Interesting Facts About Skydiving
A skydive is the only type of fall after which you feel only pride. Here are some interesting facts about skydiving.
Interesting Facts About Skydiving
- When a person jumps from a plane, they are in free fall at an average speed of 50 m/s (180 km/h).
- Skydiving is considered an extreme sport. Many think the fatality rate in skydiving is extremely high, but the actual likelihood of dying is only 0.025%.
- If someone wants to skydive, their weight should be between 40 and 95 kg.
- In 2005, an incredible incident occurred. American skydiver Shayna Richardson experienced a malfunction with both her main and reserve parachutes. As a result, she spiraled and hit the ground at 80 km/h. Surprisingly, Shayna survived, though she had numerous fractures and bruises. Interestingly, she also gave birth to a healthy child after this accident (it turned out she was pregnant during the jump).
- The oldest person to skydive is 97-year-old Englishman George Moyse. He jumped from a height of 3 km on his birthday.
- When a person is in free fall, they cannot speak. Thus, many Hollywood action movies showing skydivers talking during the jump are not accurate.
- The first parachute design was created by Leonardo da Vinci. Englishman A. Nicholas proved that da Vinci’s parachute would work just as well as modern ones by successfully skydiving with a device made according to da Vinci's drawings.
- The first person to skydive from an airplane rather than a balloon was American A. Berry. He made his legendary jump in 1912. Interestingly, Berry with a parachute pack couldn't fit in the plane's cockpit, so he had to climb to a container attached to the fuselage, put on the harness while standing on the wing, and then jump.
- The highest skydive was made by extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from 38.6 km, reaching a free-fall speed of 1,342 km/h. Felix jumped in a special suit, otherwise, he would have either suffocated or burned up in the atmosphere.
- The lowest skydive was made by British military pilot T. Spencer. In 1945, his plane was shot down over Wismar, Germany, and he had to jump from about 11 m.
- Among professional skydivers, there is a particularly dangerous stunt called the "banzai jump,” where a person jumps from a plane without a parachute. Moments before the jump, the parachute pack is thrown out of the plane, and the skydiver follows, catches it, puts on the harness in mid-air, and opens the canopy before reaching critical altitude. The stunt was first performed by the Japanese.
- If you accidentally ask a skydiver about their "last" jump, they might get very angry. In skydiving circles, the term "last jump" is taboo and is replaced with words like "recent" or "latest."
- If your friends and family don't share your passion for skydiving, you can always take your dog along, even if they don't want to. A brave pug named Otis accompanied his owner for 10 years and completed 64 jumps!
- American skydiver Luke Aikins made history by jumping without a parachute from a height of 7.6 km. The 42-year-old daredevil successfully landed on a net stretched between construction cranes at the 20th-floor level. Upon regaining his composure, he immediately hugged his wife and loved ones.
