What is the minimum take off speed he needs to reach in order complete this dazzling feat?

Question

Evil Knevil is attempting to ride his motorcycle off a 15m high horizontal platform and clear a row of monster trucks extending 12m out from its base.

Answer 1

Question: What is the minimum take off speed he needs to reach in order complete this dazzling feat?

Evil Knevil is attempting to ride his motorcycle off a 15m high horizontal platform and clear a row of monster trucks extending 12m out from its base.

Answer: His horizontal speed needs to be such that he clears the top of the trucks after falling the 15 meters.

The time it takes to fall the 15 meters setup is as follows: 15 = 1/2at²; solving for t, t = 1.75 seconds. 1.75 seconds is the time he needs traveling in a horizontal direction to clear the trucks. Since his horizontal velocity is constant: V(x) = x/t; solving, V(x) = 12/1.75 = 6.86 m/s.