Watch out dragons... Here be Aaron!




Monday, 28 May 2018

Proof that I did actual genuine research!

This week the BBC wrote an article on how to survive a parachute failure. Essentially how to fall from a great height and survive.

In chapter three of Aaron Gray and the Dragon War our heroes find themselves in a similar situation, falling through the sky from a huge height. It's not too much of a spoiler to say they survive at this point (I mean there's 39 chapters, they can't die in chapter 3!) but I got soooo many complaints from early readers that there's no way they could survive the fall, and that  I was being unrealistic.

The book's about magical dragons, but this was the bit that was unrealistic. Anyway....

Here's the things the BBC article says you need to do to survive a fall, compared to what Aaron and Julia actually did.

While Falling

Aaron Gray and the Dragon War
“Skydivers adopting the "box position" - lying front-down with legs stretched out and arms and head raised up and forming a "W" shape - are able to move horizontally in the air. They can bank their arms like an aeroplane's wings.”
“He looked to his left and saw Julia falling with him, arms and legs spread out in a star shape.”

The Landing

Aaron Gray and the Dragon War
“Skydivers, when their parachutes actually work, are advised to land on the balls of the feet first, rolling to the side. Another dictum is to keep the legs springy by bending the knees slightly. But any difference this would make to someone going at 200km/h is debatable.”
“Try to land on your feet and then roll,” Julia’s voice shouted from somewhere beside him.

What to land on

Aaron Gray and the Dragon War
“Prof Björnstig says someone reaching terminal velocity needs at least half a metre of give - or deceleration distance - in the surface or object they hit to avoid fatal injuries. He recommends "forgiving structures", such as snow, a swamp or the branches of a tree.
“At the last minute, he took a deep breath, stretched out his legs and landed in a large pile of wet mud.” (There's more to this bit, but that would be spoilery, read the book!)

And one more thing....

Oh, and for those who were saying that the fall distance was too high, so none of this applies, the BBC article also says this...

"But after a point, the height from which a person falls won't make a difference to how fast they are going. It's estimated that the human body in freefall reaches 99% of its terminal velocity (full and final speed) after dropping 573m (1,880ft), which usually takes 13 to 14 seconds."

So nahh nah na nahh nahh!