[JoeF]

Tumbleweed

NASA Tumbleweed Mars Rover
Other tumbleweed concepts
How might these matters affect hang gliding landings?
Nest of tumbleweeds?
Become tumbleweed-like in a morphing?
Deployable when near ground?
???
http://tinyurl.com/NASAtumbleweedSAFESPLAT

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/56663main_tumbleweed2.jpg

http://www.sciencenewsblog.com/pics/tumbleweed_rover_prototype.jpg

[JoeF]

Hmmm?
I'll think abut the Fliz bike toward Safe-Splat matters.
Wing running training?
Add wing ...

Article and more photos:
http://www.gizmag.com/fliz-bike-walking-cycling/23882/pictures

[JoeF]

Special artificial legs ...

Splat legs ..??
Knees with extensions that connect arresting elastics or arresting non-rebound sliders.
As ski hits, the artificial leg bends at a knee that has an extending arm; that arm connects to another part of the artificial leg with the elastic or slider.
The artificial legs cushion the splat. For low running and ground skim work, these might stay deployed.
Perhaps in soaring flight the legs could be stowed and then deployed for landing.

[JoeF]

WWWW or 4W Wide wheel when wanted, or WRWW wide roller when wanted.
Conception of JpF for any purpose, but the purpose of first conception regards placing around the 1908 Breslau hang glider A-frame basebar on A-frame control bar of hang glider a collapsed air bag; trigger with CO2 cartridge with controlled slow and deliberate opening of the airbag that is a long donut--not explosive--inflatable that rolls as a wide wheel; the basebar is the axis of rotation. The wideness and fatness of the elongated donut airbag assures rolling over more types of ground texture. Think of pie-crust dough roller; but instead of the wood making the wide roller, have an inflated airbag that is a long donut that is free to rotate over the basebar or even the basebar let to be rotating (be sure to keep a tension through-cable interior of the basebar).
Hint photo (think of wider and smaller than shown, but note the hole of the donut that allows rotation over a basebar; a bearing over a basebar is one way to have the rolling be free.
The collapsed WRWW could be in a streamlined pack. Instead of sharp thin wheels or no wheels, have a very wide fat uni-wheel, but out of drag making when not wanted, but hard inflated when wanted. This is part of the no-more-whack program and part of Safe-Splat program.





Tease : http://www.evergreen-maritime.com/produ ... -en23.html

[JoeF]

Prop guard and hand-holding device seems to have some Safe-Splat qualities:


Arthur Smith, Rogallo Tractor, Sep., 1971

Full page on history of Arthur Smith in model world: http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/smith2.html

[JoeF]

The deployable ski from nose to mid-body ....
http://www.shearwateraircraft.com/Techn ... roski.html
Hydroski
by Shearwater Aircraft
================================
See two such from nose of HG to connection at basebar with shock absorbers.
Minimalist: Just whip a foam block as shock absorber; whip front of arched ski to nose. Cross strut high, so as not to catch shrubs.

[JoeF]

Motivation:
Hang Gliding Accident

[JoeF]

Hang gliding and preparing to hang glide; wing running and preparing to wing run:
A preliminary to wing running is just running. Stumble and a season's activity may be lost. Track and Field have groomed tracks; athletes train to pick up their feet, use short spikes (not long), lift up those knees, drive forward. Sprinter stumbling is not a pretty site; add a wing to the stumble and deal with the mass momentum of the wing and the wing parts. Tissues tear, bones break. Sprinters in T&F are not wearing fall-mitigation gear; they have nearly nude bodies during the sprints. HG and Wing Runners (in or out of HG) often do not have groomed tracks and level clean turf. WR and HG invite higher-knee positions so the feet step above rocks, catchy grass, etc.

Running with wing very fast with full strong, coordinated, and deliberate gait with avoidance of stumbling by planning, mastery practice, preparation, skilled handing of all involved parts, and respect for specific environmental conditions. The activity sector involves stumbles; one stumble can end a season or a life of activity.

