Skydiving is the single most exciting sport there is. Nothing even comes close to the exhilaration you feel when floating on a cushion of air, and flying your canopy safely to the ground. It’s also very misunderstood, and filled with many common fallacies and misconceptions that keep most people from trying this beautiful sport. It’s heavily regulated by national organizations and in comparison to past decades and studying statistics, it’s surprisingly safe! To participate in it regularly, you’re required to obtain sufficient training and a license. It can be a long, expensive process to get your license, but once you do, the feeling of accomplishment is like no other. I highly suggest you try it at least once in your life.
Skydiving Myth: Skydivers pull a rip cord
Actually, rip cords pretty much went out with the round chute back in the early 1980’s. Skydivers using modern day “rigs” (the entire contraption of harness, container and canopies), throw out a pilot chute which is tucked into a pocket on the bottom of the container, just above your butt. The pilot chute is a small parachute attached to a “bridle” which is attached to the main chute. As the pilot chute is deployed, it catches the wind and pulls the closing pin which releases the packed main chute, pulling it from the container, so it will inflate… we hope. You can find a more detailed description of this process here.
There are some dropzones who still use rip-cord gear when teaching their students. Once they’re properly trained however, they graduate to the common bottom of container design. A reserve deployment does use a rip cord to activate the chute, but this is an entirely different design and we hope we never have to pull that handle.
Skydiving Myth: You can talk or yell to each other during freefall
Despite what you’ve seen in movies like Point Break and Cutaway, you cannot hear another skydiver during freefall. Perhaps if you were to yell into his year, you may hear a little but you certainly can’t have any type of conversation. The wind traveling past your ears at well over 100mph pretty much makes you deaf to all sounds. Additionally, it would be very hard to fight during freefall as well.
Skydiving Myth: When you deploy your chute, you go back up.
This is a common fallacy. One thing a skydiver cannot do is go back up. What you’re seeing when a skydiver deploys and goes up is an optical illusion. You’re actually seeing the videographer shooting the skydiver continue falling away from the one deploying who is obviously slowing down. By the way, that’s me you see deploying!
Skydiving Myth: If you’re ever knocked unconscious in free fall, you’re dead
Another common fallacy; it’s understandable how this could be perceived however. Think about it… if you’re ever knocked out by a mid-air collision with a fellow skydiver, who’s going to deploy your chute? Well, most skydivers jump with a device known as an Automatic Activation Device (AAD). It’s a small, air-pressure and speed sensitive unit that will cut the closing loop of your reserve chute so that it deploys automatically. They are usually set so that if you drop below 750 feet above ground level at over 78mph, it goes off. If you are unconscious, your landing will likely be rough and you may injure yourself or perhaps still die, but landing without any chute at all would be far worse. Some skydivers choose to jump without one because they are a mechanical device that can fail and possibly misfire, although they rarely do. The odds of it working when needed far outweigh the odds of it malfunctioning and deploying your reserve when you don’t want it to. You can read more about how these amazing units work here.
Skydiving Myth: Everyone falls at the same speed.
Despite what some people think, everyone falls at a different rate and the speeds will vary depending on weight (heavier people fall faster), body position and clothing (baggy jumpsuits slow you down, tight fitting suits go faster). The average terminal velocity in the belly down position is around 120mph. Some of the more advanced freeflying positions like “Head Down” or “Sit Fly” can push a jumper to over 200mph! Essentially the less amount of surface area to the wind, the faster you go. It takes a lot of work to contort the body in an arch (to speed up) and cup (to slow down) in order to catch up and stay with a group.
Skydiving Myth: A skydiver always packs his own chute
A good skydiver learns to pack his own chute early on in his/her skydiving career and continues to do so. However, there is no legal obligation to pack your own chute. There are trained packers who work at drop zones and will pack your chute for you. Generally the cost is around 5 to 7 dollars per pack. Many skydivers however, choose to stick to packing their own chutes because they know how they like it packed (there are small variations for smoother openings) and ultimately, who are you going to trust with your life? Yourself or some kid working the summer for 6 bucks a pack? If you choose to use the packer, be sure to tip them well!!
