I haven’t ever jumped before, but you may be right about it being just the thing for people who want an incredible view. Using your numbers for my basis, you should have experienced 54 seconds of free fall. What a chance to see the world from a point of view that so few will actually see!

Then you still the the last 5000 feet of decent under parachute.

Totally amazing!

I just jumped with the Golden Knights of the US Army Parachute team last week and it was totally amazing!!!! We jumped at 13,100 ft and had about 45-50 seconds of free fall. I have never experienced anything like it. Once the parachute opened up and we started to float in the air (or at least it seemed like it), you get to see the world like never before.

so you did a dive….big deal. what a baby!

I actually tried to bungee jump once. Couldn’t make myself do it. I had to take the walk of shame. After that experience, I can’t even imaging jumping out of an airplane. In my mind, I think about it in much the same way as body piercing; I generally try to aviod getting holes poked in my body about as much as I try to avoid falling from high places. Just ain’t me, I guess.

Hi Rob, I also jumped tandem at Freefall Adventures in southern New Jersey. But you jumped at 13,500 feet.

FAR Part 91.211 states that no person may operate a civil aircraft at altitudes above 15,000 feet unless each occupant is provided with supplemental oxygen.

The FAR regulations don’t make the experience any less amazing or life-changing, though.

Congratulations on your second skydive! Don’t wait so long to make your third. It seems like you loved it, so you should take the next step and learn to go with your own parachute. Taking more ownership of the experience makes it even more amazing.

In the wise words of Leonardo da Vinci,

For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return.

I am a licensed skydiver (Actually, Canada’s first licensed deaf skydiver, listed on the deafskydivers.org website)

I think what he was given was data given by the instructor recorded by a freefall logging device such as a ProTrack, which is about the size of a Zippo lighter or wristwatch. From my knowledge, 70 seconds of freefall from 15,300 feet is normal, and 138 mph is a normal peak speed, though 120 mph is a normal average terminal velocity speed.

However, terminal velocity is not constant (as any of you watching Mythbuster’s skydiving episode all knows), based on how streamlined your body position is, you can speed up or slow down your fall. Tandems vary in fall speed, and it takes approximately 10-20 seconds to accelerate to peak freefall speed. So the first 1000 feet could take more than 10 seconds, while the next 1000 feet could take only 6 seconds, for example, because it took time to accelerate to near your terminal velocity.

Mark, you’re talking about B2E (belly to earth) right? That is true, I think the terminal speed is roughly 120-130 mph. What I wonder is, due to the density layering at various levels, would a terminal velocity be much higher at say 50,000 feet because the air is so sparse up there, and not as much wind drag? I would assume that terminal velocity is faster the higher up in the atmosphere you are falling, then would decrease as the air gets more dense.

Aussie Jane, your comment shows you are thinking but…just like atmospheric density, gravitational forces also change as you get further from earth

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THE UNIFYING INFINITESIMAL PARTICLE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE ORGANIZATION AND BEHAVIOR OF ALL MATTER

I am not sure if this is the wright place but i just do not understand why there is not alot of talk about sugar as another fuel if brazil can be indepent of focil fuel why can we not start there just is not a enough talk about it either in news or the senate i no its not the total answere but it would certainly help.