Re:how did we miss that before?
on
Ice Lake on Mars
·
· Score: 4, Funny
Are you kidding? With 200,000 troops, a herd of inspectors and millions of pissed off disaffected Iraqi citizens we couldn't find WMD in a country less than the size of Texas.
I sort of had the same thought you did; but wondered if the "crowd control" thing was more of an excuse for creating the device.
I wonder how effective it would be as a device for cover and suppression. If you aimed it at the window of a building from which an enemy (insurgent or otherwise) fighter was operating, could it be enough of a deterrent to allow your troops to better position themselves, or to otherwise act on the enemy's position?
The enemy fighter would likely limit his exposure to the window anyhow; but especially if anything he exposed to the window burned within seconds or sparked off like a spoon left in the microwave. I would think that would make it easier to position your own men. But then, I don't know how quickly this thing really acts. It may still be possible ot take quick peeks.
I think the prison-rape humor springs from a feeling that the U.S. prison system doesn't punish criminals enough. There is a sense that the prisoners are getting 3 meals a day, exercise time, free education frequently, etc. and are not really being punished beyond their separation from friends and family. The thought then goes that anything unfortunate that happens to them in prison is "just desserts."
It's flawed, obviously, and nobody is seriously going to say that rape is a good thing; but I think that's probably where it springs from.
We have 4 of these boxes (2 running single RedHat images, and 2 running LPARS with SuSE, and quite frankly, they rock. So, if your software is supported why not put it on the platform that performs best? And by the way, the cost might seem high if you do the pricing on their website; but nobody buys direct from IBM at retail unless they're a fool. Get with a business partner who will use the discount list to get you a deal.
You're right that it doesn't run AIX; but that's the whole point of the OpenPower. If you want AIX, buy a p550, it's the OP720 without the Linux-only tweaks.
In all, for the performance we get, our OP720's are cheaper than comparable Compaq boxes.
I work for a utility company that generates and sells power, and also transmits power. We're required by FERC to record all electronic communications between the generation and marketing side of the house and the transmission side so that FERC can ensure that we're not price-fixing.
There are other examples even within the company I work for; but you can get the idea.
Now, as for hiring people to read outgoing e-mails and IMs as a normal procedure, I'll believe it when I see it. Budgets are tight enough already. It's hard enough to get new labor allocated for real work. I can't imagine spending that money to read people's e-mail.
My post refers more to the hearings they're having than to the definition of science proposed in the post. I don't have much of a problem with that. For that matter, it's the first time I've heard how science is defined in the state, so I don't imagine changing it would make much of a difference to the students.
My problem is with the idea that we should be teaching that evolution is just some idea that was cooked up. It's been verified. It's been tested, and the hearings are essentially a way to make a show. They will trot out their witnesses and make a judgement. All of it's been pre-ordained; but by having the debate, they give the appearance of legitimacy.
Many of us are horribly embarrassed by this fiasco. Please don't hold this against all Kansans.
One of the irritating things about this is that while I believe in evolution, I also believe that it's God's method for our developement. So, in a since, I believe in an intelligent design type of concept; but I can't say that now without being associated with those who say they are for intelligent design but are in fact proponents of creationism.
Anyhow, the hearings are being conducted and "judged" by the proponents of ID. The scientists and evolutionists have boycotted the operation as being a farce. I have to agree with them. The witnesses will all be from the ID side, and the 3 school board members who are running the hearings are all ID proponents also.
When I have to drive a regular car instead of my Civic Hybrid, it always takes me a while to get used to the constant noise of the engine and the shifting of the transmission.
People get into my car and are wowed by the engine quitting at stoplights; but I've become so used to it that it seems odd if it doesn't.
If you're looking at eventually rising through the ranks into management and executive positions, an MBA would be a good idea.
If you want to be a tech for the long haul, perhaps a degree in mathematics.
Whatever you do, remember also that communication skills are important. You're not typically taught them in college (at least not very well); but your advancement will to some degree depend on them.
I think maybe they used evaporation to mean evaporation AND expansion.
As you burn fuel out of your gas tank, you need to allow air in to take its place. Otherwise, you'd develope a vacuum and the engine would quit. So, you essentially put a hole (vent line) in your fuel tank. As you climb, the fuel in a tank will expand and can push fuel out the vent line. It still sounds like a lot to me though.
I would guess it was a combination of those things and others we haven't yet confirmed, bad guages, etc.
