that. Why don't you take up knitting?

[kimpossible]

Great post. As a skydiver (and sometimes BASE jumper), I second that. 14 floors, ~140ft, just isn't enough time. If you found a canopy large enough, it wouldn't be able to fill fast enough. I doubt you'd do any more than streamer even a small canopy. Speaking of BASE: That's specifically what you're looking to do - BASE stands for Building, Ariel, Span, Earth. Now if you wanted to jump from a thousand foot building, that's a different matter all together.

[nina]

Haha...ok ok. That sucks. I guess I'll just have to stare at the pretty water from up here *sighs*

[Need2Fly]

I teach paragliding and hangliding and have spent some time with base jumpers and skidivers. Basically what you want to attempt isextremely dangerous and likely to cause at least a certain degree of physical harm to you. That said I can completely understand your desire to try it. Firstly, you can't just jump - I know when you look down you feel as though you could probably make it with a good run but remember you have to think about how far you could long jump on the ground first. If you can jump 14 feet then thats how far away the water would have to be for you to hit it. From 14 storeys you'll be doing around60 MPH vertically when you hit - you might as well jump into the car park. It's gonna kill you. Some sort of glider is the best option but you need to know what you are doing. A hanglider for instance, from a standing start needs to dive almost vertically until it gets enough airflow over the wing to start producing lift. It will start to fly at about 20 mph - from there you would have to round out to a glide - it could be possible by someone experienced but its very dangerous. The airflow in and around buildings is extremely turbulent and it's likely that loss of control and a crash would result. Forget the wing suit, the wing area is so small the jumper has to be travelling way above 80 mph before a glide is produced - you simply dont have enough height for that! The "best" way to achieve this is to base jump it. 14 storeys is enough. The jump rig would need to be set for a neck breaker with the slider down. What this means is the device on the parachute that normally controls the opening speed is, for all intents and purposes, disabled. Also I would recommend the use of an assistant to deploy the chute by holding the drogue - that way all you have to do is jump without worrying about deploying. The danger of this type of deployment is that the chute can often open facing away from theintended line of travel - basically it smashes you right back in through Mrs Johnsons living room window on the 6th floor!! Have a look at some friends of mine base jumping in Norway, you'll get some idea of whats involved. Go here http://www.ekstremsportveko.com/ then select videos, then BASE You should be aware that these guys are not allowed to base until theyve completed 1000 skydives!! It's a dangerous business. Alternatively APCO aviation produced a rescue chute for people who work in hi rises - it came along after 9/11 - check it out here - http://www.apcoaviation.com/ go to Product then High Rise Emergency System After all this, I think I'd recommend trying to Lucid dream it first!!

[Leo Volont]

Originally posted by Aquanina Ok so I'm wondering if anyone can help me out with this. It's going to sound crazy, I know. But I want to do it so bad. And I think it could work. I dunno maybe I'm nuts. I live on the 14th floor of an apartment complex. The ocean bay is about, say...50ft from the building. Basically...I want to jump from where I am, into the bay. Yes. You heard correctly. I am thinking about flying squirrels, and how they sort of have those flaps that let them glide a bit. I'm wondering if I can attach something to like say...my wrists and ankles that would provide a good amount of drag. So I'd jump like flying squirrel style, with a little mini parachute to get me out far enough to make it into the water...and not hit at full force. I dunno, is it possible? There's also a LOT of wind up here. This idea might be completely improbable but I can't stop thinking about how much FUN it would be haha. Check out Paragliding. http://www.aerolight.com/store/agora.cgi they took what used looks like larger and more elaborate sport parchutes and turned them into designs sophisticated enough to actually gain altitude given the proper thermal and wind conditions. But what you want to do may qualify more as being a BASE Jump. See http://www.vertical-visions.com/faq.php. But if you want to build something like wings... I used to be an airplane pilot and can give you a few clues. The most important thing for any wing is airspeed. One of the tricks one does with airplanes is to slow the motor down and then point the airplane straight up until it hangs still in the air. Well, it can't fly like that. So the next move is to point the nose straight down so as to build up flight speed quickly, but also to align the wings into the exact direction of the flow of the air -- to have the wings pointed into the air at exactly the proper 'angle of attack' they call it. In many amateur competitions, where people build things with wings, their typical mistake is to keep the nose up, never allowing the wings to cut directly into the air. If you have some altitude to start with, always dive into the air to build airspeed and to allow the wings to cut directly into the air. As speed builds to a workable flight speed, one can pull out of the dive. In your case you would need an airmachine that could build sufficient flight speed inside of 14 stories of distance, which does not seem so very impossible. Now, it still has got to be flying and controllable. You do not want something that will only angle you into the water from that great height -- you may still hit the water at a speed great enough to kill yourself. You need a wingspan that is great enough, or I should say a wing-loading that is great enough to allow for a slow enough flight speed so that you can land on land or water at a speed slow enough to allow you to run or roll safely to a stop. You would like to have something like a Paragliding Rig or a Basejumping Rig. Paragliding might be better, since the procedure there is to deploy the Chute and have it full of air and above your head even before you take off. With Base Jumping, you have to toss the chute as you jump and hope that the thing puffs out before you hit the ground.

[Need2Fly]

Forget using a paraglider - it's like making a vertical cliff launch but worse - Believe me, a BASE rig is the way. Also regular skydiving and base rigs come with a "cutaway" system to release from the chute in case of unrecoverable tangles etc. A a cool trick that a friend of mine does is to base jump from my Tandem paraglider over water. He opens the chute at about 50 feet and then pulls the cutaway about 10 feet over the water - this would be the closest to satisfying your needs - the good thing about the cutaway is that you don't enter the water and get tangled up in your chute! I've seen a guy drown this way!

[nina]

Awesome thanks for the info, I'll definitely look into base jumping. I think I need to find a boy around here with all the equipment (hahaha) already who can show me what to do. That would be nice.