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Originally Posted by whocarz
Don't you achieve terminal velocity after 66 feet? I'd say that kid is very lucky to be alive.
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Well, 'terminal' in this case doesn't mean 'deadly'. It just means you won't fall any faster. And, I think that if you reach terminal velocity, the wind feels different, and your body relaxes, which increases your likelihood of survival.
A quick google tells me "A man has a terminal velocity of about 200 mph when curled into a ball and about 125 mph with arms and legs fully extended to catch the wind like a parachute." I don't have the time to do the math, but I don't think you would reach that rate in only 66 feet.
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Oooooh, here's a good PDF:
How Terminal is Terminal Velocity?. From this document:
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It easily follows from (2) that starting with zero initial velocity, 95% of the terminal velocity is attained in about 6 seconds, and it follows from (4) that the person needs to fall 123 meters to achieve 95% of terminal velocity. In the United States, a story of a typical building is roughly 3 meters, so that falling 123 meters corresponds to falling about 40 stories.
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