Many may think I am crazy but if I fail, I believe there are many capable riders that could easily get off the ground with wings - especially when riding downhill into a strong wind. Please post any planned attempts as a comment to this thread.
Just wondering what time frame you think you can advance from “I can now ride about 100 feet before needing to correct my balance with a cane” to “Experiment with riding a free-wheeled uni downhill”.
If you do some searching on Rec.Sport.Unicycling (where this thread should be posted) you’ll find that there have been but a few free-wheeling unicycles made, and they’re quite difficult to ride. I’d say there are only a handful of riders who are proficient at riding such a device.
Nonetheless, keep us informed of your adventures. I wouldn’t call you crazy, but I’ll definitely call you ambitious.
I suspect without wings it probably is very difficult. But I can envision standing on a non-uni wheel (not a freewheel uni) with axle pegs and maintaining balance similar to a windsurfer on waves.
I think what you are talking about we call a BC or “Impossible” wheel. here is an example
I am not sure what you are trying to accomplish, do you just want to get off the ground? That has been done many times with drops, jumps and ramps. no batsuit required.
What is the record speed on one of these?
Yes, I just want to get off the ground using small wings as extensions of each arm. Has that been done before?
Make sure your small wings are actually decent size, otherwise youre not going to get enough lift to raise your body.
BASE jumpers can achieve some control just using the palm of their hands. I do not need enough lift to raise my body when gracefully “falling” down a hill. Don’t forget that all Pecos Bill (an American Legend raised by coyotes) needed was a lasso to ride a tornado. My plan parallels the first flight of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk - downhill into a strong head wind! I don’t yet know how strong a wind I’ll need but there are times in Michigan when the wind blows at over 50mph.
K, just saw the skiwings, they look fun. Youre going to want to be able to ride without a cane, so just fully learn how to ride. Good luck with the records, though im not sure if idling or jumping will fully count while using wings to obtain extra height and distance.
Usually when jumping, the rider is holding onto the seat handle with one hand, so when you take off, youre going to need to squeeze hard with your thighs, find a way to attach the uni to yourself, or just drop the uni out from under you.
Also, practice some rolling hops to, just to get the motion. One guy said landing with a uni is just a bad idea, but he just doesnt know. Land standing up, legs extended but not fully straight. As soon as you hit the ground, keep rolling, and at the same time lower yourself into the seat again. This way will be softer on the uni, and yourself. A hard landing with you still on the seat, well, thats just gonna be stupid and hurt quite a bit.
Video the attempts cause it sounds fun. A 24" uni with shorter cranks may be better for this cause youll have more speed than a 20" but youll still have good handling on the uni.
Good luck.
Haha, Yeah, I was thinking of little cardboard flaps. Enough to make some adjustments, but not sure how well youll be able to start a glide with them. But looking at other wing designs, make it seem a lot more possible, and fun.
kooky!
wear safety gear
Don’t fly too close to the sun.
Would Luigi Cani be able to land a smaller canopy using a BC wheel? His record at 37 square feet is just 5 square feet bigger than a 4x8 sheet of plywood! It appears that he slides on his feet and then runs during the landing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3A46wANgAA
Landing a wingsuit on a sloped runway using a BC wheel might be more impressive and safer than Jeb Corliss’ plan to land on a $2,000,000 slide in Las Vegas:
http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/200802/jeb-corliss-freefall-stunt.html
Are there any experienced BC riders capable of such a stunt?
Ask these guys:
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1778399
Remeber the batman motto; always wear clean underwear OVER your tights.
The aeroplane was invented by two people who ran a cycle shop, and it took them a long time and a lot of money before they managed even a short flight.
But don’t let me put you off with facts and science. Have fun trying.
Maybe you could enter the Chelsea Birdman Rally.
Mikefule, thanks for youtube link.
Great to see others thinking along similar lines. However, as can easily be seen the bicycle was not necessary - I feel a unicycle will be necessary to land a wingsuit on level ground. Forward landing speed is likely to be 40-80 mph unless my camber induced batwings prove to be much more maneuverable enabling a controlled pitchup.
Are any unicycle jumpers using shocks? Please post links. A long shock absorber might be required not only to make a landing possible but also to prevent crushed gnads. However, a descendant of the coyote pack that raised Pecos Bill has flown a uni without a shock absorber.
Maybe I am missing something, but if instead of using batwings, whatever they are, you were to use an old simple hang glider, together with a downward slope and an uphill wind, then, provided you could ride with the hang glider strapped on, you would be airborne very easily and at quite a slow ground speed.
I remember my first hang glider flight: no tethers, no dual control, no radio. Almost as soon as I had any forward motion at all my feet left the ground… at which time, coincidentally, all the verbally imparted lessons left my head. It could be said that the flight was all downhill from then on. Not a pretty flight/sight.
But it was a flight, a good 50 feet or so, and I see no reason why it could not be done in a similar way by a good rider on a unicycle.
Nao
you’re not going to be landing any unicycle at that kind of speed, if you are going to be landing at speed you should definitely be using a bike, or perhaps a mountain board.
See, that’s what I was thinking originally. Cause with a glider, you dont even need to be moving. The win, design and size can be enough to lift you without the need of a running take-off. And if this was the case, a unicycle would be needed, but as being a unicyclist, I can see where the fun would be to do this with a unicycle.
With the right wing design, speed and other conditions I do see it possible with a smaller set of wings and getting some lift going on, but man, if your planning at landing at 40mph-80mph, a uni isnt going to cut it. Calculate the rpms needed for that speed, and remind yourself that a unicycle is a direct drive system.
Like Mornish said, something that can coast will be better. Maybe a BC, but that will be a very unstable landing. They have done this with skies, so something like a freeboard or mountain board would be awesome to use.
You are absolutely correct at those speeds with a direct drive system. But, as I indicated above I am also considering a BC wheel.
How fast do you think I can go on
considering that I will have wings to maintain stability. How steep a road will I need to find to reach 40mph on such a small BC wheel?