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What is an average launch angle for a typical ski jump?

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Gnartron.
Posts: 127 - Karma: 10

So I'm doing a math project where I'm going to model the projectile motion of a skier going off a jump using parametric equations.  I need to know what a standard angle of launch for a large ski jump is.   I'm thinking about the big jump line at Breck to be specific, but anything helps.

May 22 2010 12:36AM
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J.D.
Posts: 21362 - Karma: 5,141
I really don't think anybody breaks out the protractor man.
May 22 2010 12:57AM
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joly.sp
Posts: 2305 - Karma: 585
i believe breck is somewhere in the 32-36 degree range. good luck
May 22 2010 1:04AM
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AndrewNZ
Posts: 477 - Karma: 13
yeah but for speed checks, dont they use parametric equations to know if they are going fast enough.. Speed X angle = Distance?
May 22 2010 1:04AM
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,052
45 degrees is the optimum launch angle for the best combination of height and distance.
May 22 2010 1:05AM
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carbon.pulse
Posts: 3348 - Karma: 22
Im sure jon would know exactly what angle his jumps would be.
May 22 2010 1:17AM
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Forkstealer
Posts: 508 - Karma: 16
Scary as fuck for a big table though. I would say most big jumps sit between 30 and 37.
May 22 2010 2:00AM
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.Duncan.
Posts: 1375 - Karma: 459
I actually did a research project and found the angle of 2 jumps at Keystone, and for the OP, the information is on my other computer so i can get it to you tomorrow.
May 22 2010 2:12AM
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assface
Posts: 4319 - Karma: 2,031
correct me if im wrong, but i remember the stepover at momentum was like 47 or so, but that jump was not average in any way
May 22 2010 2:17AM
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ECfreeski3
Posts: 12019 - Karma: 125
while 45 is obviously the "optimum" way to maximize air, like someone said i think thatd be pretty gnarly on a big jump. idk really though, if i had to guess id imagine a regular feeling jump is in the 30s somewhere? im sort of curious to see some educated answers here actually, good thread
May 22 2010 3:11AM
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KRAMPUSNTROLLZ
Posts: 2715 - Karma: 355
yeah this thread is really good ive always been curious on the big 100 footers and jons jumps etc it seems like they would get out the protractor to match up the takeoff and landing
May 22 2010 3:32AM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,893

Not sure where you guys are coming up with 45 degrees.  Basically jump builders try to make the landing hill the same angle as the take off.  The bigger the jump, the lower the takeoff angle.  The reason for this is that the farther you go in the air, the more you lose momentum.  On the super big jumps, the take off will be close to 30 degrees but the landing stills needs to be steeper, because, as you slow down in the air, you start dropping faster. 

I'm not making this up either.  I spent an hour on the phone with a guy who built the jumps for the US Open.  I was doing research for my project.  Park builders cult should have this info too.  Pretty sure that the standard is 30 to 35 degrees.  They always look steeper than that, but I actually do have a tool called a laser disto which determines angles.  I can set it on the lip of a jump and it will give me the angle.  The times that I have been messing around with it and checking take off angles, they have always been between 30 to 35 degrees. 

May 22 2010 10:57AM
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anxju
Posts: 9371 - Karma: 61
45 degrees is optimal for distance ONLY in an ideal situation with no other factors... too bad we live in the real world where there is air resistance and drag... so the best launch angle is somewhere in the 30's
May 22 2010 11:07AM
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skiingpimp
Posts: 1176 - Karma: 31
Wind factor homie???? i did the same project in high school (10 years ago) for chads gap. I think it came out to around 54 MPH.

