Skydiving

To increase drag and prolong the time your mini-parachute stays in the air, you can enlarge the surface area of the tissue paper by making the parachute wider or adding flaps. Ensuring that the parachute is lightweight yet structurally sound will also help it catch more air. Additionally, using a heavier string or attachment point can slow the descent, allowing the parachute to float longer. Lastly, creating a shape that allows for better air resistance, like a dome or a wide canopy, can further enhance drag.

The speed of a skydiver after 5 seconds of free fall can be estimated using the formula for velocity under the influence of gravity, accounting for air resistance. In free fall, a skydiver accelerates at approximately 9.8 m/s², but due to air resistance, they reach a terminal velocity. After 5 seconds, the skydiver's speed would be around 40-50 m/s (approximately 90-110 mph), depending on their body position and weight.

If you have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), it's essential to consult with your doctor before considering a tandem skydive. The physical exertion and altitude changes involved in skydiving could pose risks for individuals with respiratory conditions. Your doctor can assess your specific health situation and advise whether it's safe for you to participate in such activities. Always prioritize your health and safety first.

For skydivers, the sky isn’t the limit. It’s just the beginning. Thousands of people each year try the sport of skydiving. Some only jump once, while others go on to experience lifelong adventures, maneuvering and flipping through the air.

“Skydiving is not for everyone. But, if you enjoy the challenge of learning to perform in a completely new environment, are willing to make the effort to do it safely, and can overcome your fears to make the first few jumps – the rewards can be tremendous,” says skydiver Bill von Novak. He has jumped around 5,500 times, is a fill-in instructor at Perris Valley Skydiving in California, and sometimes teaches a free fall course to Navy SEALS at Tac-Air.

Skydivers jumping from an airplane (photo by Bill von Novak)

First Jumps

There are three options for your first jump. However, before you can make any attempts at skydiving, a ground course on safety and equipment is required. The length and complexity of the course depends on the jump you choose.

The most popular first-jump technique is tandem. Tandem has the shortest ground course, and is the easiest to complete. You and the instructor are strapped together in a double harness (the instructor behind, with you in front). Your instructor wears the tandem rig, which contains a main and a reserve parachute. You jump out of the plane together, and the instructor takes care of opening the

In Louisiana, the minimum age to skydive is typically 18 years old. Those under 18 can skydive with parental or guardian consent, but specific requirements may vary by skydiving center. It's important to check with the facility for their specific age policies and any additional requirements.

No. Not even close, even though they do remain on active jump status.

80 m/s 2 up

(4 m/s - 54 m/s)/0.75 s = -50/0.75 m/s² = -200/3 ≈ - 66.67 m/s² (negative because he is decelerating)

Tim,Fred,Mary,Jane

Indeed why? There are videos of examples where a parachutist has deliberately set fire to their parachute in flight, however this is part of a stunt. For 99.9999999% of skydivers, they do not set fire to their parachute as it is needed to save their life.

For your information, all skydivers wear a reserve parachute for use in the case of a malfunction of the main parachute.

S(100)

Increasing the surface area, producing drag.

Because our activity needs good weather (winds, cloud ceilings) to accomplish.

Terminal velocity is determined not by mass (weight) but by air resistance. When the gravitational force is matched by the drag force (air resistance), acceleration becomes zero. If a skydiver did two dives, one with a backpack filled with feathers and one with the same backpack filled with lead, the terminal velocities of each dive would be the same, as the air resistance induced by the diver did not change from dive to dive. Weight alone does not influence terminal velocity. However, it is likely that a heavy person will also have a large projected area (surface area), increasing the drag coefficient, and effectively lowering the terminal velocity.

A heavy person is therefore likely to have a slower terminal velocity than a light person, assuming heavy people are also large and bulky.

The previous answer is completely wrong.

The differential equation describing sky divers is

dv/dt=g-k/m*v

where x denotes the distance fallen, and k describes the gas viscosity and interaction with the diver. This equation is an approximation, but one that is very valid in the case.

The solution to the equation is

v=(g m)/k + exp(-((k t)/m)) C[1]

where C[1] is a constant term determined by initial conditions. The terminal velocity is a velocity determined by long term behavior. For large t, the exp decay term goes to zero, so

v terminal = (g m)/k

Thus, it depends on m.

I agree. As a general rule, light jumpers need to add weight, (increase Mass) to fall at a similar rate to average sized jumpers. A Tandem pair require a drogue parachute in the freefall phase to increase drag and reduce velocity to compensate for the extra mass of the tandem passenger. If you threw a cat out of a plane and jumped out soon after, you would barely have time to wave as you flew past. The cat might even survive this cruel act. I once filmed a tandem where the TM was 115kg and the passenger was 105kg. I used my SCUBA weight belt with about 5kgs of weight to keep up. The company eventually saw the light and restricted him to passengers, 70kgs or less.

It depends what goes wrong

The maximum speed you can reach is also known as terminal velocity and this is the speed at which your mass is resisted by the air. Typically in a belly to earth body position, this is around 120mph. It takes around 10 seconds to reach this speed. The minimum exit height is 2500ft and would not reach this terminal velocity before they need to deploy their parachute. Most skydivers jump from a lot higher - between 10,000ft and 15,000ft. This gives them a freefall time of over 45 seconds and therefore they reach terminal velocity.

Once the parachute is open, the decent rate is less than 10mph, so no you do not hit the ground at maximum speed in answer to your question.