Parachuting

Parachuting is a recreational activity that involves exiting an aircraft in midair and falling to the ground, using a parachute to increase drag and thereby decelerate before impact. The earliest records of parachutes come from China in the twelfth century, where simple paper or cloth parachutes were used to perform acrobatic stunts. Historians have found drawings of pyramid-shaped parachutes among inventor Leonardo da Vinci's sketches from the fifteenth century, though it is believed that Da Vinci never developed a working model of the device.

French inventors and avid hot-air balloonists Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier have been credited with inventing the first modern parachute, designed as an escape device for balloonists. Joseph Montgolfier successfully tested the device on animals and by personally leaping from several buildings. Frenchman Louis-Sébastien Lenormand performed the first successful public demonstration of a parachute in 1783 when he stepped off the Montpelier Observatory and landed safely. The first recorded emergency use of a parachute occurred in 1808, when Polish balloonist Jordaki Kuparento successfully descended by parachute from his burning balloon over Warsaw.

Early parachute designs, which utilized semirigid frames, were eventually abandoned in favor of flexible frames. In the 1890s, enthusiasts developed the first parachutes packed into a backpack for easier transport, and this became the standard design in subsequent years. In 1911, American parachutist Grant Morton became the first person to use a parachute to descend from a plane, leaping from a Wright Model B airplane.

Parachutes became standard on military aircraft during World War I, and the US Army Air Force established a parachute testing, development, and training program in 1918 in Dayton, Ohio. During World War II, parachutes were standard equipment, and military forces began using parachutes to deploy troops, often called "paratroopers," into enemy territory. This practice is credited as one of the key developments that led to the Allied victory.

Following World War I, recreational parachuting became a popular activity for stunt performers around the world. It was during this time that parachute enthusiasts developed the free fall, in which a diver would fall through the air for a period of time before deploying his or her parachute using a rip cord. After World War II, the large number of surplus parachutes left over from the military fueled the development of a larger recreational parachuting industry.

The first commercial parachuting centers opened in the 1950s, and the popularity of the sport expanded. It was during the 1950s that enthusiasts coined the term "skydiving," as an alternate term for parachuting. The Parachute Club of America, which started in the 1930s, became one of the largest organizations to support parachute sports and recreational activities. In the 1960s, the organization changed its name to the United States Parachute Association (USPA).

Parachutes

• Performance parachutes are generally rectangular and allow users to control their angle of descent and to steer using handheld pulleys. These are the most common parachutes for recreational skydiving.
• Round parachutes are typically used for dropping cargo and for many escape parachutes. The simplest models are nonsteerable and fly according to prevailing wind patterns. Round parachutes can also be steerable with the addition of holes in the edges, which the skydiver can adjust to direct the path of descent.

Parachute Containers and Harnesses

Containers and harnesses differ in materials, flexibility, and a variety of other features. Skydivers may choose different types of containers and harnesses based on personal preference or for specific types of parachuting activities. For instance, some harnesses are better for steering and narrow descent, while others may be more comfortable for other types of dives.

Some containers fasten to the skydiver's back, while others fasten to the front. In addition, some containers are fastened to the aircraft to deploy the parachute automatically once the skydiver has traveled a certain distance from the plane, while others allow the skydiver to deploy his or her own parachute using a rip cord that is typically mounted to the chest.

Electronics and Equipment

• Altimeters -- devices used to measure altitude. Some altimeters feature a digital readout and can be worn on the wrist, while others give an auditory readout of altitude through an earpiece worn by the skydiver.
• Communications gear -- headsets that can be used to communicate with other skydivers, airplane personnel, or persons on the ground during a dive.
• Emergency locators -- devices that allow emergency crews to locate a skydiver in case of injury or accident.
• Cameras and video -- some skydivers use head- or shoulder-mounted cameras or video-recording equipment to record their dives.
• AAD devices -- designed to open the diver's parachute when the diver fails to do so. AAD devices may be programmed to open the chute after a certain period of time or after reaching a certain altitude. AAD devices can save a skydiver's life in situations where skydivers become unconscious during a dive.

