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From: bleck@ai.mit.edu (Olaf Bleck)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Re: Bungee jump from a plane..Huh?
Message-ID: <13682@life.ai.mit.edu>
Date: 5 Mar 91 00:05:41 GMT
References: <5257@umbc3.UMBC.EDU>
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Reply-To: bleck@ai.mit.edu (Olaf Bleck)
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Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
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|> With proper planning, and enough
|> $$$ to pull it off, the thing sounds quite "do-able."

Yes, it does, but the key word is "sounds"--wouldn't you rather be sure
before you took off?  It still would be interesting to get some
back-of-the-envelope numbers in the problem.  I do a lot of things by
feel and they work, but usually there's little immediate risk of life,
limb, or $$$!  Also, you're deaing with a somewhat complicated dynamic
system here, and they can do things which you might not expect at all,
but might reveal themselves quite easily by twidling a few numbers. 
(BTW, none of the numbers that I've seen posted, including my own, I
would consider correct.  I'll work on it when I get some time...)

Or, I'll just sit back with a cocktail and watch you go for first...!
-Olaf