jumper03 0 #1 September 10, 2003 I didn't want to hi-jack nutters thread but to continue with the discussion of openings - Do people jumping birdman suits ever have hard openings? If their decent rate is slower then it would seem to me that would make hard openings a more rare occurence (from my simple minded view of what contributes to a hard opening). Or are we getting back to the problem of opening in a track and the forward speed contributing to opening "shock" as was discussed elsewhere? JumpScars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #2 September 10, 2003 QuoteDo people jumping birdman suits ever have hard openings? the long and short of it is yes, but it's not like a skydiving hard opening. Birdmen do have a slower vertical descent rate but the forward(horizontal) momentum is very high, especially if the person is punching it out at pull time. What usually happens is the outcome of a pull during max flight is a really fast opening. The birdman will actually pendulum back up toward the canopy as it snatches him because he is still moving forward as his chute is opening. Once the canopy fully inflates, it's a sudden stop for the birdman. To avoid this situation birdmen usually slow their flight down and get a bit "dirty" by arching as they clsoe their wings down for the pull. This slows forward momentum, increases vertical descent and allows for a less violent opening. Hope that makes sense to you."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #3 September 10, 2003 Perfect sense. That's how I saw it happening in my mind. Just wanted confirmation So can a birdman stop all forward motion for opening or is he/she stuck with some forward component? JumpScars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #4 September 10, 2003 Well based on what I've seen some first time flights do I would have to say yes But normally once a birdman goes into his pull sequence and closes down the wings he has bleed off a lot of forward drive and begun to fall vertical. If he waits a good while, while he is clsoed down than he can pretty much loose all forward drive and pretty much go back into a normal skydive descent. Again, thats usually something seen in first flights and most experienced birdmen do their pull sequence a bit faster."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
