How could Johnny Utah and Bodhi survive the skydiving jump in Point Break?

Katherine DAVIES

Abstract


The 1991 American crime thriller Point Break is famous for its action-packed adrenaline-filled scenes. It gives the famous scene where a mid-air fight between the two main characters causes the parachute to be pulled only 8 seconds before hitting the ground. This paper investigates how large the cross-sectional area of the parachute would have had to have been to slow them down to safe speed of 6 ms-1 in 8 seconds before hitting the ground. It results that the cross-sectional area of parachute would have to have been 59.62 m2 to ensure their safety.


Keywords


Film; Physics; Mechanics; Terminal velocity; Drag; Johnny Utah; Bodhi; Point Break

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abrams, P. & Levy, R. (1991) Point Break. Largo Entertainment, Westwood California, Film, 122 minutes

Tipler, P. & Mosca, G. (2008). Physics for scientists and engineers. New York: W.H. Freeman.

Bannerhealth.com (2018). Ideal Weight Chart | Banner Health. Available at: https://www.bannerhealth.com/staying-well/health-and-wellness/fitness-nutrition/ideal-weight [Accessed 6th March 2018]

Engineeringtoolbox.com (2018). U.S. Standard Atmosphere. Available at: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/standard-atmosphere-d_604.html [Accessed 6th March 2018]

Rice University (2014). Drag Forces (PDF) OpenStax College. Available at: https://cnx.org/exports/be308439-f9b1-40e7-b0a6...pdf/drag-forces-8.pdf [Accessed 27th March 2018]

Woodford, C. (2018). How parachutes work | The science of air resistance. Explain that Stuff. Available at: http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-parachutes-work.html [Accessed 6th March 2018]

Potvin, J. (n.d.). Calculating the descent rate of a round parachute. Pcprg.com. Available at: https://www.pcprg.com/rounddes.htm [Accessed 6th March 2018]

Kent, L. (2017). Speed Parachute Workouts. [online] LIVESTRONG.COM. Available at: https://www.livestrong.com/article/146262-speed-parachute-workouts/ [Accessed 3rd March 2018]


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.