A parabolic slide catches you at the bottom, similar to those free-fall rides in amusement parks that drop then hit a curved rail that goes from vertical to horizontal in a Πcircle shape.

You’d need a glass enclosure parallel with the jump tower to keep you from pushing too far away from it and hitting the slide at the wrong place and a friction reducing jump suit and helmet, but other than that, the only limitation to how high you could jump from is the size of the catcher slide.

There’s even a maximum size the slide would have to be for any height tower since terminal velocity for the jumper's body would be the same above a certain jump height. In other words, the same scoop would work for a tower the height of the Empire State Building or the Sears Tower.

The chute would also have to be wide enough so the jumper wouldn’t bounce back and forth off the glass enclosure part and the slide. Other than that, the only reason it might not work is people might be too afraid to jump off a 300 ft tower without anything attached to their body to slow them down. (Wussies.)
-- doctorremulac3, May 30 2005

[+] I’ll jump...right after you.
-- ldischler, May 30 2005


I fear that the required landing area will be too small and leave little room for error. But, sidestep this issue, and the idea is very fun.
-- daseva, May 30 2005


Yay! Bags I first go! I can't imagine its being impossible. I suspect that the vertical-to-horizontal transition can be made in a reasonable distance, but the deceleration after the transition would be tricky. You'd want to spread this out over maybe a hundred feet - maybe use foam?

First-contact with the transitioning section of the slide would be tricky - you'd need to allow for contact in any orientation, and you'd have to allow a reasonable amount of horizontal space for in-air maneuvering during freefall. Relly-work would be interesting - an entire mob cascading down the ramp in a sort of bundle.
-- Basepair, May 30 2005


I was half-expecting a new and fun method of suicide.

I remember going on a slide like this as a child. But it was about 30 feet high rather than 300. Oakwood park in Pembrokshire I believe. Can't find an image of the slide itself though, it was a very small attraction.
-- hidden truths, May 31 2005


There was a similar ride at a long since defunct park nearby. Found some links to the park, but not the ride. You climbed many flights of stairs to the top and stepped into a small room. The door closed behind you and the floor dropped out from beneath. The slide was as you describe, but there was no tube. You really couldn’t miss as you didn’t have control of your fall. There were no fancy friction reducing gizmos either. I’m too young to have ridden it before it disappeared (in the 60’s), but wish it was still there. +
-- Shz, May 31 2005



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