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Has anyone on here ever jumped off a wind turbine? If so what would you classify it as? I ask because Ill be jumping off lots of them here soon and I just wondered the logistics of the jump. Like is there a vertical edge to jump from like the back of the cell or do you just slide from the top and off one of the sides, obviously depending on wind and all. Also if the blades are spinning how much wind current do they omit behind them?

I think I'd call it an A. I'd suggest being very wary of jumping off of one except when it wasn't turning -- which implies little or no wind, and then you have to worry about object strike.

Just how tall is this turbine? Is it the kind where the rotors spread out from the hub (like a windmill), or there are two vertical rotors that are joined at the top and bottom?

thought I cannot give any advice, I would like to echo on that, and add a few more Qs.
All the turbines I have seen so far need internal access - how is said access for those who have already been "in". I don't mind some ingenuity, but don't care for the obvious B&E.

tnx

the turbines i have been at have padlocks at the bottom hatch, none on the top hatch. easy to pick, also easy to do without "ever been there."

use take-with-you SL as they are usualy short.

I have heard of some having built in door locks, but have not seen it.

See I got a job as an engineer this summer building them. So I will have keys, and the ones id like to jump off I wanna wait til they are erect but with no blades if possible. Also they are 80m towers.

80m is huge.

The German BASE Association (VDO) have done it legally.
They call it "Blade running". Basically they timed themselves with Radar on the ground and nailed each jumper's comfortable running speed and then calculated the distance back from the turbine on the cell for each one of them to start at at whatever RPM it was going at. Basically, they figured out that one has to pass by the rotor blade just as it goes past vert.
The above is a joke.Except for "The German BASE Association (VDO) have done it legally". Normally the wind is in the face of the turbine. . One would be exiting down the length of of the cell I would think.
take care,
space

80 meters is 262 feet. Jumpable but hardly huge ...

He means that 80m is quite tall for a typical wind turbine in this part of the US.

a picture: http://www.base-jump.de/.../media/Wallroth2.jpg

80 meter turbine is pretty big, it means the at the average mast-diameter ratio, that blade diameter would be about 45 meters.

They don't make wind, they use it.

Turbine blades slow the air movement fairly little, and have small amounts of turbulance.

As the blade moves through the air, it creates a relatively small turbulance wake. the mast makes more of a difference than the blades.

reading this i got curious how big they build these things, from wikipedia:

The world's largest turbines are manufactured by the Northern German companies Enercon and REpower. The Enercon E112 delivers up to 6 MW , has an overall height of 186 m (610 ft) and a diameter of 114 m (374 ft). The REpower 5M delivers up to 5 MW , has an overall height of 183 m (600 ft) and a diameter of 126 m (413 ft).

now thats a huge wind turbine!

I jumped the german (and belgian 105 meter version (from the top). I jumped them with the blades turning. Actually, they make a lot of noise, and are allmost more impressive than the jump. Also, if they turn (fast), the whole structure moves from left to right.

Of course, I jumped them with the wind in my back, so the blade behind me. The construction (being a pylon or a construction) is between you and the blades. So in case of a 180, you have to evade the pylon/construction and the blades. That will make you work harder to achieve that result

Of course, if they pylon is that high, you can make a nice delay and make sure you are open at the lower height of the blades.

My 2 cents,

Ronald

downstream from the blade there is a rotational force the size of the blade diameter, that turns the opposite way of the turbine. i've never jumped one, this is just purely theoretical, but might be something to consider. i guess the downdraft can be noticeable if you fly out of the wake on the side where the blade are rising. anyone with experience from jumping working turbines ever noticed this?

