 |
| Main Menu - click above |
An extreme sport - Wingsuit Proximity Flying - produces large quantities of Endorphins and Epinephrine (adrenalin). Because the glide ratio of the suit closely matches the terrain gradient over which they fly, there is little margin for error. The sport has now overtaken cave diving and drag boat racing in terms of death ratio; it's the World's Most Dangerous Sport.
Chemical structure of beta-endorphin (1-9)
Epinephrine
These are skydivers with wingsuits. They have jumped from a plane, and are in danger only because of their closeness to each other and possible parachute malfunction. Nice views.
The wingsuit flyers above are travelling in a forward direction 2.5 meters, for every meter falling to the earth. This is the glide ratio, 2.5:1. Contrast a glider, with a glide ratio of 50:1. Wingsuits are not "good" flying contraptions.
Glide ratio examples
| Flight article | Scenario | L/D ratio / Glide ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Modern Sailplane | gliding | 45-70 (depending on span) |
| Hang glider | 15 | |
| Gimli glider | Boeing 767-200 with fuel exhaustion | ~12 |
| Paraglider | high performance model | 11 |
| Powered parachute | Rectangular/elliptical parachute | 3.6/5.6 |
| Space Shuttle | Approach | 4.5 |
| Wingsuit | Gliding | 2.5 |
| Northern flying squirrel | Gliding | 1.98 |
| Space Shuttle | Hypersonic | 1 |
| Apollo CM | Reentry | 0.368 |
If a person dives off a cliff edge on the top of a mountain, the vertical fall quickly imbues the person with enough velocity so that a wingsuit can start translating the fall into lateral movement. Without the suit, the parachute obviously has to be pulled to prevent a nasty accident - this is known as base jumping. With lateral movement, the wingsuit flyer can continue to plummet, but can closely follow the mountain's terrain below, as long as it's gradient is about the same as the wingsuit's glide ratio. This is wingsuit proximity. Exhilarating as sky-diving and bog-standard base jumping is, wingsuit proximity flying brings the adrenaline rush to extreme levels.
The following videos demonstrate folk "Using Glide Ratio to Stimulate the Hypothalamus & the Adrenal & Pituitary Glands."
 |
| Please help beat cancer - DONATE click above |
Unrelated to this post, below is an example of
eclectic science esoterica
These men are nearly 170 meters above the ground.
The bloke with the hat is holding the largest casting ever accomplished, of a metal then as precious as silver.
Washington DC, December 6, 1884
|
| Main Menu - click above |