Skydiving Myth: You can deploy your chute at any altitude
I had an argument with a friend who was reading about military HALO operations, (High Altitude, Low Opening) and insisted that these military skydivers would freefall all the way down to between 100 and 50 feet then deploy their chute and land safely, this of course, is simply not possible. Freefall speeds can be anywhere from 100 to 160mph depending on varying scenarios; that’s over 170 feet per second! A good main parachute needs about 600 to 800 feet to open for two reasons. First, it needs to inflate. The cells are closed end and a great deal of air needs to fill the cells before the chute is operational. Second, it needs to opens fairly slowly to keep from injuring or even killing the skydiver. A hard opening chute can kill a person when they go from 120mph to 18mph in only two or three seconds. Hard openings are usually a result of packing error. Fatal hard openings are extremely rare but a ‘normal’ hard opening can make you see stars, and bruises! Minimum opening altitudes (as regulated by the USPA and CSPA) are 2500feet for A licensed skydivers and 2200feet for B, C, and D. Reserve chutes are designed to open much faster due to their necessity to do so quickly. [Image Source]
Skydiving Myth: You need to wear oxygen masks at very high altitudes
Only on the plane. Hypoxia can set in quickly at 18,000feet, so it’s necessary for planes to supply it when climbing to that altitude and beyond. The most common high altitude jumps are between 10,500 and 14,000 feet. Some larger drop zones with larger planes, will offer special “extra-high” jumps of 22,000 feet. This of course costs “extra-cash”. Some fancier planes offer masks, but more often it consists of a small hose coming out of the ceiling of the plane and you simply put it in your mouth up until you jump. Once you’re out, you’re only at that altitude for a short time, so extra oxygen on the jump itself isn’t necessary.
Skydiving Myth: The higher the altitude, the more dangerous the jump.
Actually it’s the opposite. Skydivers want as much altitude as possible. Not just for the extra freefall time, but also it gives us extra time correct a correctable problem that may arise. It takes about 1480 feet to reach terminal velocity (around 120mph). Whether it’s a 1500 foot fall or 15,000 foot fall, having a bad chute or no chute at all – the outcome is not going to be good. Ultimately, there is no “safer” altitude for a high speed impact. And considering the 600 to 800 feet it takes for a chute to open, I’ll stay above 3000 feet when I jump, anything lower would just be crazy!
Skydiving Myth: It’s possible to survive a terminal velocity impact
Everyone has heard the story: A skydiver jumped from 15,000 feet, his chute didn’t open and he landed in a muddy field and only broke his leg, or his back, or only ended up in a wheelchair, but he survived! There’s always something wrong with the story however. Many times it’s completely made up. But in almost all these cases, there was “something” out, meaning there was a tangled mess of a chute (malfunction) or both chutes (double malfunction – extremely rare!) trailing behind the jumper. This can slow your descent down considerably. An impact into soft ground or trees at 45mph is certainly survivable. You won’t enjoy it, but you have a better chance of survival.
Contributor: Skydiver
Interisting list
Great list! Very interesting stuff. I’m afraid the idea of skydiving pretty much sends me into panic mode all by itself, but maybe someday
I was actually just reading the story about the soldier on his first jump who had to land by himself when his instructor had a heart attack on the way down… Very sad.
I’ll keep both feet on the ground thanks
skydiving is expensive
Is it true that you don’t have vertigo when you’re skydiving ?
One of the best lists I’ve seen on here recently. Thanks for sharing.
Item no. 9:
yell into his “year” ?
Scary scary, count me out.
I’ve also heard the survival stories – and here they are:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Alkemade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Magee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.M.Chisov
Vesna Vulovic is the most celebrated survivor, but there’s doubt about what actually happened.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87
I’m not sure why Skydiver is so positive – so judge for yourself.
