Wingtip Pouch pilot chute system - "SWISS pouch"

[Lucifer]

The Wingtip Pouch for Pilot Chute or "SWISS pouch" is a system developed for solving the multiples pilot chute issues induced by large areas wingsuit. It basically allow you to release the pilot chute while flying, in a simple thumb / wrist movement unlocking the wingtip pouch, without modifying the armwings position. Many people tend to believe that it's going to be the next standard system for big area wingsuit PC deployement.


Concept :
The ideal situation and placement for releasing the pilot chute on a basejump requires these conditions :
- airflow as laminar as possible to avoid the PC hesitating in turbulence / burble
- release location as far as possible from any possible snagpoint to avoid having the bridle interacting with jumper / gear
- clean bridle deployement, PC pulling it all the way to avoid PC-bridle entanglement

BOC known issues :
- breaking the flight path : the angle of attack greatly increase when you reopen your wing for throwing the PC unless you are incredibly fast (loosing altitude and increasing the turbulences in the airflow)
- having some armwing fabric going between your hand and the stowed PC on some wingsuits
- loose PC throw inducing hesitation / delays

WS Leg pouch know issues :
- breaking the flight path : same as above
- hard pull : most of the WS leg pouches are done in ripstop nylon instead of spandex or expandable material, with just a rubber webbing on the pouch opening. This construction has proven to be suboptimal and to induce hard pulls if your PC is not stowed properly (making a "ball" of fabric inside the pouch when the PC handle is pulled)
- misspulls : lots of people reported to go BOC because of natural reflexes while using a legpouch stowed PC, especially in stressful situations when you don't have time to analyse and focus on your arm movement. The worse case being when some panic is generated because of any other problem - litteraly using all your brain power. The problem mainly occur when you switch between two different systems.



Wingtip Pouch description :
The underskin of the last armwing's cell is replaced by a spandex or expandable material. A flap made of normal fabric is added over it. The pilot chute is stowed in between these two layers, being pushed inside the last cell when you close the flap (because of the elastic layer, it goes inside the cell keeping it in it's normal inflated shape).

A release handle is added to maintain the flap closed. The handle is thin and soft,placed around the wingtip gripper. It stays in your hand, between your skin and the gripper. While still having the feeling of the gripper while flying, it just needs a wrist rotation out to open the wingtip pouch and let go the PC in the airflow.

Bridle routing :
The bridle is routed through a standard WS shrivelflap, then inside the WS armwing. The trailing edge of the concerned armwing is modified : the edge is closed by a velcro and an inner sheath is added - making a "shrivel-trailing-edge". Basically, when the bridle is pulled by the PC, it opens the trailing edge of the armwing progressively just like a shrivel flap towards the body - then container.

Aerodynamics :
TODO : Wingtip vortex simulation screenshots in different flying configurations.

Pro's
- Clean airflow on pull avoiding delays.
- PC released cleanly, pulling all the time on the bridle. No slack webbing floating around virtually supressing any chance of bridle / PC entanglements.
- No altitude loss or trajectory change on pitching - superfast pitch.
- Natural and easy wrist movement to deploy.


Con's
- Takes a little more time to pack the PC and route the bridle.
- More complex than the BOC.

Further developement / TODO :
- Specifically designed PC for wingtip-pouch usage.
- Better bridle slack stowing (ie inner pocket for the bridle inside the PC pouch)
- Improving the ergonomics of the system (ease of PC packing & bridle routing)
- Extensive testing in a safe environment in all possible flying configurations.

Contact :
Simon Perriard - simon.perriard@gmail.com

Any basejumper, skydiver, enthusiast designer or wingsuit manufacter are more than welcome to participate in the developement of this project, ask any question or propose new ideas to improve the system.

Illustrations :



Prototype trials on a modified VX over the BaseHouse in Lauterbrunnen.








Some more pictures of a R-Bird proto:





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