Did anyone watch that ABC show: Miracles?

[flying dog]

It covered that German woman in Northern NSW last year para-sailing who was sucked up to 30,000 feet; and lived!

 

Hell's bells!

 

She is lucky.

 

I'm wondering why they don't have EPIRBs though. They seemed to have every other electronic thingy-magig.

 

 

[Ballpoint 246niner]

Excellent ABC doco and I have watched it three times already. 9948m and only mild frost bite- incredible! Shows clearly the dangers in pushing the limits with weather. It wins most times....

 

 

[turboplanner]

Excellent report, lots of good detail about decision making under pressure

 

 

[skybum]

Girl was lucky hypothermia and unconciousness got her before she suffocated. No decisions under pressure if your out to it.

 

 

[turboplanner]

You must have missed the last part Skybum

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

When this incident happened i was regularly flying PG's at the time so it drew my attention as to what happened. not surprisingly most of the details were released in German and other European before English. I was amazed like the rest when i read the plot from her GPS. It was her vertical speed that was the eye opener and was probably the reason that saved her. For a short period she was showing in excess of 10,000fpm. this probably got her out of the lightening band and fast chilled her and the quick decrease in oxygen levels slowed her mentabilisim down to hybination levels. Another thing that was not mentioned but may have played a big part is a womens mentabilisim is more robust and effiiciant than a males, so it is said.

 

Shame she set a few records but wasn't awake to enjoy the view. No mention as to what her TAS was.

 

Good show and good use of graphics to show what was happening and just enough drama.

 

ozzie

 

 

[Spin]

From the original thread on the subject - ABC iView

 

For those of you who (like me) missed out on the original, the above link is apparently valid for another week or so. Be warned, it is a big download 260Mb odd, but well worth seeing if your internet plan allows for it.

 

 

[farri]

Certainly did watch,thanks to Skeptic36 who posted, ( TV Alert ).

 

I`d forgoten all about it and was working on the computer when I decided to have a look at the forum,fortunately it was early enough.

 

If the facts given are correct,To me the real mirical is that after the chute collapsed and she was falling at 200 kph it re-opened again.

 

OZZI, you might be able to explain how this is possible, other than by miricle.

 

Frank.

 

Ps, Paragliding is the next thing I would love to do.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Frank, with the extra weight and drag of the ice aside, the canopy simply 'shut down' due to lack of pressure inside the cells. As with all ram air canopies be they PGs or skydiving canopies they need postive pressure inside the cells. High performance canopies are cross ported to allow air to move between the individual cells. This helps in faster recovery in case pressure is decreased in one individual cell that may be caused by pilot imput or turbulance. As well as the vertical cell dividers some canopies have additional cross bracing to assit in keeping the canopy rigid.

 

I'd say that when she was at the maximum height gain the ice covering the canopy held it rigid as the air was probably to thin to do the job. some slight tubulance or temp change would have upset the delicate balance that was keeping the wing inflated. It would have shut down symetrically, cell by cell closing down. in a sense the canopy was packing itself the same way a skydiver packs theirs. I can achieve the same results with my canopy by simply pulling the two steering lines down past the stall point evenly untill the tail tucks under preventing any air entering the openings at the front of the cells and the canopy will enter a high vertical rate of decent. to reinflate one has to slowly and evenly release the steering lines back to normal position. as long as the canopy stays on heading and does not deflate or reinflate unevenly causing line twists, it will recover. in her case she had to lose some of the ice that was clinging to the lines and canopy and desend back to where there was enough air to reinflate the cells. probably not touching the steering lines helped give a clean recovery. one of the problems of high performance PG's is they are so twitchy to pilot imputs especially panicky to much to quick can make them wind up real quick. They are a fine balance between performance and safety.

 

A interesting version of 'coffin corner' i think

 

 

[flying dog]

If anyone wants, I have the episode recorded on my IQ. I could make an AVI of it, but it would still be BIG!

 

Probably better to get it form the ABC site while it is still there.

 

But......

 

;)

 

 

[farri]

Thanks OZZIE,Very interesting.

 

Wasn`t able to go paragliding today but I sure as hell was able to do the next best thing, NO NO, Not that, :devil: , Flying the Drifter, of course .

 

Cheers,

 

Frank.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Frank i hope you are still good at running. still wind launches are a pain in the knees did a few in italy the take off point was just over 5000'asl. felt like i had just run a marathon. bit of wind really helps.

 

Ozzie

 

 

[dazza 38]

Ozzie, i dont know much about chutes, but i was thinking at the end of the show, when they said, that she used the same paraglider, after the event.I was thinking, was that a good idea, i mean, wouldnt it had been stressed with the free fall, she went through, or is it built the same as parachutes you guys use, designed for that sort of stress? Cheers

 

 

[farri]

Frank i hope you are still good at running. still wind launches are a pain in the knees Ozzie

Bugger it OZZIE, Did you realy have to do that to me.

 

I`ve been half lame in the left knee for the last 3 months,doesn`t seem to want to come good,no problem in the Drifter though.

 

The Drifter it is then.