What an awesome video! I’ve always wanted to try that…
There is also this lady, who survived a fall AND found out she was pregnant. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1140777,00.html
Awesome.. Never tried but its in my list.. btw clip is also awesome..
Everyone should give it a go, there’s no feeling like a ‘chute opening up and the silence of floating down to Earth.
I have a bug about fact 6.
“heavier people fall faster”
Not actually true. Gravity accelerates all objects towards the ground at the same rate. Gallileo proved that about 4 centuries ago. Drop a needle and a stone and i will guarentee that they will both hit the ground at the same time. HOWEVER, if you have a greater surface area (i.e baggy clothing or spreading your arms and legs) then drag is greatly increased and therefore you fall slower.
But it has nothing to do with you weight.
You are only accelerating for the first ~10 seconds of freefall.
Whilst the mass of an object does not make significant difference to the acceleration, it does to the terminal velocity (look at the equation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_velocity)
Surprising, but true.
"Terminal velocity varies directly with the ratio of weight to drag. More drag means a lower terminal velocity, while increased weight means a higher terminal velocity."
i.e. Higher mass objects require more drag to halt acceleration. Increased drag is achieved by increased speed.
Great list though, i’m definitly up for a go
Good list, not sure about the HALO comment, and seemed to miss out on LALO, angles of descent have to be taken into consideration. Military jumping is a touch different from recreational jumping. Donkeys years since I did any jump but it was fun.
Parachutes are great. When you need them. I wear one when I go gliding, and hope I never have to use it!
Can’t see how it can be a sport or even a pastime really. An awful lot of trouble and expense to go through for so little quantity of enjoyment.
What worries me is not so much the perceived danger (though try and get an unloaded life insurance policy), but the culture of the ‘sport’.
I once went to a party of ‘chuters as I was flatting with the sister of one who had broken his leg. He intended to jump again as soon as the cast was off. The bulk of the party was spent drinking alcohol and watching videos of people dieing and getting injured. There seemed to be a large volcabulary around this including joyish terms like ‘meatball’ and ‘roman-candle’! Fortunately I got to leave early as the flatmate felt ill. All of these guys intended to jump the next day – all would have been hungover.
On another occasion (different bunch of guys) at a competitive meet I was talking to a jump master who also flew gliders when he pointed to a rapidly spinning form in the distance. I hoped it was a manoeuvre but it wsn’t. He flat spun right to the ground and thumped down on the far side of the runway. The jump master explained that he would have got a line tangle over his back and it would be necessary to cut the line. He then went to his car and got a knife. He had forgotten to attach it to his rig too! I could see no one go to the aid of the jumper and not a comment was made by any of them watching the incident!
You say that an auto-deploy makes for safe jumps in the case of disabled jumpers – set to 750ft! Then you say it takes 700-800ft to deploy a modern ‘chute? I hope your attention to detail is normally a little better? I further assume that this is not above sea level, where you last jumped from or that the surrounding terrain is not higher than the airfield!?
I trust that part of your advanced training involves hypoxia training in a chamber. You would be aware that oxygen deprivation affects people differently and an unfit, cold, hungover, smoker, asthmatic, scared, high blood pressure jumper will be in trouble over 10 000ft! At 22 000ft an average person has minutes to unconsciousness and is mentally challenged!
My worry is the activity may attract those that would benefit from a psychological profile before graduation. Why do you need such intense stimulation to feel alive? Will it lead to other risky behaviour (Eg BASE jumping!). Or is it all just a Type A thing that We can’t understand? Would not worry so much but I fly near these guys and they jump through clouds!
One thing is sure – like gliding, the membership of clubs is dropping rapidly,(actually and figuratively).
PS: Kudos to Mr Rossi who flew across the English Channel recently under his jet powered wing! (Starts and ends with a parachute).
Rusty-
I think the backup canopy is a bit different that the main canopy. Perhaps it opens quicker.
I don’t understand how you go gliding, but can’t see why people go skydiving.