That's correct. The Jet-A became sludgy at the low temperatures experienced at 47,000 ft.
JP-4 is what they're burning.
And just to back up what a lot of others are suggesting:
Yes, there is tremendous bending moment on the wing attachment points when the airplane is fully loaded with fuel. That's why the takeoff was so dangerous, and that's why the climbout was so carefully orchestrated. Turbulence and other "bump" producing phenomena are very dangerous for the fully loaded plane.
I understand the logic of the people who are chiding about being in a hurry or shortsighted, etc. but the truth is they couldn't test it fully loaded. There really is no way to off-load the fuel safely. Dumping that much fuel is neither economically nor ecologically a good idea. Also, the risk of imposing those stresses on the airplane repeatedly are too high. They reduce your chances of safely completing the record attempt. You could challenge them to overbuild the aircraft enough to do it; but that becomes an increasingly difficult engineering goal as you increase the margins.
This is an experimental aircraft on a world-record breaking flight. Maybe the last great aviation record. I know some of you are thinking that a couple of spoiled rich guys are chasing windmills; but I'm really pulling for them. They're continuing the spirit of daring adventure that grew aviation from the Wright Flyer to supersonic jets in less than 50 years. It's refreshing to see that they haven't surrendered their souls to engineering and are instead making engineering work for them.
Good luck Fellas. I'll be there in Salina to welcome you back.
You're not kidding. I didn't get any real respect around here until I started spending money on server class hardware, "enterprise" distributions, etc.
Funny how that works. You would think that I'd get more respect for NOT spending money.
The beginning of the end came during the Khruschev era.
Khruschev, unlike Stalin and Lenin, was a patriot for the system and cared about the survival of the USSR and the Soviet system of government beyond his own time of service. He hoped to decrease military spending and increase spending on domestic issues such as agriculture, education, housing, etc.
As long as the leadership (central committe, politburo) was convinced that the USSR maintained military superiority over the US, Khruschev was allowed to be a little more liberal with his spending. During the 1960 US presidential election in particular, there was a lot of talk about the "missile gap" and how the US had languished under Eisenhower/Nixon and needed its military might strengthened. Then, of course, Kennedy was elected and reassured everybody that there was no gap and that the US was indeed strong enough to take on the Ruskies. Add the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis in the mix and the Soviet leadership's grip on the economy closed again.
Khruschev was all but over after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and so was the Soviet economy. As the parent stated Brezhnev's uninspired leadership never challenged the military spending habits. The irony is that by not spending enough domestically, the USSR assured that their economy would dwindle and falter. Gorbachev understood the issues and was working toward solving them as much as he could with increased trade, glasnost, etc. but that put him at odds with the leadership and the military who were more worried about spending to match Reagan's SDI boondoggle. When the coup was attempted it sparked the endgame. The system had reached the tipping point and collapsed in on itself. Gorbachev had liberalized the country enough that it wouldn't stand for the military's coup.
Certainly, Reagan's spending sped up the endgame; but the fall of the USSR really began in earnest when the Soviet leadership ousted Khruschev. While certainly no altruist, Khruschev did indeed believe in his country and wanted it to thrive. Anyone who doubts this should read his speech to the Communist Party Congress in which he denounces Stalin and his policies. It was a move that was daring and shocking in its bravery.
Having said all of that, I'm glad we don't still have a Soviet Union to deal with. I like not worrying about nuclear war every morning, though I wish they'd keep tighter control of their stockpiles.
This terrorism thing doesn't even come close to the anxiety I felt about the Soviets. THAT was a scary time.
He's the man who jumped from a weather balloon at 102,000 feet wearing a space suit. On the ascent he had a problem with one of the gloves on his pressure suit. He elected not to tell anybody believing that the silk glove he wore underneath as a liner would keep his hand from rupturing. It did in fact keep his hand from rupturing, though it swelled to 3 times its normal size and was useless until the swelling went down.
The point I'm making is that it if the spray-on suit is flexible enough to allow you to bend your elbow, thereby stretching the material on the outside of the bend, could it be strong enough to not only contain the pressure of your body; but contain it with enough pressure to maintain its shape? With all of the potential twists and movements of a normal human body, how would it know what stretching to allow, and which to contain?
It should be noted that the PEOPLE want to be free
I know I'm going to get flamed for saying this; but...
History has shown us that if the people want to be free well enough to sustain a free society, they will themselves attain that freedom. They will protest, fight, strike, etc. until their freedom is won.
