The Interforze Polygon of Salto di Quirra, in Sardinia, hosted last September 5 a very particular experiment that had as its protagonist the only woman in the world who currently practices the specialty of 'Speed Skydiving' at a competitive level, the sport is not fastest motorized in the world.
Mascia Ferri, Roman, started practicing skydiving at 19 years, but before meeting on his own road skydiving found time to get two degrees, two research doctorates and a master's degree, publish books and travel the world to present his research in the most important international sociology conferences. After the first records begins to travel even with the parachute; in 2018 opened the season in Portugal with a new and faster record, 387,04 kilometers per hour, becoming in fact the fastest woman in the world in the discipline.
The Speed Skydiving, as mentioned, has as its objective to test their limits and reach the maximum average speed possible, in a stable and aerodynamic position, in the kilometer of descent between the 2.700 and the 1.700 meters. Two instruments placed at the sides of the parachute bag detect the average speeds and then calculate an additional average. The PISQ has exceptionally made available some of the sophisticated equipment provided, the special high-definition cameras normally used for military testing activities, such as ballistic studies on missiles and space rockets. These are the same cameras that allowed to film and monitor the last phases of the return of the Chinese spacecraft Tiangong-1, which last April risked falling on national territory. The project is part of the memorandum of understanding recently signed between the Ministry of Defense and the Aero-space District of Sardinia (DASS) for the development of study, development and experimentation activities in the civil space and aerospace field.
"This experimentation - said the air brigade general Giorgio Russo, commander of the PISQ - enhances the dual role of the Polygon and in general of Defense, ie the ability to operate at the same time for the benefit of both the military and civil sectors. The project realized with Aerospazio 3D, a research start-up belonging to the DASS, renews the original spirit that in the 1956 led to the foundation of the Polygon itself, to insert Italy in the space race that in those years made Perdasdefogu the cradle of Italian aerospace research".
From the study of the data collected yesterday during the launch through the special markers applied in various parts of the athlete's body, it will be possible to analyze the posture during the descent and to identify the relevant bio-mechanical parameters in the performance. The hypothesis on which the researchers are working is that it is possible to study the aerodynamics that involves the skydiver in the acceleration phase through analysis applied to the variable-shaped wing profiles typical of the animal world.
The unique initiative, a concrete application of the dual use of the Polygon, which has been discussed for some time, was attended by the Department of Mechanical Mechanical Engineering of the University of Cagliari, the aerospace district of Sardinia and the industry, in addition to the Defense through the contribution in terms of technologies and specialized skills of Vitrociset.