Also, I thought it was illegal to jump through clouds, per FAA rules.
@14:
objects fall at the same speed regardless of their weight, only in emptyness !!!
In the atmosphere, heavier objects fall faster, not only when they are bigger (because of the drag), but also because of the archimedes principle.
#5 Chute packing: I think I would tip the packer when I got back from the jump, not before. Of course, if the chute didn’t open it wouldn’t matter if I had extra spending money.
Interesting list from someone that loves skydiving. I guess if someone loves lion taming or cage fighting they would also tell you how safe and easy it is.
#14 Heavier folks decend faster once thier chute is deployed. average speed with filled canopy (of course this depends, hence “average”) is 18-21 FPS….Feet and knees together troops. Also I agree that higher is better (more time) static line jumping (military style) from 500 feet is way more fun though
#19… Agreed. In a vacuum, objects will fall at the same rate . However, in this case, wind resistance, surface area and etc will force the objects to fall at different rates.
Felix… that’s in a vacuum, dumbass
This is crazy… Picture for #5 was taken where I first went Skydiving… Not even kidding, I have the pictures to prove it… What a coincidence. It’s in Westpoint, VA.
now thats a great list..one quick question…how long are you in free-fall from, say, 14,000 ft before you have to open your chute?
Awesome list! Now i’ll know what to do in “terminal” situations. Haha.
This list just makes me want to freefall! Yaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaay!
#17 Rusty
I find it amusing that you choose to glide, yet think skydiving is unsafe.
I’m not one for being overly critical of one’s opinion but it’s obvious you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. First of all, I don’t believe most of your stories. Skydivers watching videos of injuries and deaths and finding it amusing is ridiculous, they either weren’t skydivers or you’re full of crap. Skydivers are a very close knit bunch who despise any and all incidents that end in injury or death. We go out of our way to make sure not only we are safe, but others are safe as well. It is not something that is taken lightly – ever!
“Can’t see how it can be a sport or even a pastime really. An awful lot of trouble and expense to go through for so little quantity of enjoyment.”
I’ll assume that you’ve never done it. How wonderfully pompous of you to form such a strong opinion on something you’ve never done. Skydiving is a sport. There are competitions in freestyle flying and accuracy competitions. It is more strenuous than you can imagine and requires a level of fitness that is higher than is needed to sit a fat ass in the seat of a glider.
“I could see no one go to the aid of the jumper and not a comment was made by any of them watching the incident!”
The level of bull***** and insult in this comment is beyond comprehension. Skydivers will do everything possible to get to an injured skydiver. If you did witness this sir, you weren’t at any drop zone that any skydiver would frequent. I’m quite certain this is simply “made up”.
“You say that an auto-deploy makes for safe jumps in the case of disabled jumpers – set to 750ft! Then you say it takes 700-800ft to deploy a modern ‘chute? I hope your attention to detail is normally a little better?”
My attention to detail? Try reading the last line of #4 for some detail on how reserve chutes open faster. Also, I clearly said a “MAIN” chute. Perhaps YOUR attention to detail needs a bit of work.
“You would be aware that oxygen deprivation affects people differently and an unfit, cold, hungover, smoker, asthmatic, scared, high blood pressure jumper will be in trouble over 10 000ft!”
Yes, THOSE are the type of people we let jump…. moron.
“Would not worry so much but I fly near these guys and they jump through clouds!
One thing is sure – like gliding, the membership of clubs is dropping rapidly,(actually and figuratively).”
If you knew anything about either sport, you would know that a skydiver under canopy has the right of way over your glider. So get out of my way! Membership may be dropping where you are but it’s increasing everywhere I go. Get your facts straight; making them up doesn’t count.
#9 Iain
All of these accounts are WWII stories with little detail. One in particular mentions that the reserve “didn’t work”. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t something trailing behind him. Landing in trees and snow would help but having the slightest bit of anything trailing behind you is going to slow you down. I’ve never heard of a skydiver surviving terminal velocity impact, one where it would have been the same had they jumped bareback. The Guinness World Record woman was found in the plane, it doesn’t even count.
