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Old 20th Sep 2014, 08:27
  #18 (permalink)  
bridgetoofar
 
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Vertical thinking?

I'm not sure the occupants of the cargo compartment would be too keen!

You compared airdrop to a dive bomb attack. You mentioned that all you would have to worry about is the wind..... Correct.

The wind is key, it is the most significant factor of calculating the release point. The horizontal component of velocity you are worried about is actually one of the most predictable aspects of airdrop and easy to compensate for.

To reduce the largest variable (canopy drift) we have to reduce the time the load is under canopy or steer the canopy. Steerable canopy = expensive. High speed canopies = high speed impact (high rate of descent) So if you ask a pilot what they want to do to get a load on a small DZ they will tell you "fly lower".

So when you realise how simple airdrop theory is you'll see it's bonkers doing aerobatics in a 60T aircraft to remove the most predicable variable of the calculated release point. (Forward travel distance)
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