Russian Paratroopers to Land on Drifting Arctic Ice

[Backinblack]

Russian Paratroopers to Land on Drifting Arctic Ice

Russian Paratroopers to Land on Drifting Arctic Ice

[BossEyed]

Break out the sub, and deploy Hudson & McGoohan.

[NutLoose]

But watch out for Ernest Borgnine, he's a bad un...

[Argosynoise]

No need. Their black rucksacks are a dead giveaway.

[Backinblack]

I think that this is archive photo

[Bigpants]

Good Film!

Rock Hudson knows what to do with Russian Paratroopers...

[A_Van]

Rock Hudson is, of course, number 1 in this nomination. On the intelligence side, I would add Alec Baldwin as a CIA analyst (Jack Ryan) in "The Hunt for Red October" :-)


As for the article, the current Russian defence minister loves shows since his times with the emergency management ministry. Poor polar bears....

[BEagle]

I recall the tragic occasion some years ago when several jumpers made fatal dents in the Antarctic.

I've always suspected that failure to apply temperature correction to their altimeters caused them to deploy their canopies lower than they intended, with a higher vertical velocity than planned.

I trust that our Russian chums won't make a similar error.

[skydiver69]

I've always suspected that failure to apply temperature correction to their altimeters caused them to deploy their canopies lower than they intended, with a higher vertical velocity than planned.

IIRC it was to do with the failure to notice or to take into account the difference between ground level at the take off point compared to the DZ.

[KenV]

I've always suspected that failure to apply temperature correction to their altimeters caused them to deploy their canopies lower than they intended, with a higher vertical velocity than planned.

I'm confused here. For freefall/HALO jumpers, they are at terminal velocity long long before they get anywhere near the ground, so I don't understand the bit about "higher vertical velocity than planned."

And for static line jumpers, they don't deploy their canopies at all. It's done for them when they reach the end of the static line. So if the canopies deployed too low, it was because the airplanes they jumped from were too low.

Can someone clear up my confusion?

[KenV]

IIRC it was to do with the failure to notice or to take into account the difference between ground level at the take off point compared to the DZ.

Since the Russians are jumping onto drifting ice, their DZ is at seal level. So the only way this could be of concern for them is if they take off from an airport well below sea level. Seems unlikely.

[str12]

KenV

Perhaps they didn't want to land at terminal velocity but wanted something more conducive to life?

[Pontius Navigator]

If they land at seal level are they at risk of being eaten by the said seals?

[Trim Stab]

I'm confused here. For freefall/HALO jumpers, they are at terminal velocity long long before they get anywhere near the ground, so I don't understand the bit about "higher vertical velocity than planned."

The South Pole is about 9500ft above MSL, so air is thinner, so the velocity when they would have intended to pull their rip-cords would have been higher than for a jump at sea level.

[skydiver69]

Since the Russians are jumping onto drifting ice, their DZ is at seal level. So the only way this could be of concern for them is if they take off from an airport well below sea level. Seems unlikely.

Ken I was responding to Beagle recollection of a different and much earlier event.

[KenV]

Ken V. Perhaps they didn't want to land at terminal velocity but wanted something more conducive to life?

I think that's a reasonable assumption. The question I had is how does delaying their opening cause them to descend faster than terminal velocity? That seems impossible. Or did I misunderstand the statement?

[Tourist]

Since terminal velocity reduces with altitude, and cold air is denser, I can't imagine why....

[Fonsini]

Ice Statio Zebra also revealed several military secrets, not least of which was the ability of the MiG 21 to fly from a Russian base to a point 320 miles WNW of Nord, Greenland - do 2 low passes, and return safely to base on internal fuel only. Quite a feat in 45 minutes, bet the Lightning couldn't do that

[NutLoose]

They better get Clint Eastwood and the Firefox out of there before they arrive.

[Trim Stab]

Since terminal velocity reduces with altitude, and cold air is denser, I can't imagine why....

More correctly, terminal velocity reduces with density altitude. At South Pole, approx 9500ft amsl, and with summer temps around -20, density altitude would have been about 5000ft. Still high enough to increase terminal velocity by around 8%.