[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Parachute suit?

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Parachute suit?
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1197685422.shtml


   [1]parachute_suit 

   Via the [2]New York Times:

     Jeb Corliss wants to fly â not the way the Wright brothers wanted
     to fly, but the way we do in our dreams. He wants to jump from a
     helicopter and land without using a parachute...

     The landing, as one might expect, poses the biggest challenge, and
     each group has a different approach. Most will speak in only the
     vaguest terms out of fear that someone will steal their plans...

     ..Mr. Corliss will wear nothing more than a wing suit, an invention
     that, aeronautically speaking, is more flying squirrel than bird or
     plane.

     He plans to land on a specially designed runway of his own design.
     It will borrow from the principles of Nordic ski jumping and will
     cost about $2 million, which explains why he is so much more vocal
     than the others about his quest...

     ..Mr. Corliss said he could land safely at about 120 m.p.h. To
     protect his neck, he said, he will attach his helmet to a
     rigid-framed exoskeleton with the wing suit...

     .."Everybody wants to be the first one to do it,"..

     Which leads to an obvious and inevitable question: Why?

     "Because everybody thinks that itâs not possible," Mr. Corliss
     said. âThe point is to show people anything can be done. If you
     want to do amazing things, then you have to take amazing risks."

   It's one thing to take amazing risks, but these things only pay off
   when lots of people can do it. The flight looks like fun but the
   landing's a bitch. Instead of figuring out how to survive a landing at
   120 mph (with a 2 million dollar runway, a special helmet, training,
   etc.) wouldn't it make more sense to figure out how to significantly
   slow down before reaching the ground - maybe with a small reserve
   chute or some sort of toggle system?

   Like a novel, a flight needs to have a good, well-planned ending.

References

   1. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/sports/othersports/10flying.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1197745942-7yGT/ZMbt+jCIjC8FY7w/g&no_interstitial=
   2. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/sports/othersports/10flying.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1197745942-7yGT/ZMbt+jCIjC8FY7w/g&no_interstitial=