Just in case you fall out of a plane without your 'chute

I've always wondered what I'd do. I imagined ripping off some clothes (pants in particular, if I still had them) and creating just enough of a "parachute" or flying squirrel effect that I'd be able to slow down to about 60mph and hit the ground at 45 degrees instead of 90 degrees.<p>Inspired by, e.g. <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/21240738.html" rel="nofollow">http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/21240738.h...</a>

"To slow your descent, emulate a sky diver. Spread your arms and legs, present your chest to the ground, and arch your back and head upward."<p>You will fall slightly (5MPH-ish) slower if you instead arch your back and arms in the opposite way, as if attempting to hug a large beachball. This position is slightly less stable though, so you risk flailing around and increasing your speed.<p>What the article did not discuss was any attempt at horizontal movement as a way of plummeting into something safer than a parking lot.

The mantra I've heard among BASE jumpers is "if the chute fails, go in head first" -- e.g., if the shit's going to go down, finish it quick instead of ending up a mangled vegetable.

I've read about quite a few documented survival cases of shot down pilots during WWII landing without a parachute. Pretty much all of them had the same scenario: landing site was a steep slope covered in snow. Snow helped cushion the initial impact, and the rest of the kinetic energy was dissipated during the roll to the bottom of the slope.

There's a similar post from a while back: <a href="http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/carkeet.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/carkeet.html</a> (also at <a href="http://www.modernhumorist.com/mh/0103/freefall/" rel="nofollow">http://www.modernhumorist.com/mh/0103/freefall/</a>).

While very nicely written and a good read, I too was taken aback by "Lower body weight reduces terminal velocity" - Physics 101 anybody?