Contributions from football:

American footballers have various body-protection gear. What do they have for the chest and neck and face that might deal something to wing runners during stumbles? See: http://sport.org/2009/11/30/suit-up/

Their graphic:

==============
1. STOPPING: Avoiding sudden stopping (wheeling, sliding, sledding, gliding, ....) is part of the Safe-Splat story. Avoid having the airframe suddenly stop or your body suddenly stop. [A sudden flare in its own way is really not that sudden. We look at other events ... a wide range of events. ]
2. SHOCK: Another part is to look at shock avoidance (crush, spread, lower pressure, ...).
3. BENDING: And a third sector regards bending fast. Don't bend the neck fast? Don't bend the spine fast? Don't bend arm bones and leg bones fast? Avoid breaking and cracking.
4. IMPALEMENT: A fourth is avoidance of being impaled by objects of the environment (thus clean tracks, level and clean fields, ..). Objects: stubs, trees, sticks, rocks, pipes, fence posts, wires, people ... Don't be impaled by these object when splatting, wing running, taking off, landing, ...
5. COLLISION: Avoid colliding with cars, trucks, people, aircraft, rocks, fences, buildings, berms, birds, animals, trees, ... Plan ahead. But what to do when a collision is imminent? Safe-splat ...., but with what and how?
6. DROWNING: Be prepared to splat safely in waters.
7. ELECTRICAL SHOCK: In running, wing running, hang gliding: avoid splatting into live electrical arrangements.
8. REBOUND: Keep rebound to a minimum. Damping to a full stop in one direction is often much better than rebounding or bouncing back.
==============

[JoeF]

Rollerman
may have an offer that may tweak some winged Safe-Splat design explorations:

http://www.timeshipracing.com/photogallery/rollerman.html
http://thatsmags.com/prd/uploads/pictur ... 80x300.jpg

[JoeF]

In both scenes, the overhead zip line is not to be something to ride in first focus, but rather as only a stumble-fall-arresting secondary-use item. Think of not using the line except during a stumble; hence, the zip line will be held not far from the ground. We are not looking at long zip lines, but a line of span between posts of maybe 40 meters. The pilot is harnessed and tethered to a specially designed braking roller device; simple running will not actuate the braking; falls from stumbles will actuate the braking, but the braking is to be designed to gradually slow the progress of the pilot. The special braking roller is not shown.

DIY on-level zip-line trainer for wing runner trainee:
Have a cable made taut between to sets of bi-posts; keep the tautness by excellent soil anchors. Design the roller pulley to have the braking authority wished (not too much, as harsh stopping is to be avoided). The pulley rides with very low resistance during the run or wing-run; the drop tether is to the pilot runner. The runner practices runs with various intensities; next various training wings are carried, each with gradual programs of mastery. The winged runner gains strength, speed, mastery of gait, focus. Upon the eventual stumbles, the tether to the roller above becomes highly loaded which pulls on two squeezing arms to pinch the zip line for braking; the pinch an material is built so that braking is gradual.

Then later:
Slopes are used with a similar arrangement.
Now the wing runner is running down the slope. Intensity and wing mass are varied. Training of muscles and nerves and focus are involved Firm ability is a target. Ability to repeat the aggressive focused runs with proper high knee positions without stumble during various speeds from slow to very high ground speed form part of the exercise training sessions. Vary the wind experienced from head winds to tail winds to calm. Vary the wing mass. Test airspeed reporting against airspeed meters. Test acuity of guessing wind speed against meters. Vary the terrain. Upon the stumbles, the pilot will arrest the fall via the braking zip line arrangement.

Related:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip-line

The video of the zip lined hang glider is NOT quite what is intended in the above two scenes,
but is something to be studied for distinction purposes:

Disclaimer: Parts shown are not a recommendation for the subject scene, but provided as a directional tease:
http://www.ziplinerider.com/Zipline_Trolley.html

Only a tease toward part of the subject:
http://boeingblogs.com/bds/sightings/rope_700.jpg

Tease. Not quite.

Not quite, as the intent of the subject above is not this shown fall arrestor that lengthens and rips threads for fall arrest. But the harness to line is the tease. Subject above wants easy rolling along a line parallel with soil or slope.

Click through to see this tease:
http://sell.bizrice.com/selling-leads/3 ... ction.html