Paragliders' Launch Trajectory is Universal
Popular Physics
2023-05-03 v2 Fluid Dynamics
Abstract
We designed and built a reduced-scale model experiment to study the paragliding inflation and launching phase at given traction force. We show that the launch trajectory of a single skin glider is universal, that is, independent of the exerted force. As a consequence, the length of the take-off run required for the glider to reach its "ready to launch" vertical position is also universal. We successfully compare our results to full-scale experiments, and show that such universality can be understood through a simple theoretical model.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2205.08411,
title = {Paragliders' Launch Trajectory is Universal},
author = {Quentin Da Cruz Lopes and Sophie Ramananarivo and Caroline Cohen and Michael Benzaquen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2205.08411},
year = {2023}
}
Comments
7 pages, 5 figures