Sulu's parachute

[ZILLA0329]

I am new here so please be gentle just happen to be watching the movie now

In the movie where Sulu and Kirk land on the drill and Sulu is pulled up toward the fire exhaust that seems to incinerate everything instantly why did he have to cut the cords?

 

[The Old Mixer]

Welcome, @ZILLA0329 ! This question deals specifically with the '09 film, so I'm moving it to the Star Trek Movies XI+ forum, where that film and its sequels are discussed.

 

[B.J.]

He activated the retraction mechanism in order to pull himself back up to the platform. But the parachute canopy itself was stuck, and if he had let the retraction continue, it would have dragged him into one of those flame exhausts. So he cut the cords so he wouldn't get cooked!

 

[Paul Weaver]

I guess the cords were strong enough not to melt in the flames?

 

[Timo]

It may also well be that the chute pack doesn't have fine control that would allow the retraction to be stopped at 40% or whatever. There might not even be a "stop retracting" panic button, necessitating Sulu's use of the sword. Or then Sulu just couldn't reach that button in time.

It was pretty smooth writing that deprived both Sulu and Kirk of their "spare chutes" so that they could fall to their doom. Although an actual second chute might still have been expected, because the point of those is not reuse - it's the chance of the prime canopy getting tangled up and needing to be discarded.

Why the heroes used chutes rather than antigravs in the first place is a piece of technobabble we didn't need to hear. Antigrav signatures would have revealed them to Nero? Antigravs don't work close to the drill? We're free to speculate.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Paul Weaver]

Kirks chute was fine, it retracted correctly, and could be reused later. Had they stayed on the drill they'd have been fine too, but Sulu fell off. Kirk dived after him, caught him, and pulled his chute. The combined mass was too much (they were likely at terminal velocity at this stage), and Kirk's chute broke off immediately.

What they could have done with is a pair of gravity boots to get back upto deck 89.

 

[topcat]

the chute cord snagged on the vent area, he cut the cords so he wouldn't turn into a roasted marshmallow. If you payed attention, you would notice his chute canopy flying in the wind during the whole time they played with the two romulans.