If they are not passionate enough to have done those things, invading their country and deposing their leaders will result in nothing other than what we're seeing in Iraq.
Certainly there have been some protests in Iran over the last few years by moderates and secularists in university, etc. But we haven't seen anywhere near the level that would indicate that Iran is ready for a revolution of our prompting.
I know this may come as a shock; but they don't wish to be Americans, or to be just like Americans. I know that as proud Americans we are likely to wonder "who wouldn't want what we've got, which is all a product of our style of government?" And while I tend to feel that way myself, I do in fact have the answer to that question, and it is: people who are not us.
A flood hits a small town and a homeowner finds himself stuck on the roof of his house surrounded by water.
A few hours into the first day a rowboat comes by and the man at the oars tells the man on the roof to get in, he'll make sure he gets to shore safely.
"No, thank you" the man on the roof says. "I have faith that my Lord will save me."
The next day, with the waters still rising, a powerboat comes by. Despite repeated entreaties, the man will not get off of the roof. "I have but to wait for my Lord. He will deliver me from the valley of the shadow of death." After more attempts at reason, the crew of the powerboat leave him on his roof.
On the third day the waters are creeping up the slant of the roof, and the man is stuck at the peak. A helicopter flies low over him and a rescue swimmer jumps into the water and swims to the man on the roof. "No" he says. "You may get into your basket and leave. I have been a servant to God my whole life. He will not forsake me. He will deliver me. You'll see."
On the fourth day the man drowns. He goes to heaven and after passing through the gates is greeted by God.
"Why did you leave me to die, Lord? Have I not been a good and faithful servant?"
...while in the practice area with a student. We were doing VOR intercepts when the entire cockpit became illuminated in white light.
It wasn't immediately obvious where the light came from; up, down, behind, etc. My first reaction, of course, was that being several thousand feet in the air, it must be another airplane. The thing is, without knowing where the source was, I couldn't tell what the proper evasive action was. I had no choice but to hold straight and level while I frantically looked around, half-expecting to get hit by another airplane. It only took perhaps a second or two to realize what was happening, and to locate the source on the ground; but it seemed like a lifetime waiting for our lives to end in a mid-air collision.
I didn't have the luxury of the FBI being interested. For that matter, the police helicopter that was operating over town wasn't even interested.
I don't know about 25 years; but this guy needs to be taught a lesson, as do others like him.
Most flares result in touchdown before a stall occurs, though at least in light planes a stalled landing is considered a good one. It requires keeping the airplane inches above the ground while the Angle of Attack increases to the stall point and drops the airplane gently on the runway.
The term "Angle of Attack" is defined as the angle between the chord line of the wing (a line drawn from the leading edge to the trailing edge) and the relative wind, which is essentially your direction of travel through the air. So for instance, during the landing flare the wing's chord line is pointed up with the rest of the plane but the airplane continues a slight descent, making the angle between the two very large compared to cruise flight where they're both pointed more toward what land-lubbers would call level.
The trick is that as the Angle of Attack increases so does lift... to a point. Every airfoil has a critical angle of attack beyond which airflow separates, lift is destroyed, and the airfoil ceases to work aerodynamically and becomes simply an object sticking out into the wind.
I would imagine that this guy will have to build a great deal of forward speed which will give him a flatter trajectory and therefore a lower angle of attack. He'll then need to raise his angle of attack at the right moment and flare without exceeding that critical angle, which may or may not be anything the engineers who built the suit ever determined. He definety does not want to stall the wingsuit. His life depends on its lift.
I know this guy is doing a lot of testing using gps data, etc. to figure all of this out; but it is exceedingly risky.
I predict this will end bad, though I really hope I'm wrong.
The point is that your tax dollars don't entitle you to IBM's trade secrets, or SCO's for that matter.
Just because they have to reveal these things to the judge in order to resolve their dispute doesn't mean that you automatically are entitled to the product of their work.
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Are you kidding? With 200,000 troops, a herd of inspectors and millions of pissed off disaffected Iraqi citizens we couldn't find WMD in a country less than the size of Texas.
Those rocket scientist kids are doing okay.
Maybe we should have sent them into the desert.
I sort of had the same thought you did; but wondered if the "crowd control" thing was more of an excuse for creating the device.
