Well? Could he?

[ColinJ]

The plane needn't be diving. Apparently lots of planes are stable enough to fly without anyone at the controls. I've heard stories of bi-planes, without pilots and not properly chocked, taking off, flying and landing themselves when they run out of fuel.

Anyway, I'd have thought he could fall faster, being unhindered by things like wings, which would catch the wind somewhat.

I would have thought that he would be tumbling down in a not very aerodynamic way. To go quickly, he would have to streamline himself and point himself towards the ground. As @Archie_tect pointed out above, the uniform would probably be flapping about and catching the wind.

As for the plane ... if it were not diving then it would just have flown away from him and he would have fallen to his death. If it were doing a shallow dive, then he could never have fallen into it. The only way for him to fall into it would be for it be below him, so it would have to have dived down, and then slowed for him to catch up!

Yes, good story though!

 

[ColinJ]

The only way for him to fall into it would be for it be below him, so it would have to have dived down, and then slowed for him to catch up!

Er, as shown in the diagram above!

 

[Arch]

I would have thought that he would be tumbling down in a not very aerodynamic way. To go quickly, he would have to streamline himself and point himself towards the ground. As @Archie_tect pointed out above, the uniform would probably be flapping about and catching the wind.

As for the plane ... if it were not diving then it would just have flown away from him and he would have fallen to his death. If it were doing a shallow dive, then he could never have fallen into it. The only way for him to fall into it would be for it be below him, so it would have to have dived down, and then slowed for him to catch up!

Yes, good story though!

As mentioned above, though, there was a pilot in the plane, so it wasn't uncontrolled....

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

I think we need a volunteer to test the story.

 

[ColinJ]

As mentioned above, though, there was a pilot in the plane, so it wasn't uncontrolled....

I think we need a volunteer to test the story.

I'm fairly sure that a skilled pilot and a skilled (but bonkers!) sky diver could carry out a stunt flight/jump to prove that it is possible, but it was supposed to have happened by accident, which sounds pretty unlikely! If thousands of gunners fell out of planes and he was the only one to fall back in, then maybe it did happen?

 

[ColinJ]

Flipping heck ...!

 

[raleighnut]

Flipping heck ...!

Indeed

 

[Archie_tect]

Didn't he write a book on fly fishing?

No, that's the bloke who made jam....

 

[Archie_tect]

[QUOTE 3375069, member: 45"]It's happened to me a couple of times so yes, it is possible.

I once also fell out of the bath and managed to cook an omelette before tumbling back in. And the water was still hot.[/QUOTE]
Cheese or ham and mushroom?

 

[ayceejay]

When I was a kid we were roasting chestnuts on an open fire when one exploded with a bang that made my brother jump out of the chair, when he landed back down he sat on the hot chestnut, I asked him how that was possible and he told me the story of a guy who fell out of a plane and landed back in the plane. I told him that I thought his explanation was bullshit and he punched me on the nose,
So my answer to the question is YES he could.