Skydiving and How to Avoid Going Splat

Skydiving is not for the faint of heart. Jumping out of a flying plane and plummeting to the ground is definitely not everyone's idea of a good time. Failing to release the parachute at the right time could result in you breaking almost every bone in your body or getting scrapped off the ground with a giant spatula. All jokes aside, skydiving is a very dangerous activity; That's why the physics behind skydiving is so important.

Before throwing yourself out of a moving plane that is flying at an altitude of 13,000 ft, it is important to do the math. The math behind skydiving isn't insanely complicated, but it is very exact. Considering a diver will be falling at speeds varying from 120 mph - 200 mph, if the parachute is released even a few seconds late the results could be terrible.  A person falling from a plane is relatively simple kinematics. There are just a few equations that determine when a diver has to release the parachute.

Equations:

As you can see the math is simple.  The recommended time to pull the shout is after about 75 seconds of free falling or 2,500 ft.  Any longer and the parachute might not slow down the skydiver quick enough before hitting the ground.  So remember to be safe when diving.

Sources:

Brain, Marshall. "How Skydiving Works." A Typical Skydiver Jump - Skydiving Jumps | HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks, 27 Aug. 2002. Web.

"Physics Of Skydiving." Real World Physics Problems. N.p., n.d. Web.

Redbull. "World Record Group Skydive: 164-Person Formation." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Aug. 2015. Web.