I wonder how effective it would be as a device for cover and suppression. If you aimed it at the window of a building from which an enemy (insurgent or otherwise) fighter was operating, could it be enough of a deterrent to allow your troops to better position themselves, or to otherwise act on the enemy's position?
The enemy fighter would likely limit his exposure to the window anyhow; but especially if anything he exposed to the window burned within seconds or sparked off like a spoon left in the microwave. I would think that would make it easier to position your own men. But then, I don't know how quickly this thing really acts. It may still be possible ot take quick peeks.
Any of you military folks have an opinion?
I agree that prison should be about rehabilitation; but I also think that punishment is an important aspect of it.
There has to be the lesson that illegal acts will cost them and have consequences. Rehab alone is not sufficient.
I think the prison-rape humor springs from a feeling that the U.S. prison system doesn't punish criminals enough. There is a sense that the prisoners are getting 3 meals a day, exercise time, free education frequently, etc. and are not really being punished beyond their separation from friends and family. The thought then goes that anything unfortunate that happens to them in prison is "just desserts."
It's flawed, obviously, and nobody is seriously going to say that rape is a good thing; but I think that's probably where it springs from.
We have 4 of these boxes (2 running single RedHat images, and 2 running LPARS with SuSE, and quite frankly, they rock. So, if your software is supported why not put it on the platform that performs best? And by the way, the cost might seem high if you do the pricing on their website; but nobody buys direct from IBM at retail unless they're a fool. Get with a business partner who will use the discount list to get you a deal.
You're right that it doesn't run AIX; but that's the whole point of the OpenPower. If you want AIX, buy a p550, it's the OP720 without the Linux-only tweaks.
In all, for the performance we get, our OP720's are cheaper than comparable Compaq boxes.
You can get just such a thing at dvortyboards.com. There's a hardware switch in the corner, and both layouts are printed on the keys.
www.dvortyboards.com
You get geek points just for having one on your desk.
Sometimes it's a regulatory requirement.
I work for a utility company that generates and sells power, and also transmits power. We're required by FERC to record all electronic communications between the generation and marketing side of the house and the transmission side so that FERC can ensure that we're not price-fixing.
There are other examples even within the company I work for; but you can get the idea.
Now, as for hiring people to read outgoing e-mails and IMs as a normal procedure, I'll believe it when I see it. Budgets are tight enough already. It's hard enough to get new labor allocated for real work. I can't imagine spending that money to read people's e-mail.
Oracle's preferred distro is RedHat. Their developers work closely together on integration and compatibility.
So, most of these burgeoning Linux Oracle installs are on RedHat.
My post refers more to the hearings they're having than to the definition of science proposed in the post. I don't have much of a problem with that. For that matter, it's the first time I've heard how science is defined in the state, so I don't imagine changing it would make much of a difference to the students.
My problem is with the idea that we should be teaching that evolution is just some idea that was cooked up. It's been verified. It's been tested, and the hearings are essentially a way to make a show. They will trot out their witnesses and make a judgement. All of it's been pre-ordained; but by having the debate, they give the appearance of legitimacy.
Many of us are horribly embarrassed by this fiasco. Please don't hold this against all Kansans.
One of the irritating things about this is that while I believe in evolution, I also believe that it's God's method for our developement. So, in a since, I believe in an intelligent design type of concept; but I can't say that now without being associated with those who say they are for intelligent design but are in fact proponents of creationism.
Anyhow, the hearings are being conducted and "judged" by the proponents of ID. The scientists and evolutionists have boycotted the operation as being a farce. I have to agree with them. The witnesses will all be from the ID side, and the 3 school board members who are running the hearings are all ID proponents also.
It's an embarrassing joke.
When I have to drive a regular car instead of my Civic Hybrid, it always takes me a while to get used to the constant noise of the engine and the shifting of the transmission.
People get into my car and are wowed by the engine quitting at stoplights; but I've become so used to it that it seems odd if it doesn't.
If you're looking at eventually rising through the ranks into management and executive positions, an MBA would be a good idea.
If you want to be a tech for the long haul, perhaps a degree in mathematics.
Whatever you do, remember also that communication skills are important. You're not typically taught them in college (at least not very well); but your advancement will to some degree depend on them.
I think maybe they used evaporation to mean evaporation AND expansion.
As you burn fuel out of your gas tank, you need to allow air in to take its place. Otherwise, you'd develope a vacuum and the engine would quit. So, you essentially put a hole (vent line) in your fuel tank. As you climb, the fuel in a tank will expand and can push fuel out the vent line. It still sounds like a lot to me though.
