Special forces to use strap-on 'stealth wings'

Daily Mail ^ | 6/6/6 | Hickley

[jimfree]

To infinity ... and beyond!!!!

[jimfree]

To infinity ... and beyond!!!!

[Sarajevo]

Along with one of these........

[JewishRighter]

You sure the thrust figure is right on that? 35 pounds doesn't sound like a lot. Then again, I'm no aeronautical engineer. Just curious.

[Cliff Dweller]

"Either they will be dropped from higher altitudes, take advantage of high winds, or something else?

I imagine if you could release those guys at Mach 2 or 3, you get some distance on 'em. Sort like skimmin' a stone on a pond.

[conservativewasp]

I imagine they would be knocked out on contact with a mach 2 or 3 slipstream. To be followed shortly thereafter by a bloody crater.

[Toadman]

I'm not certain, but I think that if one exited the aircraft at that speed (mach 2 or 3) without some sort of protective shell, they'd be ripped apart!

I'd like at my buddy and say... "You go first."

[in hoc signo vinces]

She'd be first in line for a little experimental action...ha!

[in hoc signo vinces]

Clever. This thread could inspire a lot of foul creative thinking. :-)

[Cliff Dweller]

Yes I know you couldn't release them at that speed safely... I probably shouldn't have left off the /sarc tag.

I was just following up on the next Mad Invention idea

[lormand]

"BATTALION sized flocks won't fly into anything but each other!"

Sure, let's say we can't do it.

[zeugma]

I want that!

[Yo-Yo]

35 lbs is plenty if you have the lift.

Movie of Jet Sailplane in flight: http://www.silentwingsairshows.com/video/twinjet_1.wmv

[staytrue]

discovery channel's survivior show did a piece on an airplane where the pilot got sucked out the window and stuck on the nose of the plane.

the co pilot landed it and assumed the pilot would be dead

he survived quite nicely at about 500 mph.

[ken5050]

Question, please, from someone whoknows next-to-nothing about aerodynamics and flight. This wing is a small, but rigid structure..so don't you have to figure out variances for different sizes and weights of the troopers, in terms of center of gravity, stability, and distance than can be achieved..I mean..if one soldier was 6'4", 230lbs..and the other was 5'9", 160...the performance characteristics are gonna be very different, aren't they?

[Yo-Yo]

Are you thinking of Lt. Keith Gallagher and his partial ejection from a KA-6D? Excellent read at the link provided.

[COEXERJ145]

I could swear I remember seeing this in James Bond movie a few years ago.

[Yo-Yo]

From one person who knows next to nothing to another:

It doesn't matter if the wing is rigid or not. You could be talking about a hang glider with a nylon wing.

The different weights will affect the wing loading of the structure, so there will be performance differences between jumpers of different weights. How much of a difference I couldn't say. The main difference will be the glide ratio, but you're talking differences of a few percent, not vastly different performances.

This proposal also states that it can carry up to 200 lbs of equipment along with the jumper, so it is possible that the maximum allowable payload is adjusted to compensate for the weight of the jumper.

[JewishRighter]

Awesome!! Thanks for the answer and the cool pic.

[Toadman]

"he survived quite nicely at about 500 mph"

I wouldn't use those words myself, but thank God he survived!

I'm not sure what the speed of sound is at sea level but I think it's around 700 mph +

Now imagine exiting an aircraft at 2 to 3 times that speed. Perhaps one could exit from relative zero speed into a 1500+ mph slip stream, but my spidey senses tell me otherwise.