Developments
in parachuteless skydiving, August 2005
An
unusual project, sponsored by Go Fast Sports & Beverage Co is
trying to perfect the art of jumping out of a plane without a parachute.
Jeb Corliss has been testing speed and fall rates in the aptly named
wing-suit, his aim is to determine the required paraphenalia and skills
to be able to land the wing-suit without a parachute. Test pilot Luigi
Cani teamed up with Jeb to gather data on the suits flight charasteristics.
Jeb flew in free fall with a parachute alongside Luigi, who was using
the world's smallest and fastest parachute the ICARUS VX-39. The two
were able to gather data using a GPS system attached to Luigi that
tracked their exact forward speeds, exact fall rate and the glide
angles so the calculations could be done to determine what apparatus
would be needed for a safe landing. Jeb Corliss is adamant that he
has four undisclosed technologies under development that will enable
him to land safely without a parachute some time in the near future.
"It can be done safely and it can be a repeatable process,"
said Corliss. "Not only do I believe I can land safely, I believe
I can land safely and get up and do it again."
Showcasing the evolution of the sport of skydiving, Luigi Cani spoke
on the uniqueness of Jeb's wing-suit project. "The testing
shows the technology of the sport-nowadays we can jump a parachute
that flies as fast as a person in free fall and currently we're
discovering technology to land a wing-suit without a parachute,"
said Cani. "If Jeb lands the wing-suit without a parachute
and survives-he is going to be my hero," added Cani.
More information at the birdsuit
manufacturers website.
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