I would guess it was a combination of those things and others we haven't yet confirmed, bad guages, etc.
That's correct. The Jet-A became sludgy at the low temperatures experienced at 47,000 ft.
JP-4 is what they're burning.
And just to back up what a lot of others are suggesting:
Yes, there is tremendous bending moment on the wing attachment points when the airplane is fully loaded with fuel. That's why the takeoff was so dangerous, and that's why the climbout was so carefully orchestrated. Turbulence and other "bump" producing phenomena are very dangerous for the fully loaded plane.
I understand the logic of the people who are chiding about being in a hurry or shortsighted, etc. but the truth is they couldn't test it fully loaded. There really is no way to off-load the fuel safely. Dumping that much fuel is neither economically nor ecologically a good idea. Also, the risk of imposing those stresses on the airplane repeatedly are too high. They reduce your chances of safely completing the record attempt. You could challenge them to overbuild the aircraft enough to do it; but that becomes an increasingly difficult engineering goal as you increase the margins.
This is an experimental aircraft on a world-record breaking flight. Maybe the last great aviation record. I know some of you are thinking that a couple of spoiled rich guys are chasing windmills; but I'm really pulling for them. They're continuing the spirit of daring adventure that grew aviation from the Wright Flyer to supersonic jets in less than 50 years. It's refreshing to see that they haven't surrendered their souls to engineering and are instead making engineering work for them.
Good luck Fellas. I'll be there in Salina to welcome you back.
You're not kidding. I didn't get any real respect around here until I started spending money on server class hardware, "enterprise" distributions, etc.
Funny how that works. You would think that I'd get more respect for NOT spending money.
The beginning of the end came during the Khruschev era.
Khruschev, unlike Stalin and Lenin, was a patriot for the system and cared about the survival of the USSR and the Soviet system of government beyond his own time of service. He hoped to decrease military spending and increase spending on domestic issues such as agriculture, education, housing, etc.
As long as the leadership (central committe, politburo) was convinced that the USSR maintained military superiority over the US, Khruschev was allowed to be a little more liberal with his spending. During the 1960 US presidential election in particular, there was a lot of talk about the "missile gap" and how the US had languished under Eisenhower/Nixon and needed its military might strengthened. Then, of course, Kennedy was elected and reassured everybody that there was no gap and that the US was indeed strong enough to take on the Ruskies. Add the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis in the mix and the Soviet leadership's grip on the economy closed again.
Khruschev was all but over after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and so was the Soviet economy. As the parent stated Brezhnev's uninspired leadership never challenged the military spending habits. The irony is that by not spending enough domestically, the USSR assured that their economy would dwindle and falter. Gorbachev understood the issues and was working toward solving them as much as he could with increased trade, glasnost, etc. but that put him at odds with the leadership and the military who were more worried about spending to match Reagan's SDI boondoggle. When the coup was attempted it sparked the endgame. The system had reached the tipping point and collapsed in on itself. Gorbachev had liberalized the country enough that it wouldn't stand for the military's coup.
Certainly, Reagan's spending sped up the endgame; but the fall of the USSR really began in earnest when the Soviet leadership ousted Khruschev. While certainly no altruist, Khruschev did indeed believe in his country and wanted it to thrive. Anyone who doubts this should read his speech to the Communist Party Congress in which he denounces Stalin and his policies. It was a move that was daring and shocking in its bravery.
Having said all of that, I'm glad we don't still have a Soviet Union to deal with. I like not worrying about nuclear war every morning, though I wish they'd keep tighter control of their stockpiles.
This terrorism thing doesn't even come close to the anxiety I felt about the Soviets. THAT was a scary time.
I met Mr. Kittinger in October this last year.
He's the man who jumped from a weather balloon at 102,000 feet wearing a space suit. On the ascent he had a problem with one of the gloves on his pressure suit. He elected not to tell anybody believing that the silk glove he wore underneath as a liner would keep his hand from rupturing. It did in fact keep his hand from rupturing, though it swelled to 3 times its normal size and was useless until the swelling went down.
The point I'm making is that it if the spray-on suit is flexible enough to allow you to bend your elbow, thereby stretching the material on the outside of the bend, could it be strong enough to not only contain the pressure of your body; but contain it with enough pressure to maintain its shape? With all of the potential twists and movements of a normal human body, how would it know what stretching to allow, and which to contain?
