when jumping off a plane
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Now, see, here’s the thing: When you see a movie of someone opening their parachute you have to remember that there are two people involved. One person is the one who opens their chute and the other is the one with the camera. You are seeing the view of the one with the camera.
The one with the camera keeps falling while the one who opens their chute looks like they are changing direction. But this is an illusion! The person who opens their chute looks like they change directions because the one with the camera does not.
What actually happens is the one who opens their chute only slows down but because the one with the camera does not slow down it looks as if the one who opened their chute changes direction and goes up.
Think about what that would mean if the one who opened their chute actually did change direction. When a chute is opened you are falling at about 200 miles per hour. In order to change direction and go from falling down to falling up, as if opening the parachute caused a sudden updraft of air and the poor fellow attached moved up with it, the parachutist would have to come to a stop, turn around and move upward at a high rate of speed. The forces necessary for this kind of acceleration are in the five digits!
With forces such as these not only would your arms be pulled off, your whole body would be separated at the waist!
So, what actually happens is the parachutist that opens their chute keeps falling down but at a slower rate. The one taking the picture also keeps falling down but does not change their rate . . . until later.
The one with the camera keeps falling while the one who opens their chute looks like they are changing direction. But this is an illusion! The person who opens their chute looks like they change directions because the one with the camera does not.
What actually happens is the one who opens their chute only slows down but because the one with the camera does not slow down it looks as if the one who opened their chute changes direction and goes up.
Think about what that would mean if the one who opened their chute actually did change direction. When a chute is opened you are falling at about 200 miles per hour. In order to change direction and go from falling down to falling up, as if opening the parachute caused a sudden updraft of air and the poor fellow attached moved up with it, the parachutist would have to come to a stop, turn around and move upward at a high rate of speed. The forces necessary for this kind of acceleration are in the five digits!
With forces such as these not only would your arms be pulled off, your whole body would be separated at the waist!
So, what actually happens is the parachutist that opens their chute keeps falling down but at a slower rate. The one taking the picture also keeps falling down but does not change their rate . . . until later.
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If you hold in a straight line, and attach the straps to your arms only, reach maximum velocity, then pull the cord, it could, maybe. People have jumped, reached maximum velocity, and pulled the chute moments before impact, and lived without their arms getting ripped off.
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Seeing as parachutes are attached to a harness, not your arms, never.
If you use an ejector seat in a fighter jet and don't tuck your arms in, you might lose one.
If you use an ejector seat in a fighter jet and don't tuck your arms in, you might lose one.