🪂 Parachute Physics — Terminal Velocity & Drag

Jump from altitude, freefall to terminal velocity, then deploy the canopy and watch the drag spike. Adjust mass, parachute diameter, and deployment altitude to explore the aerodynamics of deceleration.

Parameters

Total mass 80 kg Parachute diameter 8 m Deploy altitude 1500 m Jump altitude 4000 m

⏸ READY

Telemetry

Altitude—

Velocity—

Acceleration—

Drag force—

g-load—

Terminal vel.—

Time elapsed—

Physics:
F = mg − ½ρCdAv²
ρ(h) = 1.225·e^−h/8500 kg/m³
Cd(freefall) = 1.0 · A_body=0.6 m²
Cd(canopy) = 1.5 · A_canopy=π(d/2)²

How Parachute Drag Works

During freefall, the drag force on a human body is F_drag = ½ρC_dAv², where ρ is air density (decreasing exponentially with altitude), C_d ≈ 1.0 for a prone human, and A ≈ 0.6 m². Terminal velocity is reached when drag equals gravity: v_t = √(2mg / ρC_dA). At sea level this is roughly 55 m/s (200 km/h) for a prone skydiver. When the canopy deploys, A jumps to π(d/2)² — a huge increase — and the drag spikes dramatically, causing strong deceleration. The safe landing speed is typically < 6 m/s. Air density follows the barometric formula ρ(h) = ρ₀·e^−h/8500.