Skydiving
Diving into the sky — that’s how the name of one of the most beautiful and spectacular sports, skydiving, translates from English. In the early days of parachuting, only the bravest dared to jump out of a plane from an altitude that, by modern standards, would be considered low.
For today’s thrill-seekers, a short flight with the parachute opening far above the ground seems insufficiently extreme. Athletes began trying to prolong the free fall while performing various acrobatic exercises. Thus, a new sport was born, one that now gathers huge audiences during competitions.
What is Skydiving
Skydivers
The start of a skydiving competition doesn’t differ much from traditional parachuting: participants board a plane, which takes them to a designated altitude, and at a specific point, they jump. From that moment, the skydiving begins: depending on the type of competition, athletes perform individual or group exercises, or they glide on a board. Each competitor aims to open their parachute as close to the ground as possible — one of the key skills of a skydiver.
The jump altitude depends on the time allocated for performing exercises and the number of participants. For 25 seconds of free fall with two skydivers, an altitude of 2.5 km is sufficient, while for a large group formation with over one hundred participants, a minimum altitude of five kilometers is needed. At such altitudes, additional breathing equipment is included in the gear due to the thin air.
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Skydiving is divided into several disciplines:
Individual Acrobatics.
Group Acrobatics, where several participants perform a series of exercises in the air. Judges assess not just the synchronicity but also the positioning of skydivers in relation to one another. Spectators on the ground can see precise geometric formations, with the components of the figures formed by the athletes moving closer together and then spreading out again.
Freestyle – free-form movements. A kind of dance in weightlessness, which is especially impressive when performed in pairs.
Skysurfing – the athlete is equipped with a special board attached to their feet. It looks as though they are performing stunts while gliding on a flying platform.
Double Diving – the most challenging discipline. After freefall, the athlete opens their parachute and, at a height of 10–15 meters above the water, detaches it to dive into the depths of the ocean. At higher altitudes, they must calculate precisely to finish their descent in a safe zone; otherwise, they risk landing in shallow water or on rocks.
Group exercises are significantly harder than solo jumps: participants must not only synchronize every movement but remain on the same horizontal plane as the others.
The speed of freefall depends on the altitude, the skydiver’s weight, their body shape, and their position in the air. For example, falling perfectly vertically with the head downward minimizes air resistance, allowing a skydiver to reach speeds of 80 m/s when descending from an altitude of up to five kilometers. By adopting a horizontal position, they can reduce their speed to approximately 50 m/s.
Want to Become a Skydiver?
Skydiving Training
This new sport has attracted many thrill-seekers. However, becoming a skydiver requires a significant amount of effort, plenty of financial resources, excellent health, and exceptional reflexes. The first step is to join a parachuting club. Without mastering the basics of traditional parachuting, it’s impossible to progress to prolonged free-flight skydiving.
Every action must become second nature. A skydiver opens the parachute as close to the ground as possible, where even the smallest mistake could come with a hefty price.
The next stage involves training and obtaining a license, which is mandatory for independent jumps. Additionally, athletes must purchase all the necessary equipment for skydiving. Beyond the parachute itself, the following gear is essential:
- Backpacks;
- Altimeters;
- Warning devices;
- Reserve deployment systems;
- Helmets;
- Flight suits;
- Goggles.
Skydiver training in a wind tunnel
Training exercises in the sky are preceded by practice in a wind tunnel. Within artificially created upward airflows, the athlete is not constrained by time and can calmly learn to control their body in weightlessness. Only after all movements have been thoroughly practiced on the simulator will the instructor allow the student to proceed to airplane jumps.
Those who do not wish to dedicate all their free time to skydiving but just want to experience what it feels like to free fall can head, for example, to New Zealand in Taupo. For a specific fee, enthusiasts receive rented gear and jump in tandem with an instructor. Free fall lasts from 30 seconds to one minute, followed by parachute landing—and the session is complete.
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Certified skydivers can undertake solo flights. Many want to get a photo or video as evidence of their bold feat—in such cases, a cameraman jumps alongside the client. Experienced skydivers in our country may envy an instructor’s work: more than a dozen jumps every day!
Skydiving Photo Gallery
Competitions and Records
Skydiving competition
The first parachuting world championship took place in 1951.
Equipment improved, and athletes developed new jumping techniques. Soon they noticed that the closer to the ground the parachute is deployed, the more precise the landing becomes. Step by step, new jump methods and competition types emerged; later, some of them were classified as a standalone sport—skydiving.
To win a competition, participants must not only deploy the canopy as late as possible but also remain within a designated zone marked on the ground. Additionally, the distance they travel with the deployed parachute without touching the ground is taken into account.
Skydivers’ creativity knows no bounds, as evidenced by the records they set. The largest international jump occurred in Thailand in 2006. Four hundred athletes from various countries performed a simultaneous jump, creating an intricate formation in the sky.
In the skies over Ottawa in 2012, a gigantic snowflake took shape. Created by 138 extreme enthusiasts jumping from over five kilometers in altitude at speeds of 355 km per hour, they “painted” a whimsical shape in the air.
In addition to standard equipment, they required oxygen devices, as the air at high altitudes is too thin. Simultaneously, four cameramen jumped to capture the record on video. Achieving the desired result required great persistence from the athletes: it took a total of 15 attempts.
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Ludwig Fichte from Germany decided to astonish the world with the most original jump. Exiting the plane at over four kilometers in altitude, he settled into a rubber boat and began solving a Rubik’s Cube. It took him just over half a minute to complete the task, after which the athlete deployed his parachute and landed successfully.
Felix Baumgartner
For the first time in history, a human broke the sound barrier during free fall outside an aircraft. This feat was achieved by Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner.
On October 14, 2012, he ascended in a stratospheric balloon to an altitude of 39 km and performed a jump from the stratosphere. The parachute-free flight lasted 4 minutes 20 seconds, during which the athlete covered 36.4 km and reached a speed of 1357.6 km/h. Three records at once: the highest-altitude parachute jump, the highest speed, and the longest free-fall distance.
Throughout human history, people have dreamed of flying like birds, without any auxiliary devices. Skydivers consider the air their element, learning to slow freefall and even dance in weightlessness. Who knows, perhaps their experience will form the foundation for a future invention, allowing anyone to take to the skies and float there without bulky technical equipment until they feel like returning to solid ground.
