Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: MK-84 on October 15, 2012, 10:50:25 PM

Title: felix baumgartner...
Post by: MK-84 on October 15, 2012, 10:50:25 PM
...broke the sound barrier in a free fall. :O

I am curious about what happened after he transitioned from supersonic to subsonic.  I think I understand the concept of going supersonic, less atmosphere, but when the atmosphere gets more dense, then what?  He is hardly aerodynamic, so wouldn't he have felt/noticed a change?  I did see him cartwheeling like crazy on the infrared cameras after he had gone subsonic, was that a product or the transition, or that he couldn't see?  (his visor was fogged up, he apparently couldn't see for part of the trip down)
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: Soulyss on October 15, 2012, 10:57:17 PM
My layman's understanding was the tumble was caused by a lack of atmosphere, he just couldn't control himself till I got to a lower altitude.  But I could very much be wrong. :)
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: Krusty on October 15, 2012, 11:59:53 PM
The air gets denser slowly and evenly as he descends, so much like a P-38 in a nose down dive, you'll just gradually slow down as you hit the denser air.

I am curious about the moment he broke mach 1, though, and if he felt a shockwave or what.
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: MK-84 on October 16, 2012, 10:33:43 PM
The air gets denser slowly and evenly as he descends, so much like a P-38 in a nose down dive, you'll just gradually slow down as you hit the denser air.

I am curious about the moment he broke mach 1, though, and if he felt a shockwave or what.

Yeah me too.  I wonder in such a thin atmosphere it's even noticeable?
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: Old Sport on October 18, 2012, 02:24:48 PM
Seems to me that a small system of compressed-air jets at various points on the spacesuit and a small computer might have been able to stabilize the fall   :old:  

Maybe next time for the 150,000 foot dive !!!  :D
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: save on October 19, 2012, 08:19:56 AM
Maybe next time for the 150,000 foot dive !!!  :D

He will have a big chance to collide with some AH ponies up there  :lol

Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: Reaper90 on October 19, 2012, 06:15:38 PM
the real brave Felix was the one that went 2nd.... without that fancy-dancy space suit....




















































(http://img.gawkerassets.com/post/8/2012/10/e00nl_06345.gif)

 :lol
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: RicOShay on October 19, 2012, 08:00:36 PM
It was due to a scarcity of air molecules that high up. Chuck Yeager had the same problem when he took the rocket assisted NF-104A to over 102,000 feet asl back in 1963. When the rocket burned out he arched over in a parabolic arc and he had peroxide jet nozzles on the nose of the jet to force the nose downward. The planes normal control surfaces were totally ineffective at that altitude. He had to come down with the nose down to eventually force air into the engine so he could restart it. The peroxide jets failed to operate and instead he came down in a flat spin and totally out of control. At some point he deployed the drouge chute in the tail and this put the nose of the plane straight down. When he release the chute the plane immediately went back into a flat spin. At just 5000 feet he bailed out. The rocket ejection seat sent him clear but a piece of burning propellent from the seat burned a hole in his visor (he was wearing a pressure suit) and the 100% oxygen in the suit caught fire burning him severely. The NF-104A continue to flat spin into the ground at a leisure 200 mph.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_NF-104A
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: W7LPNRICK on October 21, 2012, 11:05:13 AM
Skydivers use their hands & legs as control surfaces & without air density those surfaces have very little effect...while tumbling out of control he probably felt very little turbulence until the air density increased....probably like free floating in space with little awareness of speed or falling at first...IMO I thought a drogue chute might have helped him stabilize earlier. There is a risk of getting wrapped up in the tether. Similar "Pilot Chutes" are used to either extract the main chute or to stabilize the skydiver during free-fall training.
http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_images/549/984549_110625200038_Ejector_Seat_Drogue_Chute.JPG (http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_images/549/984549_110625200038_Ejector_Seat_Drogue_Chute.JPG)  :salute
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: BaldEagl on October 23, 2012, 01:43:08 AM
David Letterman tonight:

Daredevil names then and now...

Evil Knievel...

Felix Baumgartner.

