Originally posted by Holden McGroin
Somebody base jumped inside the Astrodome, 208 ft (75M) but that was a static line under perfect conditions.
Yes, and using BASE canopies, packed slider down.
BASE canopies are made of F-111 fabric and are designed for quick inflation. They're rectangular in shape and a lot bigger than normal reserves, usually around 240 square feet. My reserve is 106 square feet, so less than half the size of a normal sized BASE canopy.
The 'slider' is a piece of cloth that is connected to the lines going up from the risers. It serves to slow down the deployment speed to survivable levels - very important if you're at terminal velocity. Skydive canopies are always packed "slider up" - that is, with the slider up right against the slider stops on the canopy, all the way up the lines. The slider then rides down the lines as the canopy deploys, slowing the deployment down.
If you either remove the slider or pack the canopy "slider down", it won't slow down the deployment. Great for sub-terminal jumps, say 3-5 seconds of freefall. Doing it on a terminal velocity jump will result in Instant-Canopy-Over-Your-Head and will mess up both the canopy and the jumper.
BASE canopies can be safely jumped from very low heights. Skydiving canopies, even reserves, need more time and altitude to function properly.
There simply was neither time nor altitude for these jumpers to get out of the plane