You should do a project on a joey from the great fuck up state of TX in a pull on plow tuck hiting breck jump to see how far he over shoots. That would be more interesting....can he clear the first hit to the second hit's landing???
May 22 2010 11:48AM
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Z-Juice
Posts: 3151 - Karma: 1,504
Yeah, I don't think it's 45 for a normal park jump.
May 22 2010 11:51AM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15949 - Karma: 9,431
i can do it on amped with cheats
May 22 2010 11:53AM
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Forkstealer
Posts: 508 - Karma: 16
Its pretty obvious that 45 degrees is optimal for both because the ratio of the distance to height of a 45/45/90 degree triangle is 1:1 beause the opposite anles of the two 45s are the same, so you go up at the same rate that you go out. The problem with a 45 deree takeoff is the same amount of energy is used in going up as is for distance. Once you factor in gravity this effect isn't quite as obvious, but for a 80 foot kicker you could expect to go pretty fucking high even with gravity, so they keep the takeoffs around 30-35 degrees so you dont fall the equivalent of a five story building onto the landing.
May 22 2010 12:08PM
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Edew19
Posts: 365 - Karma: 13
What?  Gravity is the only thing that makes 45 deg optimal in the first place.

May 22 2010 12:51PM
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ECfreeski3
Posts: 12019 - Karma: 125
as has been said, 45 is just physically good in ideal conditions. i know there are a lot of other aspects to bring in, which is why i said its probably mid 30s (so i guess i was right)
May 22 2010 2:53PM
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andreweckels
Posts: 594 - Karma: -4
i'm not buying 45 degrees is the average degree, thats like what you want for a backflip jump. just imagine skiing on a 45 degree slope and then think of sideslipping a jump. for big park jumps the take off is not nearly that steep
May 22 2010 3:42PM
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Holte
Posts: 10730 - Karma: 7,744
You'll be able to find everything you want to know and more for your project on the first two pages of Park Builders Cult.
May 22 2010 3:58PM
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Elmo.
Posts: 4317 - Karma: 663
yea i pick a number between 30-35 man depending on jump size and what type of jump
May 22 2010 4:03PM
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fouldsys
Posts: 7404 - Karma: 39
id say 30 is about right. aerials jumps are 50-70 degrees after a quick google
May 22 2010 4:08PM
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anxju
Posts: 9371 - Karma: 61
dude just stop. the reason 45 is optimal in ideal conditions is because the only force acting on it under ideal conditions is gravity. if there was no gravity the projectile would keep traveling in a straight line at 45 degrees to the ground. and 45 degrees is not optimal for height.... 90 degrees is....

like i said, the reason why 30-35 degrees is optimal is because of wind resistance and drag, which significantly alters the ballistics and motion path of the object. with drag and resistance acting in the opposite direction, one is better off shooting a little more directly to the target point
May 22 2010 4:21PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9210 - Karma: 5,357
you could just take a guess, you're teacher won't know the difference. Unless of course he's a park builder? And even then.

But on the topic of jump angles, I hate when I find jumps that are like quarter pipes and go vertical on hills and at skateparks.
May 22 2010 4:45PM
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leahey
Posts: 2548 - Karma: 32
A small park jump is about 25, a larger about 35, and a big stepdown about 45 but nothing over that.
May 22 2010 4:57PM
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gnarles.
Posts: 2587 - Karma: 130
90 haha no but probs 30
May 22 2010 5:08PM
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paulmay
Posts: 804 - Karma: 17
i wonder what the angle of the JOI jump was in 2007
May 22 2010 6:14PM
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I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
around 2/12 PI...

yeah, i'm a scientist, i know shit....
May 22 2010 6:31PM
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adamlukowski
Posts: 3676 - Karma: 311
You mean a clinometer! I use these in math all the time to find angles in nature and shit.
May 22 2010 9:57PM
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MLB
Posts: 4462 - Karma: 298

Ok....time to drop some knowledge.

So  i've built a few jumps, and been with some of the best jump builders in the world at cutter's camp. There are a few basic guidelines with jumps ( they are ONLY suggestions, and every mountain is different).  So take offs have to be the same angle as the jump ( the angle of the jump before any sort of transition is put into the take off). 

The landing schould also be about 2/1.5 times the lenght of the deck. 

The best large take offs i've seen ( take off of 15 feet...50 foot deck)  would be a 34 degree landing/take off.  Works wonders. Smalls about 20 degrees. Medium jumps can be sort of in the middle.   45 degrees is something you see guys ride in MSP in alaska.  So that doesn't work so well as a jump takeoff/landing.

Now there is also transitions, but this is done mostly by feel. After  driving a while a cat driver will just know by feel and sight what type of transition works best for what kind of jump.

Hope that helps.

May 22 2010 10:57PM
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