The pregnant woman I have heard of, and she did have a malfunctioning reserve behind her. The claim in that story is 50mph but speeds are always a guess, it could have been more or less.
My point wasn’t that you can’t survive a fall from a plane, just that you won’t survive one at terminal velocity of 120mph or so.
14. Felix
Arnaud nailed it. Archimedes Principle. Believe me, I’m a big guy and a lot of jumpers have trouble keeping up with me when we jump together.
One of my best memories of recent years is going skydiving with my dad for his 50th birthday. It was the first time for both of us. In the future I intend on taking courses so I can jump solo. There is no greater thrill than popping the door on a Cessna and stepping out on the wing at 10,500 feet.
Great list Skydiver! Im going as soon as I find my balls!
great list, I am wicked excited to go on a HALO jump, but I have a while until I do haha.
ha! one of my coworkers asked me yesterday to go sky diving and we had a 15 minute long chat about terminal velocity…which eventually led to a reaaaaallly long chat about Charlie Sheen. I do so much work at work.
I am glad SkyDiver got to Rusty before I did. I wish I hadnt wasted a minute of my life reading comment number 17.
Coincidentally, Slate did a story today on skydiving – http://www.slate.com/id/2210526/
Not skydiving in general, but the dangerous things that can happen, why they happen, and how to survive them (in general terms, it isn’t an instruction manual or anything).
“WE’RE GOIN LIKE A BAT OUTA HEEEEELLLLLLLL”
I’ve gone one two tandem jumps before and they were amazing. And going skydiving wasn’t even on my bucket list! I’d rather let a professional handle it than actually try pulling the tennis ball on my own, but the experience was something I’ll never forget. The only scary part (to me, obviously) was when they opened the door to the small plane and wanted me to stick my leg out and stand on the tiny footstep they had out there so that my instructor could get out too. But the freefall… oh man. Great list, Skydiver.
30. QuasiDobro – February 6th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Great list Skydiver! Im going as soon as I find my balls!
LOL! If anyone can find an extra pair for me I´ll consider going (though I have to admit I´d probably just end up hugging some stationary object screaming “I DONT WANNA!!!”)
I have to admit I´m much more comfortable underwater (I´m a certified scuba diver) than flying through the air…
*shudders in terror*
Interesting list. I knew about the AAD mostly because of a stupid murder mystery where some one had tampered with one to kill off one of the characters. Odd references can be pretty fun like that.
Funny how some people have that either or clause… ‘I’ll wear fresh raw meat around my neck while swimming with sharks but under no circumstances will I do such and such – it’s too dangerous.’ There’s no guaranteed ‘safe’ anywhere so why try to create reasons when the only reason is you’re too scared?
For those scared of but curious about skydiving, might I suggest a simulated sky dive? One of those big fans that circulates a tunnel of air upward and the funky jumpsuits with the handles on the sides so they can hold on to you and control your “fall”… I did this in college and loved it so much I put skydiving on my grocery list (not bucket list…this is a long term list with a more definite deadline). When we can afford it, cousin and I are going sky diving!!
Thanks for the list! It may have just be because it’s an early morning for me but the physics was confusing, haha. It reminded me of Squirt from Finding Nemo “…Crank a hard cutback as you hit the wall…”
Great list! Skydiving is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I hope I get a chance to before I kick the bucket. It looks like and incredibly freeing experience.
37. GTT
That wasn’t directed at you! You were writing scuba stuff the same I wrote that bit about the sharks…sorry! Scuba certification is ALSO on my grocery list.
Cool list guys! Btw, did u guys (the writers) ever go skydiving?
gabi319 (41)
LOL… I dont know if I´d go so far as to wear a raw meat necklace in shark infested waters…
I dont know if it´s just because I havent tried it but I dont think I could ever relax on a jump. That´s why I love scuba diving… There is just a feeling of peace underwater that is incomperable to anything I´ve ever experienced.
