Tarpaulin parachute
Released on: 2011-01-01

The basic idea

As a kid I always wanted to make a parachute. I kept jumping off hedges using a tiny sheet with the hope of sailing down. The reality was more of a quick plummet, and somehow I didn't break any bones.

This story continues today, but now using a large tarpaulin, rope and something to use as hand holds.

Risks

Don't be under any delusions, this is a stupid thing to do. Having said that, if you take a bit of care you can minimize the injuries that you will get your chances of keeping the injuries small are fairly good. So what are we talking about?:

If you stay on the ground, then we're talking about

If you get off the ground

All of the above (definite)

Torn Achilles tendon (Been there, done that. Not fun!)

High speed descent

You will get injured doing this (I'm still healing from the last outing!). If you choose to do this, take full responsibility, and care to minimise your injuries. If you are unable to take full responsibility for what ever the outcomes are, don't try it.

'Nuf said. Have fun.

Minimising the risk

The biggest thing is to not go far out control. If you are on the ground, you can let go of one of the handles at any time to release the force of the wind. If you are in the air, you are much more at the mercy of the situation. I haven't tried that... yet! :D

Another thing to consider is what is around you. Powerlines, sharp or expensive things are not your friends. Have plenty of room to move so that if you get taken a little further in any direction than you anticipated, you have room to deal with it. We frequently made use of this contingency.

In action

This was totally awesome! We continue to experiment and improve on the idea, so there will be more Wildcard videos dedicated to it throughout the season.

Further considerations

Where you do this will make a massive difference to your success. New Zealand can have some quite wild weather which can work for or against you. In the UK, Wales would probably be an excellent location to try this, while London would lack the wind to do this.

Imported image from the old system
Above: Imported image from the old system

Imported image from the old system
Above: Imported image from the old system

Imported image from the old system
Above: Imported image from the old system

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