How do paratroopers avoid colliding with other paratroopers’ parachutes while descending?
In: Physics
They don’t. They jump out of the aircraft in sequence and the speed of the aircraft plus their timing will typically result in sufficient separation that collision isn’t an issue. Remember the aircraft is likely moving at about 100 mph and the previous jumper will have fallen below the next so even if they drift it isn’t likely to make them fall faster or slower to collide.
The average paratrooper does not use a parachute that allows them to steer. More advanced jumpers like special forces might use steerable parachutes so they could avoid collision if necessary.
They don’t have to avoid each other. Paratroopers jump in intervals, every few seconds, not all at once. If you’re traveling 60mph, you go 88 feet every second. Planes with paratroopers travel much faster than that. So every couple seconds in between paratrooper jumps means that there are hundreds of feet between them.
What they said, but every once in a while, if the wind is just right (wrong?) . . . https://youtu.be/g8M4R7b0opY?si=o7E1k33LVGa-ip2N
Former paratrooper here. The answers below are **mostly** right, however the parachute that the US uses (the T-11) **is** allegedly steerable to a small degree.
Most of the time, Paratroopers exiting from opposite sides of the airplane makes enough separation that there’s no problems.
However if you exit and notice that either 1. you’re going to run into someone or 2. you’re going to glide over someone (which is super dangerous for both of you and I can explain why in a comment for anyone who’s interested), you can do what’s called “pulling a slip”. And you pull in one ( AND ONLY ONE!!!!) of the straps that goes up to the parachute as much as you can and hold on to it.
Ideally, that changes the shape of the parachute just enough so that you begin sliding in that direction. It’s not a lot, but usually it’s enough to avoid collision.
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