# Man plans to luanch himself 20ft in the air

1. Jun 5, 2006

### scott1

Man plans to luanch himself 20mi in the air

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.06/start.html?pg=11
Ok so how much froce would he need to fire him and is it possible?
And how likely will he die(99.9% or 99.99999998%)

Last edited: Jun 6, 2006
2. Jun 5, 2006

### Tide

The article says 1,350 lbs of thrust. There was no indication of the distance over which that thrust would act so we have no way of evaluating whether he could achieve the speed necessary to rise 20 miles AND allow for very substantial air drag.

Also, the probability that he will die during the event is 0. The FAA will not approve such a preposterous stunt.

3. Jun 5, 2006

### DaveC426913

Um, this thread might not get the attention you'd hoped for, considering the wording of the title...

4. Jun 5, 2006

### scott1

Yes but I think I'am getting good enough attention.

5. Jun 5, 2006

### Pengwuino

I clicked on it just because the 20 foot thing sounded silly :rofl:

6. Jun 5, 2006

### FredGarvin

Tide, You'd be amazed at what they'll grant an experimental ticket for. Personally I think this guy is another in the line of morons that have a bit too much money and not enough sense to know that they don't know what they are doing.

7. Jun 5, 2006

### Tide

The speed required to rise ballistically to a given height under the influence of gravity and drag is

$$v_0 = v_T \sqrt {e^{2 g h /v_T^2}-1}$$

where $v_T$ is the terminal velocity. Try plugging a few numbers in! :)

8. Jun 5, 2006

### Rach3

This reminds me of a certain scene from Dr. Strangelove...

9. Jun 5, 2006

### Danger

Is this year's Darwin Award spoken for yet?

10. Jun 5, 2006

### Tide

No, but I'll second that nomination! :-)

11. Jun 5, 2006

### Mk

12. Jun 6, 2006

### scott1

Yes if he did the probabillity will be high.

How large would the crossbow have to be to luanch a person 20 miles high?

13. Jun 6, 2006

### Danger

Just off the top of my head, I'm guessing that it would need about a 10 mile draw length. (It all comes down to how good your string is. :tongue: )

14. Jun 6, 2006

### Cyrus

15. Jun 6, 2006

### Danger

So you'll be building one of these soon, then?

16. Jun 6, 2006

### Cyrus

A two seater. I will use my model piper cub for thrust. :rofl:

17. Jun 6, 2006

### Danger

Great! I'll take right seat. Just give me a minute to go get my Sumo suit and scuba mask. (That's pretty much the same as a space-suit, isn't it?)