A person falling from terminal velocity may survive contact with deep water if they hit knife edge in. That is, if they make themselves as thin as possible. This idea extends that. This survival pod would fully enclose a person in gel. It would be shaped like a thin missile with a pointy end and a crumble zone above the end. It would be designed to fall sideways and then point straight down very close to the water's surface. I haven't done the math but it seems likely to me almost anyone could survive a fall in this device.
-- Voice, Aug 25 2021

"No bones broken. No organs ruptured. Shame about the drowning in gel."
-- pertinax, Aug 25 2021


I was sure we had done "pointy thing into water instead of parachute" here before, but I can't find it. A few similar ideas though (ie: skydiving without a parachute).
-- neutrinos_shadow, Aug 25 2021


Are we talking ranging radar and active control surfaces for the reorientation from maximum to minimum cross sectional area?

And I assume a well attached air supply for the recovery from from the impact while being deep under water.
-- MechE, Aug 26 2021


The more complicated, heavy, expensive, and otherwise impractical the better, just so long as the control surfaces won't slow the thing enough to be considered a parachute.
-- Voice, Aug 26 2021



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