 :rofl
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: W7LPNRICK on October 23, 2012, 03:08:30 PM
Knievel was a wimp comparitively... :D
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: kvuo75 on October 25, 2012, 12:08:23 AM
I'm one of apparently very few who doesn't get what's really so impressive about this guy jumping from a balloon at 120k

I'm completely more impressed with actual astronauts.  there are several onboard the ISS right now, about 1.1 million feet alt, doing 17000+ mph.

people dead from high altitude balloon skydiving?

people dead from orbital flights?

who's got the balls again?



oh btw this guy "jumped" from the space shuttle in 1984, in orbit, and hence was in freefall doing the 17000mph, 350km alt :)

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Astronaut-EVA.jpg/600px-Astronaut-EVA.jpg)

oh he's actually in space as well :)

Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: titanic3 on October 25, 2012, 08:09:00 AM
Kvuo75 for the 150,000ft jump! :)

Cmon, you can do it.
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: Reaper90 on October 25, 2012, 02:58:40 PM
Kvuo75 for the 150,000ft jump! :)

Cmon, you can do it.

Kvou is just ticked that with a supersonic falling speed, even he couldn't hit Baumgartner with a field gun.....
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: W7LPNRICK on October 25, 2012, 05:53:53 PM
I'm one of apparently very few who doesn't get what's really so impressive about this guy jumping from a balloon at 120k

I'm completely more impressed with actual astronauts.  there are several onboard the ISS right now, about 1.1 million feet alt, doing 17000+ mph.

people dead from high altitude balloon skydiving?

people dead from orbital flights?

who's got the balls again?



oh btw this guy "jumped" from the space shuttle in 1984, in orbit, and hence was in freefall doing the 17000mph, 350km alt :)

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Astronaut-EVA.jpg/600px-Astronaut-EVA.jpg)

oh he's actually in space as well :)



Apples & oranges...IMO, I love astronauts but I can't see any of them wanting to EVA from orbit to a parachute, bu then again Felix ain't no Neal Armstrong either. I say let them enjoy the ride while it lasts.  :salute
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: kvuo75 on October 29, 2012, 11:46:34 PM

Apples & oranges...IMO, I love astronauts but I can't see any of them wanting to EVA from orbit to a parachute, bu then again Felix ain't no Neal Armstrong either. I say let them enjoy the ride while it lasts.  :salute

yea its apples and oranges, but they kept calling this "space jump" and whatnot.. 120,000msl doing 25mph ground speed is not "space". Apple.   1,100,000msl doing 17500mph with no way home without rocket fuel to slow you down enough for re-entry is "space". Orange.
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: B4Buster on October 30, 2012, 08:42:56 AM
kvuo, ground speed is really a moot figure in both cases.
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: W7LPNRICK on October 30, 2012, 07:50:33 PM
...what he said. Ground speed?  :huh  :noid
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: kvuo75 on October 31, 2012, 12:10:37 AM
orbital speed then.

it's the reason you cant parachute from orbit, no matter how hard you try. you need to first slow down enough to fall back into the atmosphere, then be able to survive re-rentry.


balloon guy didn't have to worry bout any of that.


Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: MK-84 on October 31, 2012, 10:02:29 PM
orbital speed then.

it's the reason you cant parachute from orbit, no matter how hard you try. you need to first slow down enough to fall back into the atmosphere, then be able to survive re-rentry.


balloon guy didn't have to worry bout any of that.




That does not make his accomplishment any less impressive.
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: titanic3 on November 01, 2012, 06:11:20 AM
orbital speed then.

it's the reason you cant parachute from orbit, no matter how hard you try. you need to first slow down enough to fall back into the atmosphere, then be able to survive re-rentry.


balloon guy didn't have to worry bout any of that.




You make it sound like anyone can do it. You should volunteer to try to break his record.  :cool:
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: kvuo75 on November 01, 2012, 08:48:15 AM
You make it sound like anyone can do it. You should volunteer to try to break his record.  :cool:


I heard that richard branson was considering it.. LOL

I'm not saying I would do it, just that _real_ spaceflight is much more interesting and impressive.
Title: Re: felix baumgartner...
Post by: vafiii on November 03, 2012, 01:25:08 PM
I heard that he used his dingy like a rudder to come out of the spin. Apparently it worked.