Blanik human chain - more Red Bull daredevilry
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Blanik human chain - more Red Bull daredevilry
Shades of barnstorming & Curtiss Jennys but still - respect to these guys! 
Hold on, where do you think you're going? Skydiver grabs glider's tail fin as they fly 2,100 metres up at 100mph | Mail Online
Hold on, where do you think you're going? Skydiver grabs glider's tail fin as they fly 2,100 metres up at 100mph | Mail Online
All very skillful stuff but the thing that made me gasp most was when he'd jumped from the second aircraft and a helicopter appeared in shot. I thought for a moment that it was going to end badly for the skydiver.
spoilsport
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All very skillful stuff but the thing that made me gasp most was when he'd jumped from the second aircraft and a helicopter appeared in shot. I thought for a moment that it was going to end badly for the skydiver.
Just brilliant!
And the photo perspective is a foreshortening effect due to long zoom...
We need more of this stuff to put the fun back in aviation (in the highly regulated world we live in today).
Brilliant!
And the photo perspective is a foreshortening effect due to long zoom...
We need more of this stuff to put the fun back in aviation (in the highly regulated world we live in today).
Brilliant!
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Originally Posted by Hobbit1938
Surely a trick of perspective? i.e. the heli was actually seperated by a safe distance horizontally?
Red Bull & Blanik is just a smoke screen. It's really MOL & Ryanair testing a new way to have connecting flights while avoiding airport fees. Of course there will be an additional charge for the connection.
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I'm impressed! In contrast to funfly, I always enjoy watching people perform stunts or 'silly things' in aircraft. Although this is a bit unusual for wing-walking, because normally they only remain in the centre of the wing. I should have thought that walking/crawling to mid-wing would have overstressed the airframe (unless its been deliberately strengthened).
Also, wouldn't the skydiver's body disrupt the airflow over the wing and cause the glider to enter into a spin? How did the pilot counter-act this?
Also, wouldn't the skydiver's body disrupt the airflow over the wing and cause the glider to enter into a spin? How did the pilot counter-act this?
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I should have thought that walking/crawling to mid-wing would have overstressed the airframe (unless its been deliberately strengthened).
Move weight from the fuselage to the wings and the stresses will become lower, instead of higher. That's why fuel (and in case of gliders: water ballast) is usually stored in the wings, and not in the fuselage.
So other than making sure that the top surface of the wing is strong enough to support a person, I don't see the need for any other strenghtening.)
Also, wouldn't the skydiver's body disrupt the airflow over the wing and cause the glider to enter into a spin? How did the pilot counter-act this?
You can see the differential aileron, by the way, in photo #2. There's no good shot showing the rudder though.
(I was going to say "simply countered" but I think this stunt is far from trivial, particularly in a glider.)
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"Call me a spoilsport but I have never had time for anyone attempting foolish things in an aircraft."
To my mind the really foolish bit is being outside the aircraft...
To my mind the really foolish bit is being outside the aircraft...
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The Blanix Team has 2 operational Blaniks and performed several displays this season. Their Blaniks may be the only ones airworthy in EASA-land after a very costly inspection and modification to get them back in the air.