Computer simulation of ski jumping based on wind tunnel data

The computer model of ski jumping described here considers the changing flight postures of the athlete. It is based on sets of wind tunnel data associated with the changing postures of the athlete during the flight. The computer modelling approach allows studying the impact of all variables, parameters, and initial conditions which determine the flight path — and thus the jump length — of a ski jumper. In addition, wind

u

(wind vector) in the vertical plane can be selected with any direction and speed. Insertion of the construction parameters of a given hill allows calculating jump lengths and also the landing impact (component of the moment perpendicular to the landing slope) as a function of jump length for the particular hill. The model enables the calculation of the flight path; the inverse approach starts out from flight path data and results in the time-funtions of the lift of drag forces and areas which can be used for a quantitative flight analysis.