It should be noted that the PEOPLE want to be free
I know I'm going to get flamed for saying this; but...
History has shown us that if the people want to be free well enough to sustain a free society, they will themselves attain that freedom. They will protest, fight, strike, etc. until their freedom is won.
If they are not passionate enough to have done those things, invading their country and deposing their leaders will result in nothing other than what we're seeing in Iraq.
Certainly there have been some protests in Iran over the last few years by moderates and secularists in university, etc. But we haven't seen anywhere near the level that would indicate that Iran is ready for a revolution of our prompting.
I know this may come as a shock; but they don't wish to be Americans, or to be just like Americans. I know that as proud Americans we are likely to wonder "who wouldn't want what we've got, which is all a product of our style of government?" And while I tend to feel that way myself, I do in fact have the answer to that question, and it is: people who are not us.
A flood hits a small town and a homeowner finds himself stuck on the roof of his house surrounded by water.
A few hours into the first day a rowboat comes by and the man at the oars tells the man on the roof to get in, he'll make sure he gets to shore safely.
"No, thank you" the man on the roof says. "I have faith that my Lord will save me."
The next day, with the waters still rising, a powerboat comes by. Despite repeated entreaties, the man will not get off of the roof. "I have but to wait for my Lord. He will deliver me from the valley of the shadow of death." After more attempts at reason, the crew of the powerboat leave him on his roof.
On the third day the waters are creeping up the slant of the roof, and the man is stuck at the peak. A helicopter flies low over him and a rescue swimmer jumps into the water and swims to the man on the roof. "No" he says. "You may get into your basket and leave. I have been a servant to God my whole life. He will not forsake me. He will deliver me. You'll see."
On the fourth day the man drowns. He goes to heaven and after passing through the gates is greeted by God.
"Why did you leave me to die, Lord? Have I not been a good and faithful servant?"
God replies: "I SENT TWO BOATS AND A HELICOPTER!"
...while in the practice area with a student. We were doing VOR intercepts when the entire cockpit became illuminated in white light.
It wasn't immediately obvious where the light came from; up, down, behind, etc. My first reaction, of course, was that being several thousand feet in the air, it must be another airplane. The thing is, without knowing where the source was, I couldn't tell what the proper evasive action was. I had no choice but to hold straight and level while I frantically looked around, half-expecting to get hit by another airplane. It only took perhaps a second or two to realize what was happening, and to locate the source on the ground; but it seemed like a lifetime waiting for our lives to end in a mid-air collision.
I didn't have the luxury of the FBI being interested. For that matter, the police helicopter that was operating over town wasn't even interested.
I don't know about 25 years; but this guy needs to be taught a lesson, as do others like him.
Come on Taco! How about it? Can we get an interview with the ISS crew?
The velocitator is the one marked:
"I think I can.. I think I can.."
Most flares result in touchdown before a stall occurs, though at least in light planes a stalled landing is considered a good one. It requires keeping the airplane inches above the ground while the Angle of Attack increases to the stall point and drops the airplane gently on the runway.
The term "Angle of Attack" is defined as the angle between the chord line of the wing (a line drawn from the leading edge to the trailing edge) and the relative wind, which is essentially your direction of travel through the air. So for instance, during the landing flare the wing's chord line is pointed up with the rest of the plane but the airplane continues a slight descent, making the angle between the two very large compared to cruise flight where they're both pointed more toward what land-lubbers would call level.
The trick is that as the Angle of Attack increases so does lift... to a point. Every airfoil has a critical angle of attack beyond which airflow separates, lift is destroyed, and the airfoil ceases to work aerodynamically and becomes simply an object sticking out into the wind.
I would imagine that this guy will have to build a great deal of forward speed which will give him a flatter trajectory and therefore a lower angle of attack. He'll then need to raise his angle of attack at the right moment and flare without exceeding that critical angle, which may or may not be anything the engineers who built the suit ever determined. He definety does not want to stall the wingsuit. His life depends on its lift.
I know this guy is doing a lot of testing using gps data, etc. to figure all of this out; but it is exceedingly risky.
I predict this will end bad, though I really hope I'm wrong.
Being part of the critical infrastructure, utility companies are taking security much more seriously.
The point is that your tax dollars don't entitle you to IBM's trade secrets, or SCO's for that matter.
Just because they have to reveal these things to the judge in order to resolve their dispute doesn't mean that you automatically are entitled to the product of their work.