Most of the wind turbines installed in North America that are 80 meters towers are built with 37 meters blade. So when one of the blade is facing down, the tip is at 43 meters from the ground. I climbed these turbines many times and I don't think jumping while they're spinning is a very good idea. From what I can tell ya is that there is an important turbulence zone around the blade as well while in operation. If you climb one of these wind turbines, even when they are shut down, you need to make sure NOT to touch any buss-bar / cables running down towers sections. Also, because they don't turn doesn't mean they won't start turning in a second. It can be started from somewhere else so be careful.

take care

your talking about accelerated slipstream, in order for a force to be created to turn the turbine, a equal amount of air must be dynamicaly displaced.


the turbulence i THINK would not be terribly strong, however i do not know for sure.

well, i now have about 15 jumps from really big ones.
3 mw, 111m height(where the blade is attached) 90 m blade diameter.
i've jumped in no to 10+ m/s winds with various delays and, for what it's worth, never noticed anything.1 clean 180(in no winds....), everything else on heading. i jump a vented flik at 0.7.
besides its super cool when you climb by the huge blades and it's blowing..
i looove that sound.
the shaking sucks though...

soooooooo.... i wonder when they'll start building these in ohio?

I have to agree with you on that, the sound is pretty cool when you open the hatch on the top and it's turning,

It doesn't look like it from the bottom but sometimes it's rocking pretty bad up there..

The great thing about these wind mills is that there is no cables every 120 degrees. It can help in case of 180

Did you jump when the blades were spinning?

i had it only once that the blades weren't spinning...it's really no problem.
no problem with an 80m one as well.
plus you know for sure were the wind is coming from when the blades are spinning.
go for it! i think with some wind a windmill is the second safest object you'll find.

basedude http://www.basedudes.be/ they had a video of there wind turbine jump on the site but now I don't see it ,you can e-mail and ask abut it

here is a way to explain it...

so turbulance i agree can be anything where the airflow is not uniform, as in there is no bumps in it.

so, the turbulance downwind of a turbine would not be terrible, because it is not a swirling kind of turbulance as would happen around a building, all it is is a slight change in direction of the wind...

like if the blade is going up the air downwind of it would have a slight downward vector to it, slight compared to the wind dierction itself.

of course, the tip of the blade has its own wake, a spiraling wake, but considering its speed, i doubt it will have a noticable effect.

let me contribute something...

the wind is spinning the windmill. thus the windmill is extracting energy from the wind. this is a far cry from a propeller adding energy to the wind.

yes it will change the wind patterns, but will it do so more than a tree or an antenna?

1) Yes, absolutely right.
2) Wind turbines are driven by the wind, not "started from somewhere else" that would be a motor.

Be well :)

Yep that is right, but what I was trying to say is that the wind mill can be shut down from an office miles away via a fiber optic network etc.. It can be shut down for any reason and can start at any time. Even when there is 20 mph wind, the blades and the nacelle can be pitched so it almost doesn't catch the wind. Then, the operator miles away, can clicks on his computer, the blades are pitching and it starts spinning like hell in a minute. I have been working on these a little while ago.

anyone has nice pictures of a jump from a wind mill?



Be safe out there and enjoy

call me paranoid .. but i used to work for fpl energy (largest US owner of wind turbines) ... id stay away from posting on this if your actively jumping these .. yeah i know they made me paranoid working for them. it be like them to monitor anything related and the author seems to know about them.

I actualy agree there...
I was scouting some lower high wind rigs on Maui HI, and they were brand new. got some scary looks from the crews up there. especialy if you know the story behind teh Hawaiian natives

Guvments and companies protect these things with a lot of motivations.

that much preciesion-built super expensive equipment has to carry a paranoid bunch of owners...

Okay you wind turbine experts, Whats wrong here?

looks like a gasket or flange cover for the blade pitch bearing is sliding out on the blade.

"The blade had stalled in an horizontal position, enabling the jumper to walk almost the entire length of the 150ft blade. But, just that little but of extra weight was enough to make the blade move beneath his feet, it's time to jump."

https://cdn.liveleak.com/...6059&ec_rate=499

Yes, was given access by a friend to one with "very easy access". dead calm day where the rotors were still. i exited directly off the opposite end of the rotors, ff from 240'. The top surface was flat and very grippy, with plenty of room for a solid run and push off

It is an A. Main reasons are its rather narrow and you usually jump downwind with no reverse eddies like some buildings.
Rick H
USBA
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