You should definately learn to scuba… You will not regret it!
Gabi – I think scuba and skydiving are two fairly different sets of fears
Scuba doesn’t scare me at all, I would love to get into one of those cages for checking out great whites. For me, scuba is more about claustrophobia. Still dangerous, but ultimately quite safe if you know your limits.
Skydiving on the other hand – I get freaked out on ski lifts, I don’t think a few thousand extra feet would be my thing! I understand that it is just as safe/dangerous as the next thing, but it still scares me much, much more.
Skydiving is one thing I have always wanted to do, and it’s one thing I am medically forbidden to do! I’m exasperated that this be so, especially after reading yet another article on how wonderful skydiving is.
Wonderful list, Skydiver! I truly enjoyed the video, and the links.
When I get to be an old lady, and it pretty much doesn’t matter any more whether or not I follow doctor’s orders, I will skydive…maybe on my 80th birthday!
“#4. joydivision
skydiving is expensive”
Yes it is, I can’t argue with that. There are two ways to get your license. Static lines (a tether attached to the chute and inside the plane) are used for first time solo jumpers that deploy your chute as you jump. You must have a “jumpmaster” on the plane with you. The cost breaks down to your jump, your jumpmaster’s jump, and gear rental. Average cost per jump is around $90 Cdn. It takes about four static line jumps (done correctly, there are exercises, proper exit, body and hand position) before you graduate to varying freefall times. Each jump must be done with a jumpmaster present until you are certified (approximately 10 to 20 jumps).
A more common student program is AFF or Accelerated Freefall. You jump with two jumpmasters who hold onto you in freefall and keep you stable. This is done a couple of times, then a couple of times with one JM holding you, then a couple of times with a JM watching you, then on your own. There’s fewer jumps to graduate, but each of those jumps can cost close to $200, so the cost for both programs works out about the same. Once certified, you jump on your own and the cost is about $30 to $35 per jump for 13,000 feet or so.
A new rig can cost anywhere from $4000 to $8000 depending on the manufacturer. Used rigs can cost anywhere from $1000 to $4000 depending on their age and jump numbers.
So for the first year or two, it can cost thousands of dollars. However, if you can get an instructor/coach rating, you get paid to jump! It can defer the costs of fun jumps.
“#5. Arnaud
Is it true that you don’t have vertigo when you’re skydiving ?”
It is true. Ironically, I’m afraid of heights. I hate ladders and steps I can see through. When you exit, there is no sensation of falling, just floating and flying. And looking out of the airplane at 13,000 feet leaves little reference for you brain to realize height. It’s the same as looking down at the ground, a big flat field.
“#7. chandramouli
Item no. 9:
yell into his “year” ?”
Good catch. That’s my typo. I proofread this a hundred times before submitting it and missed that one. Perhaps jfrater can fix it.
“#16. M Mac
Good list, not sure about the HALO comment, and seemed to miss out on LALO, angles of descent have to be taken into consideration. Military jumping is a touch different from recreational jumping.”
It’s simply a matter of physics M Mac. A parachute -ANY parachute- needs time to inflate and it’s a lot more than 100 to 50 feet. Even if a special chute could be designed to fully inflate within that height, the sudden deceleration from terminal velocity would kill just about any human. I have seen stunt jumps where a reserve chute is deployed at around 400 feet or so (without freefall, so speed is minimal), but their feet are usually on the ground within a few seconds.
BASE jumpers often jump low, but their chutes are designed to open very quickly and they usually deploy immediately as they jump, so the have very little speed to slow down from.
HALO is a cool sounding term that the military uses but it’s no different from what we do. LALO are known as “Hop n Pops” in our sport. We exit low (3000 to 5000 feet) and deploy without freefall. These are great in the winter when the wind chill would be -90. 18,000 foot exits are “high altitude” and 2200 feet openings are low altitude, these are -in effect- HALO jumps. We *can* open lower (I’ve lost altitude awareness once and opened as low as 1400 feet!) but it would be unsafe to do so. Angle of approach is irrelevant because even if you’re tracking forward, your fastest angle is still DOWN!