 

Cheers,

 

Frank.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Dazza the material is a coated zero porsity type. different types are used in different brands lines are a non stretch 'spectra' type.huge breaking load for the dia. i had a line wrap around my arm once thought it was going to cut it off and left a nasty burn. The canopies are extremly tuff but have a relativly short life as the UV rays destroy them in several hundred hours. the high performance types are usually lose most of their performance in a season. as long as they pass punch test and the lines and stitching are in good condition you can fly them till you can't handle the crap landings any longer.

 

Frank try a coastal site with 10/15kts and you can walk off instead of running. you should give it a go. a nice relaxing way to fly when you get into to it.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Dazza the material is a coated zero porsity type. different types are used in different brands lines are a non stretch 'spectra' type.huge breaking load for the dia. i had a line wrap around my arm once thought it was going to cut it off and left a nasty burn. The canopies are extremly tuff but have a relativly short life as the UV rays destroy them in several hundred hours. the high performance types are usually lose most of their performance in a season. as long as they pass punch test and the lines and stitching are in good condition you can fly them till you can't handle the crap landings any longer.Frank try a coastal site with 10/15kts and you can walk off instead of running. you should give it a go. a nice relaxing way to fly when you get into to it.

Thankyou Ozzie, i have just learned something new.I didnt give the UV damage much thought .Cheers

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

works out to around 15/20 euro an hr.

 

 

[farri]

G`Day OZZIE, Did a couple of hours flying in the Drifter again this morning .

 

I regularly go up in 25 kts,forcast wind,love the challenge but get thrown around a bit,great to maintain ones skill,however.

 

This morning while I was up there, I started thinking, " Wonder how a paraglider performs in windy,turbulent conditions ".

 

As our resident paraglider knowledge source,and as former one nation leader, Pauline Hanson would say, " Please Explain ".

 

Frank.

 

 

[Spin]

Frank, I'm sure Ozzie will chime in, in due course, however from my own experience paragliders handle moderate turbulence ok, but start collapsing various parts of themselves when the going gets too rough. I always found that the fluttering and popping as wing tips alternately collapse and then re-inflate, with consequent swinging and lurching in the pilot "seat" tended to result in a sympathetic fluttering about the sphincter and cardiac valves. perhaps some sort of resonant frequency?

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Frank, one of the short falls i suppose is the smallish speed range of the canopy.

 

normal flight is at full drive. speed depends on wing area and suspended weight. but around 35mph is average. The speed is controlled mainly by the steering lines. pulling on both acts as brakes and will slow the canopy progressivly until the stall point is reached. some canopies are fitted with a speed bar. a simple bar that you can rest both feet in that is connected to two lines one each running up past your body via some pulleys and are connected to the front risers. pushing on this bar will pull down on the front risers increasing the negative angle of attack and provide some extra speed. a by product of this is increased rate of decent. used mainly as an escape when the winds are getting near the speed of the canopy. carefully applied it can help during a speed run between thermals. or use it to get into a tight area without having to 'S' turn. turbulance can be a real pain in some of the more radical performing types, just like any other wing. because of the non rigidity of the construction the wing can tuck on one side and dive off in that direction. i have experience a couple of full frontal collapses were the nose tuck under neath. can be usually dealt with quickly with the right corrective inputs. but needless to say can really screw you up if it happens close to the ground. High performance are more affected as the trade off to win is stability within the wing. The more docile canopies usually just get bounced around with stability regulated by the pendelum effect. some weight shift is also used to steer the canopy.

 

To avoid the more scary situations a good understanding of micro met, is a must as well as being able to predict what the weather is going to do during the time you leave point A to arriving at point B. Like what happened to the two in the storm. looked good when they started to pass in between the two storm cells but a minute later the door was slammed in their face. always have an out. but you already know that hey

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Nova International (Service & Downloads :: Videos)

 

see if you can download this Nova video called "dynamic decisions" shows the flight testing and classification and handeling /recovery of the different performing canopy classes. big download but worth it.

 

 

[farri]

Frank, I always found that the fluttering and popping as wing tips alternately collapse and then re-inflate, with consequent swinging and lurching in the pilot "seat" tended to result in a sympathetic fluttering about the sphincter and cardiac valves. perhaps some sort of resonant frequency?

Spin,I love it,Thanks for a good laugh, , OZZI thanks to you also,this information is valuable to all.

 

Until recently I didn`t know that a parachute could collapse,important infomation to those who don`t know and believe that a parachute will save them in all situations.

 

And yes OZZI , You`re right, I do know we all need a way out,what I call,( Plan B ), had I not always had a way out, I would have been ashes a long time ago and taken someone else with me,I`ve had my fair share of engine failures,I always fly with a ( way out ),each time I fly.

 

Frank.

 

Ps,If anyone has more to add on original topic,please do so.

 

" Flying is easy,Crashing is hard "

 

 

[Tomo]

Just some paragliding at Rainbow beach.

 

 

 

Go for a ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[farri]

Thanks,Tomo,next best thing to the Drifter.;)

 

Frank.

 

 

[bones]

Rainbow beach is truely a beautiful place to fly, done many hours there in hang glider, and getting tow lanched off the beach is also another buzz, the first time is well, interesting t osay the least. really must get back down with David and do some more.

 

But for the flying jelly fish no thanks :) at least the wing on the glider is rigid and doesnt collapse, watched one day right out the front of the "blow", one guy started, doing tighter and tighter turns, then hit some rough air, the chute shut down, lucky he got his parachute out with about 100' to spare.