Creativity Pool Forums

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Simply pull a cord on a specially designed jump suit that instantly air inflates fully (as a life jacket) with a collar that blows out that encapsulate the head.

The idea seems to be to reduce the free fall velocity to a safe level. If one assumes that a terminal velocity of, say, 16 feet/sec is acceptable, it is a simple mater to calculate the surface area required to achieve this velocity for a 200 lb person plus another 30 lbs for the suit and gas cylinder.

The problem is that this may be fairly large and will require a very large suit. The idea is interesting. One can design a couple of ribbed 'wings' sprouting out on the sides of the suit (slightly swept back to give stability in free fall), which also get inflated. Such a design will give a large drag area without too much volume so that a manageable light weight compressed air cylinder can be attached to the suit.

Rishi

Better yet...instead of an air filled bag I think that a helium filled bag would slow the velocity thereby easing the impact by bouncing and rolling to a stop.

An auto-inflate helium filled light weight bag from a pressurized canaster might be the way to go! [/b]

It requires 14 cubic feet of Helium to provide a lift of 1 lb. So there will not be much gained by replacing air by Helium unless the suit volume is very large. A large surface area would be a cheaper and manageable option for slowing the fall.

Rishi