Helmets and Goggles

• Diving helmets protect the head from injury upon landing and can also be used to mount cameras and recording gear. Some helmets feature an open-face design, while others have a retractable face shield made from impact-resistant plastic.
• Goggles protect the eyes and allow divers to see the environment without being blinded by the wind. Some goggles are clear while others may be tinted to improve visibility in bright conditions.

Techniques

Tandem Diving:

In tandem diving, an amateur skydiver wears a special suit that can be fastened to the suit of an experienced skydiver and the two individuals dive together. As the divers descend, the experienced skydiver is responsible for ensuring that the parachute is deployed and that the amateur skydiver makes it safely to the ground.

Tandem diving is the most common type of diving for those seeking a one-time activity, and some schools offer programs that progress from tandem diving to solo diving through a series of training dives.

Static-Line Training:

In static-line jumping, the diver's parachute is connected to the aircraft via a thick cable, and as the diver descends, the parachute is automatically triggered as the line reaches critical tension. To participate, students are generally provided with two to five hours of ground training, which cover safety, technique, and emergency procedures. Following the first dive, returning skydivers may participate in additional static-line dives without repeating the ground-training portion of the program.

Most static-line training programs gradually progress, giving students more responsibility with each successive jump. Students eventually deploy their own parachutes using the manual cables attached to the parachute container. Following this, students may participate in free falling, during which the students fall for a certain distance before deploying their parachute, learning to control their descent while falling.

Trends

In the twenty-first century, a small number of dedicated parachute enthusiasts are attempting to design equipment that makes it possible to land from a free fall without using a parachute. Many such attempts involve the "bird-man" suit or "wingsuit," which has nylon fabric between the legs and arms to create "wings" that can be used to glide toward the ground. A variation is the "wingpack," which is a more rigid strap-on wing incorporating elements of a hang-glider. Rocket-powered wingsuits have also been tested. Divers typically cannot use wingsuits to land but must use a small, supplementary parachute to slow descent just before landing. However, designers believe that future models may allow landing without the use of a parachute, and experimental jumps using specialized landing strips and no parachute have been successfully completed.

A number of experienced skydivers have experimented with alternative ways to launch the body into the air before beginning a dive. Some skydivers have used catapults, powered by high-tension rubber wires to launch themselves into the air for a parachute dive. Though this type of jumping is currently uncommon, a few companies in Europe and Asia are developing the technology for recreational skydiving enthusiasts.

Another subset of parachuting is BASE jumping, which involves beginning the fall from a fixed point such as a cliff rather than an aircraft. First developed in the 1970s, BASE (an acronym for building, antenna, span, earth—four common launching points) jumping became well-known as an extreme sport in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. It can also be combined with wingsuit flying. BASE jumping is considered more dangerous than standard skydiving due to the shorter fall times and slower speeds, which allow less maneuverability. It may also be banned in certain areas, including in US national parks.

Parachuting for Fun vs. Profit

Those seeking to profit from an interest in skydiving are advised to seek out a professional skydiving school or training center to enroll as an instructor. Skydiving is considered a recreational activity, and there are few opportunities for individuals to earn money skydiving outside of the instructional field. Most skydiving instructors are paid by the jump, rather than by the hour. A very small number of people manage to achieve fame as extreme sports athletes or stunt performers, though parachuting is usually only one aspect of their activities. The rise of social media and video streaming has made it somewhat more possible for recreational parachutists to attempt to monetize skydiving through video or other documentation.

Learning More

Organizations

United States Parachute Association (USPA): https://uspa.org/

Canadian Sport Parachuting Association (CSPA): https://www.cspa.ca/en

Parachute Industry Organization: https://www.pia.com/

World Air Sports Federation (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale; FAI): https://www.fai.org/

International Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame: https://skydivingmuseum.org/

Books

Hearn, Peter. The Sky People: A History of Parachuting. Crowood, 1997.

Poynter, Dan, and Mike Turoff. Parachuting: The Skydiver's Handbook. Para, 2004.

Robertson, Elizabeth Whitley. Tiny Broadwick: The First Lady of Parachuting. Pelican, 2001.

Soden, Garrett. Defying Gravity. Norton, 2005.

Soden, Garrett. Falling: How Our Greatest Fear Became Our Greatest Thrill. Norton, 2003.