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klieber
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delta407
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 Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 2:09 am Post subject: Re: Skydiving |
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| klieber wrote: | | --kurt (who's an adreneline junkie) |
And a Slashdot reader...
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pjp
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 2:24 am Post subject: Re: Skydiving |
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| delta407 wrote: | | klieber wrote: | | --kurt (who's an adreneline junkie) |
And a Slashdot reader... |
I think I saw the story on TV first.
As a side note, I saw some daytime talkshow several years ago. They had some military 'show' jumpers on.
They were supposed to jump out of a plane, head in opposit directions, then come toward each other again
and cross paths forming an X in the air. They weren't supposed to make contact. Unfortunately, they did.
One of the jumpers lost both his legs. I'm not positive, but I think the other jumper died. Scary stuff. I'd sure
hate to be falling at the speed of sound+ and hit a bird 
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delta407
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 2:34 am Post subject: Re: Skydiving |
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| kanuslupus wrote: | | I'd sure hate to be falling at the speed of sound+ and hit a bird |
Or a passenger jet.
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masseya
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 5:56 am Post subject: |
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I would much rather hit the passenger jet because I wouldn't have very long to think about how sucky my life was because I hit a bird while free-falling at or near super-sonic speeds. It would be over pretty quick and freak the pilot of the jet out pretty good. Only the good (or really stupid..) die young.
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pjp
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 6:56 am Post subject: |
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| Tristam29 wrote: | | I would much rather hit the passenger jet because I wouldn't have very long to think about how sucky my life was because I hit a bird while free-falling at or near super-sonic speeds. It would be over pretty quick and freak the pilot of the jet out pretty good. Only the good (or really stupid..) die young. |
Freak the pilot out? Heck, if you went through a wing or the fuselage, you'd probably do more than that 
If you were traveling at the speed of sound or more (like this 'thrill seeker' is doing) you'd probably not l ive.
Just a hunch.
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masseya
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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| kanuslupus wrote: | If you were traveling at the speed of sound or more (like this 'thrill seeker' is doing) you'd probably not l ive.
Just a hunch. |
Exactly! Let's say you hit the bird. Your leg is torn from your body and you still have 20 minutes worth of free fall time left to go. You get to bleed all the way to the ground where you get to attempt to land on your remaining leg. The only benefit that you might have is that you could probably see a hospital from way up where you are and 'aim' for it. If you miss or the pain is too much for you to focus on aiming then you are at the whim of Farmer Joe who probably called the Weekly World News on his way out of the house instead of 911.
Now Let's say you hit the plane. You're dead before you have the chance to register the thought, "Is that a plane?" Which way would you rather go? 
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pjp
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 3:32 pm Post subject: |
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Well, what I meant was, at the speed of sound, you'd likely lose more than a leg if you hit a bird.
Don't forget... this guy is going to be diving head first. What is he likely to hit the bird with? 
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klieber
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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As the original article stated, his biggest risks are not in the jump itself, but rather in the ascension.
Granted, the thought of impacting an object at Mach 1.6 provides more...ahem....colorful images.
--kurt
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masseya
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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| The Article wrote: | | ''Once he has reached the near-stratosphere, he will have to breathe oxygen for four hours before deciding whether to jump. It will be up to his conscience whether it is safe to dive headfirst out of the pod, knowing that he will pass the sound barrier with a bang after 5,000 metres.' |
 Use your own judgement, you're in a balloon 25 miles from the earth do you:
A) Jump out head first
B) Whimper and curl up in the bottom of the basket.
C) Call your mother.
D) A and C
E) B and C
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pjp
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Tristam29 wrote: | | Use your own judgement, you're in a balloon 25 miles from the earth do you: |
Not use your own judgement
That is probably how you wound up in a balloon 25 miles up to begin with.
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masseya
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| Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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...and selling your house, weapons, stamps, and military medals to get there... 
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craftyc
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| Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 2:41 pm Post subject: |
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When will it be my turn???
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