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Skydiving by use of kite system (KS)
Why skydive? |
Skydiving links |
Governable gliding parachuting itself
is a species of free-flight kiting where the human pilot is the
falling-moving mooring, where the lines from harness to canopy wing form
the kite-tether set, and where the canopy is the kite-system's
primary wing; the human pilot mooring may shape or wear shaped matter to
modify the system's mooring for various purposes, including using the
kiting principle on the mooring system; in an extreme: a system
could be designed with very long tethers to enter into dynamic soaring
(see FFAWE).
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Brainstorm game session March 2011
(Planned are drawings to sketch the brainstormed scenarios)
Game rules:
Post a description of a kite system (KS) that gives a skydiver (SD) a
skydive.
Post at most one distinct scenario per post in this thread.
The descriptions may gloss over fine details.
Target is to generate at least 20 distinct scenarios.
Cares about safety over each scenario could come sooner or later; but the
game is closer to brainstorming than fine tuning. Detail discussion over
each scenario will eventually occur.
Along the way, mentioning motivations for skydives will enrich the
thread;
why skydive? Why use kite systems to skydive?
Ready? Have fun! There are some business opportunities radiating from
this game.
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Scenario #1: Wouldn't the obvious thing be
just to use a parafoil chute, and launch on a kite line? Perhaps it
would work best with a section of bungee cord and a safety release. A
stack of parafoils would help you to get out of the slow air near the
ground. PS: At the top end
of the tether, the skydiver could attach a kite to aid line retrieval. A
complete separate 'chute might be carried so that the first one could be
hooked to the line allowing a full skydive instead of just a
rapid-descent mode. ~ BobS
M3246
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Scenario #2: At the top end of the tether, the
skydiver could attach a kite to aid line retrieval. A complete separate
'chute might be carried so that the first one could be hooked to the
line allowing a full skydive instead of just a rapid-descent mode.
~ BobS
M3247
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Scenario #3 Wind Powered
Skydiving promises to be dirt cheap, but needs to fully reproduce the
basic function of the Jump Plane to really be wildly popular: It must be
a fast climb for multiple jumpers. Normal surface wind is not really
enough to allow a jumper to launch with only a tether & their own canopy
as a kite; that would require about 30knts for modern sport canopies.
Wind powered aerotowing is a partial solution, but these modes do not
favor free-fall, the essence of the sport. What's needed is a sort
elevator or upward zip-line held up & powered by large kites maintained
at altitude. At the top there needs to be a "sky terminal", likely a
light weight platform where several jumpers can gather.
The simplest existing model is a traditional "kite messenger", a
wind-powered line-climbing device. The skydiver might use her own chute
to rise along the line, as the power requirement is eased, but it would
be important not to rub lines or chute together. A leader line might
allow the jumper to work the chute clear of a main zip-line. The
ultimate system is likely a kite-based AWE-driven gondola cableway to
the sky, but it would be a considerable R&D project. Such a system would
have many potential uses, even including regional transit.
~ DaveS March 25, 2011
M3250
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Scenario #4 How about
slingshot launching the skydiver the way you do RC gliders. It would be
an exciting ride. ChrisC
M3251
- Scenario #5
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- Scenario #20
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