[geeks] ultralight suicide mission

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 @ 19:19 -0600, Lionel Peterson said:

> >From: Charles Shannon Hendrix <shannon at widomaker.com>
> >Date: 2006/10/30 Mon PM 03:36:44 CST
> >To: The Geeks List <geeks at sunhelp.org>
> >Subject: [geeks] ultralight suicide mission
> 
> >This looks like fun:
> >
> >http://canyonrunners.org/
> 
> Why, do you want to be on "America's Funniest Home Videos"? Seriously though, it does look like it could be fun, if you can stop screaming "Oh S&#T!"...
> 
> One thing that always creeped me out was the (I'll get the name wrong)
> HALO jumpers from the 50's or 60's - they'd go up, up and away
> attached to a big helium balloon, to the edge of the atmosphere and
> then just "step off" and fall, deploying their parachute at just the
> right moment. Eek.

Um, no.  The world record for HALO jumping is just above 30K feet.

Any higher and it starts getting fatal very quickly.

I believe you are talking about the second era of high altitude balloon
flights done by the USA and the USSR in the late 50s and early 60s.  140
of those did involve parachute jumps, but they were definitely not HALO.

A HALO jump at that height is not possible.

If you don't free fall and get out of the upper atmosphere very quickly,
you will die due to inhospitable upper atmosphere conditions. That also
rules out HAHO jumps at extreme altitude.

Other notable features of extreme altitude jumps:

A single stage chute opening after a near vacuum free fall will
certainly kill you.

You can enter into a flat spin which you cannot get out of. You'll spin
faster and faster until your body is ripped apart and scattered.

Instead, you must use a multi-stage parachute and usually need a dragger
to avoid the spin.

HALO, yes... EHALO, no.

The research from the balloon flights in the late 50s and early 60s were
used to test chutes for men and vehicles, and also space suits for the
first manned space flights.

The world record was set in 1961 by the US Navy Stratolab V at 113,740
feet.  After that, the flights stopped since we didn't need it any more.

Most HALO jumps are at lower altutides like 15-20 thousand feet, with
some at 30K feet.

Even at "only" 30K feet you need special chutes and breathing equipment.



-- 
shannon "AT" widomaker.com -- ["Meddle not in the affairs of Wizards, for
thou art crunchy, and taste good with ketchup." -- unknown]