Astro Spiral Jump, High School Project

News, notes, questions on the McHenry invented James Bond Astro Spiral Jump Stunt
brian
Posts: 499
Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:52 am

Astro Spiral Jump, High School Project

Post by brian »

This is related to prior topics: Feb 21, 2011: Q: Are the ramps that were used for the jump still in existence? And what kind of car needs to be used? And if I have a different car to the one in the film, will the ramps still work or does it need to be recalculated?

A: The original ramps, which were used for a touring auto stunt show some 30 or so years ago, and which were designed for a AMC Javelin, are stored in Orchard Park, NY at JM Productions. They haven't been protected from the harsh Buffalo weather and so are not in any usable form
  • (Ray, my brother Stan and I were up in Buffalo last year at the 99th Birthday Bash for Bill Milliken. After the birthday bash, Ray, Stan, Bill Milliken and his son Doug Milliken all went to visit Jay Jr at the Orchard Park facility (Jay Sr was in Florida, we had an amusing conference call with him). Somewhere I have photos of the ramps with Ray & Bill and once i locate the photos i will post them up)
The ramps used for the James Bond movie, which were designed for an AMC Hornet (actually a Javelin frame with a Hornet shell), i believe were destroyed after the James Bond movie shoot. Their may also be some ramps which were used by the auto thrill show tour of Europe after the movie came out. I'd suggest you contact JM Productions as they may have information of what became of those ramps.

As far as what is involved in redesigning the stunt for a different vehicle:
  • Back a few years ago we were contacted by the folks at TopGear as they wanted to see what would be involved in re-designing the stunt for a much smaller vehicle. We sent them a list of things which would be required to redesign the stunt, like measurements of the vehicle to be used weight distribution, moments of inertia, and other vehicle properties and didn't hear back. They apparently decided to wing it!
    See their amusing attempt to mimic the James Bond Man with the Golden Gun Spiral Jump on Series 11, Episode2
Question? Comment? Please email us
MORE TOPICS see:Forum Index & McHenrySoftware.com
(c)McHenry Software, Inc ALL Rights Reserved.
brian
Posts: 499
Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:52 am

Re: Astro Spiral Jump, High School Project

Post by brian »

Feb 20, 2011: We received some emails from a high school student from Sweden who is doing
  • "A project in my 3rd year in high school, which everybody does, that will be about Physics. I have talked with my physics teacher and we will try to recreate the spiral jump from the film "The man with the golden gun"."
And after a few email exchanges which included the prior forum posting, i received the following:

Feb 21, 2011: Q: So when I want to do the stunt, what will it cost to build the start and landing ramp as in the James Bond movie?

A: I admire your spirit and ambition! We aren't in the business of building ramps. The ramp for the James Bond movie was built by carpenters in Thailand. All that is required is some skilled carpenters. The Spiral Jump patent is available online and could be used as a template for ramps (the patent has long expired).
However the question would become:
  • What vehicle would you attempt the spiral jump with?
    How do the vehicle dimensions and dynamic properties of your chosen vehicle compare with those of the original spiral jump vehicle (AMC Javelin)?
Take another look at the what happened to the car used by the boys from TopGear.
  • Although it made for amusing TV entertainment, it demonstrates that the stunt can be dangerous and that the vehicle doesn’t simply rotate in roll. In their version of the stunt the rear end kicks out. What caused that to happen due to gyroscopic precession. As the vehicle is accelerated in roll the rear end of the vehicle wants to kick out and yaw the vehicle (steer it to the left). Take another look at the TopGear stunt (we mentioned the need for this to the TopGear folks, but guess the forgot)
    In the actual spiral jump stunt, a castor wheel was used with a kick ramp to produce forces to offset the ‘gyroscopic precession’ kick and allow the vehicle to properly perform the stunt.
Just a few things to think about before running the stunt!

Brian
Question? Comment? Please email us
MORE TOPICS see:Forum Index & McHenrySoftware.com
(c)McHenry Software, Inc ALL Rights Reserved.
brian
Posts: 499
Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:52 am

Re: Astro Spiral Jump, High School Project

Post by brian »

Feb 22, 2011: Q: I see. So if I use a buggy of some sort, could you use the programme to recalculate the jump so that I can hire the carpenters to build the ramps?

A: Um....This is you physics project? You need to learn all about which calculations are important and/or which vehicle properties might require changes in speed and/or landing orientation. And then you need to recalculate for your new vehicle? (you say you're to use 'a buggy of some sort'? hmmm...better wear a double harness and helmet!)
We can check your work so...get to it!
Question? Comment? Please email us
MORE TOPICS see:Forum Index & McHenrySoftware.com
(c)McHenry Software, Inc ALL Rights Reserved.
Post Reply