A trend in fall protection for dare-devil stunts is to use a large volume of stacked cardboard boxes. Falls from 45 to 750m have been performed without parachute or injury. The biggest flaw to these DIY crash pads is the excess size of the box zone needed to make sure the fall ends on target. A lesser flaw is the vulnerability to rain.

An improved method is is to set up one or more box-stacks as "tent-poles", with safety-netting for a "tent-fly" draped over these poles. Thus a far larger area of safety can be secured with much less wasted material. Box stacks would be small enough to easily wrap in plastic to protect from weather.

A kite lifted human payload net can be guyed in place high over the "fall-tent". Properly rigged, there would be no way to fall outside of the protected zone. Falling directly on a box stack should be as safe as falling on the net between boxes. Suitable safety margins could be designed-in and formally validated by professional engineers.

• CoolIP*                ~Dave Santos                 26 Nov 2012        AirborneWindEnergy/message/8037

Comment and development of this topic will be occurring here.       
All, send notes, links, drawings, and photographs!

• Terms and aspects:   
  • v
• Related links and concepts:
  •  
• Commentary is welcome:
  • Hints- A helmet and neck supporter was used by the skydiver in a wingsuit. Nylon netting is the best shock-load choice. Needed deceleration distance is only a few meters, but adequate distance is critical at all points of impact. Sand anchors are cheap and effective to guy out the fall tent for a coastal case like Flying Plaza Rotterdam.
    
    Falling into boxes-
    from high-
    http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4333547/Stunt-skydiver-lands-without-parachute-after-2400-ft-jump.html
    
    from lower-
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRbqpctO4rQ