Mike B. parachutes

Mike B. just retired from the Air Force. In his younger days he used to jump out of airplanes. When you are jumping from a military plane, there is a jump platform just outside the door. On a C-47 it is about two feet square. On a C-17, it is about 5 feet square. The plane slows down to about 150 mph, just 10 mph above stall for the C-17, and the jump master steps out onto the jump platform (while hanging on of course) to look for the drop zone on the ground and to see that there are no aircraft following them that might collide with the jumpers. On a C-47, you are subject to the full 150 mph slipstream. On the C-17, there is some kind aerodynamic effect that drops the effective wind speed to more like 70 or 80 mph. Very pleasant, relatively speaking. When you are standing on the jump platform of the C-17, there are huge gray walls up, down, right and left of you. The wing is about 20 feet up. It is like stepping out of a warehouse.