Joe Kittinger

[ASullivan 0]

I found a website on Joe Kittinger and i read that he jump from 70,000 feet. I also read that he broke the sound barrier. I didn't know that this was possible. I thought that everyone had a terminal velocity. can someone explain. thanks.

[skydiverek 63]

Cross-post : http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1514734#1514734

[diablopilot 2]

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I thought that everyone had a terminal velocity.

I did, but I lost it.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[airtwardo 7]

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I thought that everyone had a terminal velocity.

I did, but I lost it.

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I think you left it in the bar...

There's one in the 'Lost & Found' that
kinda looks like your old one!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[diablopilot 2]

Thanks man. Deployments have been hell since I "lost it"

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[airtwardo 7]

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Thanks man. Deployments have been hell since I "lost it"

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Hey I know!

I lost mine for a while once...

EVERYTIME that I pulled...I went back UP!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[mjosparky 4]

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I think you left it in the bar...

There's one in the 'Lost & Found' that
kinda looks like your old one!

If it was Pink and smelled like lilac, it was his.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[airtwardo 7]

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I think you left it in the bar...

There's one in the 'Lost & Found' that
kinda looks like your old one!

If it was Pink and smelled like lilac, it was his.

Sparky

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http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40708;


Here..YOU smell and tell ME...!

[url]

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[happythoughts 0]

Joe Kittinger

This person should definitely have his own thread in the history section.

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on August 16, 1960, from 102,800 feet, the highest altitude from which man has jumped. In freefall for 4.5 minutes at speeds up to 714 mph and temperatures as low as -94 degrees Fahrenheit, Kittinger opened his parachute at 18,000 feet. In addition to the altitude record, he set records for longest freefall and fastest speed by a man (without an aircraft!)

[mjosparky 4]

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Joe Kittinger

This person should definitely have his own thread in the history section.

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on August 16, 1960, from 102,800 feet, the highest altitude from which man has jumped. In freefall for 4.5 minutes at speeds up to 714 mph and temperatures as low as -94 degrees Fahrenheit, Kittinger opened his parachute at 18,000 feet. In addition to the altitude record, he set records for longest freefall and fastest speed by a man (without an aircraft!)

Except he wasn't in freefall. If he have been in true freefall he would not have survived.
The drouge not only slowed him down it stabilized him.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[jurgencamps 0]

Is a tandemjump free fall or not?

Jurgen

[darkwing 5]

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... If he have been in true freefall he would not have survived. The drouge not only slowed him down it stabilized him.
Sparky

Not sure why you say that, is it because he didn't have the freefall skills? Or due to some other factor?

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[airtwardo 7]

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... If he have been in true freefall he would not have survived. The drouge not only slowed him down it stabilized him.
Sparky

Not sure why you say that, is it because he didn't have the freefall skills? Or due to some other factor?

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If I may be so bold as to jump it before Sparky does....

One of the reasons FOR the jump was to 'test'
the High Altitude~ 'Space Suit'
To see if the Astronauts would be able to survive a cabin pressure leak.
(almost sounds like a lab rat job)

He was carrying with him likely 1/2 his body weight in bio meteoric recording
devices...the stuff was strapped all over him. There is no stable way to fall
w/o a drogue when leaping from what was basically a stationary platform.

You can arch all ya want...little effect.
And in fact even with the drogue he developed a serious spin.

Imagine spinning out of control at the speed of sound!


Another note...
On the way to altitude, one glove either had a leak or wasn't fastened correctly.
So beginning with the thumb, as I recall the story, the blood in his had begins to 'boil'
eventually effecting the whole hand. He said it was the size of a boxing glove, and hurt like hell! Ground told him initially to abort...and they had no idea how serious the problems
was...just that he was having 'some difficulty' with his hands.


He had tried several practice runs on the ground, exiting the gondola
which he described as more of a 'chair' with guardrails...but at altitude it was
a different animal. The suit had become cold and very stiff...plus undoing the safely
harness was a two hand ordeal, tough to do one handed.

He finally more or less had to 'throw' himself out.

He told us that being up THAT high, all visual reference is usque and for the first
few seconds he almost didn't feel like he was 'falling' at all!
"For a minute there I kinda thought we'd gone too high and I was gonna be the first 'spaceman' to circle the earth!"

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[mjosparky 4]

Airtwardo about covered it. He could not arch but was in a seated position due to the construction of the suit.

And know, in my opinion a Tandem is not in freefall. A drouge takes "free" out of freefall.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[darkwing 5]

Unfortunately, the drogue takes care of pitch and roll, but not yaw.

So, a skydiver with a sufficiently flexible suit could do it without a drogue, at least I see no reason why.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[mjosparky 4]

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Unfortunately, the drogue takes care of pitch and roll, but not yaw.

So, a skydiver with a sufficiently flexible suit could do it without a drogue, at least I see no reason why.

Maybe so, but with the amount of equipment he had strapped to him it would be tough to stay stable even at lower altitudes.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[happythoughts 0]

There is a lot of stuff out on the web about this.
People are theorizing about a lot of stuff that isn't necessarily accurate.

In this article is a pic of the gondola and his suit.
gondola

He actually had a problem getting up at one point because he was frozen to the seat. Temp -90F.

The drogue was supposed to stabilize him, but it didn't one time. It wrapped around his arm/neck and put him into an almost fatal spin.

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Kittinger's jump from Excelsior I nearly cost him his life when his drogue chute tangled, throwing him into a flat spin that caused him to go unconscious. Fortunately his chute opened automatically at 14,000 feet.

spin

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Jumping from 76,000 feet, his stabilizing chute, used to prevent the deadly flat spin, deployed too soon, and its shrouds became entangled around his neck. Unconscious, Kittinger spiraled downward, uncontrollably cartwheeling at 120 rpms. Fortunately, his main chute automatically opened at 12,000 feet, as advertised, saving his life.

Two revolutions per second.

Pictures

Pic 3 (exit) was taken by an automatic camera on the gondola. A lot of gear.