I absolutely love skydiving!!
“#42. Anonymouse
Cool list guys! Btw, did u guys (the writers) ever go skydiving?”
I’m an avid licensed skydiver. That’s me in the blue shirt jumping in the video I provided for #8.
had an argument with my dad about number 8 after we skydived, i won
watch this video…
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1778399&server=vimeo.com&show_tit
this is the most amazing thing in the skydiving world that i have ever seen. i get an adrenaline rush just by watching this. make sure to watch the whole thing to see how aggressive with their lines.
WEIGHT has nothing to do with it; if you understand Archimedes’ principle what you’re talking about is MASS.
Take two skydivers: SD1 weighs 200 lbs., but is made up of compact muscle mass. SD2 weighs 220 lbs., but it is made up of much more body fat. SD2 weighs more, but is of lower density, creates more drag, and he will fall slower through the atmosphere (fluid dynamics) than SD1.
“#50. DiscHuker
this is the most amazing thing in the skydiving world that i have ever seen. i get an adrenaline rush just by watching this. make sure to watch the whole thing to see how aggressive with their lines.”
Yep, that is pretty neat stuff. Wingsuits are awesome to watch (I’ve never tried one yet) but a lot of skydivers kind of frown on that particular wingsuit practice. We understand the rush but it’s so incredibly dangerous it isn’t sanctioned or endorsed by any skydiving organizations. One of those Norwegian jumpers in that video (don’t know which one) was killed last autumn when he caught a cold pocket of air (turbulence) and slammed into the side of one of the cliffs at 100mph. It is amazing to watch them though, they’re still falling, but they’re falling with “style”.
“#51. KJ
WEIGHT has nothing to do with it; if you understand Archimedes’ principle what you’re talking about is MASS.”
Absolutely correct, thanks for the clarification!
seriously. Is there anyone in the world who is stupid enough to believe when your chute deploys you go up!
You’d be amazed at how many people have said it to me jake. I smile politely and explain it to them.
Fantastic list Skydiver
Im no fundi on this subject but I can clearly remember while doing my army training seeing the parabats jumping out of the old Herculese troop planes, those were huge chutes and you landed in trees on roof tops depending on the wind direction and turbulence.
Pic # 6 showed the more advanced chute you can control, and land on a dime.
When you are to old to jump solo – you can still jump attached to a pro.
I fall into this slot – as long as Im attached to a fluffer face to face I wont jump.
Well done again S.D.
I’ve never seen the need to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft
50. DiscHuker, Great video, I have this ones to share:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E-nIcZFsCw&feature=related
Enjoy
Great list, thank you Skydiver.
“#26. Darren
now thats a great list..one quick question…how long are you in free-fall from, say, 14,000 ft before you have to open your chute?”
Sorry Darren I missed this question earlier. Freefall times vary with body position, mass, and sea-level. At sea-level, an average belly down, 120mph (around 178 feet/second) freefall from 14,000 feet with a 2500 foot deployment (11,500 freefall) would give you about a minute or so of freefall. The first 1480 feet take about 12 seconds or so because your speed is increasing to terminal.
We wear altimeters to tell us our altitude and I also wear an audible device (ProTrak Dytter) on my helmet that beeps in my ear at preset altitudes (Breakoff, deployment and low altitude warning). It also records my speed, altitude of exit and deployment as well as date, time and jump number.
# 48 is clearly an idiot.
however, I didn’t know many of the items on the list! I have never been skydiving but certainly plan on it.
movies give such a false impression of skydiving. In the bucket list they are totally talking. haha..
* being that he’s not the one who actually wrote this and replying to others’ posts.
thats a problem with listverse. people shouldn’t be able to have the same temp username.