Those are called static lines, but your parachute is open within seconds of leaving the aircraft. That doesn't allow you any freefall time in an "experiment."

Those are called static lines, but your parachute is open within seconds of leaving the aircraft. That doesn't allow you any freefall time in an "experiment." Skydivers have had Automatic Opening Devices available for years, and some people use them. They're set to open at a specific altitude if you haven't already opened. The idea is that you may have lost consciousness from a medical problem or collision with another skydiver. Aside: I used to skydive way back in the day. At the time the skydiving community was making the transition from round parachutes for students to square parachutes(the question had already been settled for experienced skydivers). My home drop zone did some testing with a few models of square parachute and a weighted dummy. They called it Elmer Thud.