# Onto what can you fall from 15K feet without a parachute and survive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852 "2009-05-09T15:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/21 "2009-05-10T01:24:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > A baby fell out of the window > We thought that her head would be split > But good luck was with her that morning > She fell in a barrel of… > Shaving cream! That’s exactly what popped into my mind (without actually remembering the whole verse) when I read the OP! Would shaving cream slow a person down sufficiently, or would you still maintain close enough to terminal velocity that it wouldn’t help? Or another option; 50’ of shaving cream on top of 20’ of whipped cream? (I’m thinking the whipped cream would be a bit thicker than the shaving cream) S^G ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/22 "2009-05-10T02:02:01Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > How about wearing a conductive suit, and dropping into a series of magnetic coils? Kind of the reverse of a rail gun. The whole thing could be tuned to supply exactly the right deceleration curve for minimal stress. > > Another option would be a series of stretchy, breakaway surfaces. high speed parachute drops use that - deploy the first, small chute on a bungee. It applies a progressive force until the bungee snaps, at which point you’re going slow enough for the main chute to deploy. Do the same thing on the ground. Build a giant multi-story frame, and stretch across it materials designed to slow you a bit, then snap and let you fall through to the next layer. Eventually you just stop. That’s essentially what those tree branches did to the guy who fell from 18,000 feet and survived. You should design amusement parks. I’d pay $1000 to take these rides. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/23 "2009-05-10T02:32:17Z")
> [@Satellite\_Guy](#): > > That’s exactly what popped into my mind (without actually remembering the whole verse) when I read the OP! > > Would shaving cream slow a person down sufficiently, or would you still maintain close enough to terminal velocity that it wouldn’t help? > S^G Maybe not-- there was some [research](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPGxvOxu9gg) done on this subject in the 70s suggesting that shaving cream couldn’t support, say, a husky hiker. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/24 "2009-05-10T05:12:13Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:8, topic:495852”] Get them to work out how to save you from a fall of around 2000 feet and you’ll be covered for anything higher a well. [/QUOTE] It only takes about 1000 feet to reach terminal velocity from a standing start. I think it’s doable with existing technology: Here’s a clip and story about a stuntman doing a high fall onto an airbag - 342 feet onto an airbag 4.5m high, impact speed about 90mph. > **[Dailymotion](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5c4r0)** To make the math simpler let’s call that 135 feet per second and assume uniform deceleration over the entire height of the airbag which is just about 13.5 feet. If my math is right that works out to 20G for 0.2 seconds. On your back that would be uncomfortable but survivable (people have taken much high G loads for short durations and in worse body positions). Terminal velocity, as has been noted, is about 120mph in a spread position. So that guy is pretty close to what you’re asking for. Make the airbag a bit taller and this should be quite doable from a physics & survivability standpoint. For example suppose you want to limit yourself to 10Gs and you’re hitting at 120mph which is right about 60 m/s. It’ll take 0.6 seconds to come to a halt and you’ll travel 18m in that time, so a properly built airbag about 55 feet tall should do the job. Note that actually being able to pull this off would be tough - you have to hit the airbag in the correct position and most importantly you have to actually be able to hit the thing from 15,000 feet. If you have ever looked out the door of a plane from that altitude you know how tiny things are. I’ve seen film of Dar Robinson doing about a 300 foot jump from a helicopter onto an airbag, camera in the copter, and that airbag, which was the size of a freaking house, looked like a postage stamp. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/25 "2009-05-10T05:43:34Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > I’ve seen film of Dar Robinson doing about a 300 foot jump from a helicopter onto an airbag, camera in the copter, and that airbag, which was the size of a freaking house, looked like a postage stamp. [Found it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVywfprjY-k#t=0m32s). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/26 "2009-05-10T05:47:20Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well, if you don’t mind exiting at the bottom moving at 120 mph in the horizontal direction. Pffft, that’s a problem for the _horizontal_ department. Let it come out of _their_ budget. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/27 "2009-05-10T05:54:53Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > [Found it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVywfprjY-k#t=0m32s). I can’t help but feel that the “in memory of” message at the end is almost obligatory for that type of video. ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/28 "2009-05-10T07:03:37Z")
