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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Super interesting posts. Not surprising that there's so much to learn about this sport. I just can't imagine the nerve it takes for the extreme lines...just like I can't imagine soloing hard routes. Alien life forms.
BAd
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Alex Baker
climber
Portland
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Ok, thanks a lot. A couple more questions: Do you get any feedback before impending stall? It's my understanding that most aircraft have pretty obvious warning signs (usually light and mushy controls), and one usually has enough time to gain airspeed before the foils totally stall. Is that the case for a wingsuit?
Also, are stalls easy to reccover from if you have altitude? Fixed wings I think are quite easy (only did it once when I was 16 in a friends Cessna), where paragliders do take a little skill and experience to recover from. Wingsuit?
AB
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chainsaw
Trad climber
CA
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Turbulent airflow develops on top of a wing when the angle of attack is too extreme and or airspeed too slow. Planes have a barometric stall warner that is fed with air from the top leading edge of the airfoil. It literally blows air through an acoustic device that makes a note like a small horn. We test our stall warners by blowing into the hole during preflight checklist. I have never flown a wingsuit. I wonder if the turbulence of airflow on top of the suit is evident to the flyer when stall is reached?
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snakefoot
climber
Nor Cal
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yes.. we can tell when the suit is stalling, it starts to fly sluggish, not as responsive and potato chips around in the air, kinda like a falling leaf.
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Pursuits like BASE or free soloing Half Dome are personal, and those who do them are in my mind living their lives. As long as they aren't risking the safety of others, it should be permitted. Even celebrated. That is the mood in Europe, or at least it was back when I was there. It was much more free than here in the U.S., where there are tons of laws intended to protect you from yourself.
Speeding is dangerous for others on the road. That law makes sense. Wingsuits put nobody at risk, other than perhaps rescuers. Rescue types WANT work. They make money and choose to do that work. I remember how broke everyone used to get in the rescue site if there wasn't any work.
Wingsuiters are getting whacked every month in Switzerland during season these days. They don't outlaw it. Adventure isn't regulated like it is here.
They are doing an incredible thing, and their skill is beyond even my comprehension, and I know what it is like to fly your body. These folks are good.
I'm glad that it is permitted, though. It is legal in the U.S. if it is not on NPS land. You can go wingsuit the snot out of Notch Peak if you feel like it.
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Mike Honcho
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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It is a ton of fun, quite addicting in the sense it's hard to get that buzz from most other sports. The only thing that's given my that feeling is before a big open water swim at the beginning of a Triathlon. Super intimidating with all these badasses in freezing cold water waiting to GO!
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The guy above
climber
Across the pond
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Do you get any feedback before impending stall?
Yes, pretty much as Snakefoot explained.
We fly by feel, one of our indicators of airspeed is the wind noise, which everyone tunes into in a different way. I can pretty accurately judge where i am in regards airspeed in the range between going fast, max glide, and nearing stall point by the sound of the wind. If you are coming close to a stall you'll hear it.
Then it's how the suit feels. When you are approaching the stall you feel less pressure in the wings and a lack of response to your inputs. It also becomes somewhat unstable. Basically flies slugish as he said. So by the response we are getting from the suit and how much pressure we feel in the wings when pushing down we get an early warning of any impending stall and a rough indication of our airspeed within our parameters.
Also, are stalls easy to reccover from if you have altitude?
Yes, stalls are non-violent and very forgiving if you have the altitude. Just point the suit to the ground and you are off.
Chainsaw, which Fernando would that be? I knew Fernando Brito but i assume you probably mean Motta?
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scooter
climber
fist clamp
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I watched a guy go in there from the Bosson Glacier in June. He didn't make it though.
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chainsaw
Trad climber
CA
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Man from above, yes I refer to Mota. One of the kindest hardworking cool people I ever knew. He used to be part of my F2 crew. Generous and bold. Fernando made me feel great about my climbing even though he sent grades way harder. I lived with Andres for a while so we chilled with Fernando alot. He helped me build things at the ranch I managed and didnt want to get paid. For Fernando, and my crew, life off the grid was paradissimo. I will never stop missing him. His passing was told to me by another jumper on my crew. Never did get the whole story. Didnt want to really. The thought of him burning in makes me cry. God Dammit! Get the knee Bahhhh, Fernando! Im gonna fire one for you right now!
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