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?)