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> standard airplane emergency parachute which any random bozo can use safely with about three minutes I would argue that there would be very few people with ze

> standard airplane emergency parachute which any random bozo can use safely with about three minutes I would argue that there would be very few people with zero parachute experience that with just three minutes training could jump from a building and not die catastrophically at the bottom.

renox 10y ago
Uh? I think that you're overestimating the danger of parachutes: 1) they can open automatically 2) for total beginners without training, round (army styles) parachutes would be a possibility. Then there are only two rules to learn: 1) keep your feet together and 2) keep your legs 'semi flexed'. And if you forget the rules then you usually break an ankle not 'die catastrophically'.
- King-Aaron 10y ago
  Ah sorry, it's not the parachute that will kill you... It's slapping into the sides of buildings at a great rate of knots, and then getting tangled in the chute a hundred metres above the street. Guys that go base jumping off buildings have years of practice, and they're aware of how risky it is doing a low altitude jump around objects.
  - mikeash 10y ago
    BASE jumping is complicated by the fact that it's something people do with some frequency. That changes the safety requirements a lot: a risk of death of one in a thousand is way too high for a hobby, but it's OK for an "escape from a burning skyscraper" rescue system. It's also complicated by the fact that it's usually illegal, meaning that you want to make a clean landing so you can run away. Getting your parachute tangled on a lamp post would be a failure for a BASE jumper, but a win for a rescue system.
mikeash 10y ago
There are emergency parachutes made for pilots that are intended to be used with essentially no training. They do see some use, and they work. They are not the same as a typical skydiving parachute, they're made to be more forgiving. You may still be injured on landing, but you'll be a lot less injured than if you jumped without it.

renox 10y ago

Uh? I think that you're overestimating the danger of parachutes: 1) they can open automatically 2) for total beginners without training, round (army styles) parachutes would be a possibility. Then there are only two rules to learn: 1) keep your feet together and 2) keep your legs 'semi flexed'. And if you forget the rules then you usually break an ankle not 'die catastrophically'.

King-Aaron 10y ago
Ah sorry, it's not the parachute that will kill you... It's slapping into the sides of buildings at a great rate of knots, and then getting tangled in the chute a hundred metres above the street. Guys that go base jumping off buildings have years of practice, and they're aware of how risky it is doing a low altitude jump around objects.
- mikeash 10y ago
  BASE jumping is complicated by the fact that it's something people do with some frequency. That changes the safety requirements a lot: a risk of death of one in a thousand is way too high for a hobby, but it's OK for an "escape from a burning skyscraper" rescue system. It's also complicated by the fact that it's usually illegal, meaning that you want to make a clean landing so you can run away. Getting your parachute tangled on a lamp post would be a failure for a BASE jumper, but a win for a rescue system.

mikeash 10y ago

There are emergency parachutes made for pilots that are intended to be used with essentially no training. They do see some use, and they work. They are not the same as a typical skydiving parachute, they're made to be more forgiving. You may still be injured on landing, but you'll be a lot less injured than if you jumped without it.