How about a pit of marshmallows? ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/29 "2009-05-10T07:20:56Z")
Going back to the OP, a pit of aerated water might work really well, though could be a bitch to swim out of. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/30 "2009-05-10T07:40:00Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Pffft, that’s a problem for the _horizontal_ department. Let it come out of _their_ budget. I’m guessing you work for the Canadian government in some capacity? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/31 "2009-05-10T08:44:29Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > A series of deflating bladders filled with air, like the kind they use for stuntmen in Hollywood films when they jump off of roofs. Isn’t Terminal Velocity, Terminal Velocity? So at a certain point the extra height is irrelevant? True. It really doesn’t matter if you’re 5,000 feet or 15,000 feet. Snow seems to be a good choice, as it has worked for more than one person in a terminal velocity landing. Remember, not only do you have to use the pit o’ stuff to break your fall, you have to later get out of it without drowning or suffocating in the stuff you fell into ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/32 "2009-05-10T08:45:50Z")
[Deep foam pit (1:55)?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRB3h5FCVrg&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/33 "2009-05-10T08:56:09Z")
The problem with snow is that it has to be on a steep incline. With regard to aerated water, my experience of jacuzzis makes me think that the aeration would push you to the surface. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/34 "2009-05-10T09:28:25Z")
I wonder if you could survive a fall on Venus (I mean, if the atmosphere wasn’t poisonous and searing hot). The air’s very thick so terminal velocity there might be survivable. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/35 "2009-05-10T18:42:12Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > I can’t help but feel that the “in memory of” message at the end is almost obligatory for that type of video. After watching that video, I read his [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dar_Robinson), which states: [QUOTE=His Wiki] On November 21, 1986, on the set of the film Million Dollar Mystery, after completing the main stunt, the emergency medical staff was dismissed from the set, and while filming a routine high speed run by the camera, with a fellow stuntman, Dar rode his stunt motorcycle past the braking point of a turn, and straight off a cliff, to his death. [/QUOTE] S^G ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/36 "2009-05-11T01:38:56Z")
> [@EdwardLost](#): > > I wonder if you could survive a fall on Venus (I mean, if the atmosphere wasn’t poisonous and searing hot). The air’s very thick so terminal velocity there might be survivable. Try the calculation yourself using this [tool](http://www.calctool.org/CALC/eng/aerospace/terminal). Using my SIBMWAG values (Slightly Informed But Mostly Wild-Ass Guess), I get that you’d hit the ground at somewhere between 15 and 25 mph, depending on what you were wearing and your attitude (your orientation in the air, not your mood). So yeah, you might barely live, but you’d be pretty effed up. However, if you were holding an open umbrella with an area of just 1 square meter (about four feet across), it would slow your descent to an easily-survivable 11mph. So, if you had Mary Poppins in your spacecraft over Venus, you could kick her chirpy ass out of the airlock and she’d make it to the surface in one piece-- at least until the corrosive atmosphere and intense heat began to sizzle the flesh from her perky bones. See if a spoonful of sugar helps _that_ go down, Mary. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/37 "2009-05-11T01:45:43Z")
I’m thinking…Rice Krispies. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/38 "2009-05-11T02:11:35Z")
> [@King\_Friday](#): > > I’m thinking…Rice Krispies. Great, the last thing you’ll hear is your bones going snap, crackle and pop. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/39 "2009-05-19T10:48:47Z")
[This guy](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8056525.stm) has just survived a 6000 foot drop, landing on snow, after opening his parachute far too late. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852/40 "2009-05-19T13:55:09Z")
[Circus tent?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonraker_(film)) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onto-what-can-you-fall-from-15k-feet-without-a-parachute-and-survive/495852.md?page=3)