Extreme Skydiving - Freefall

How fast do you think a skydiver freefalls to the ground below before their shoot is activated? Well believe it or not the velocity of a skydiving freefall can be adjusted with their body positions. Typically however your belly will be facing the Earth below but you can still reach a staggering 190 kph, but the top speed has been clocked at 988 kph.

The typical skydive of 14,000 ft the will generally last 5 - 7 minutes but the skydiving freefall itself lasts no more than 1 minute. And floating down to Earth is where you get to truly see the beauty of the land below and makes you really appreciate the beauty of the world we live in.

Skydiving over the Great Barrier Reef is one example of skydiving over natural beauty. While most people who travel here they spend a day or two on a snorkelling tours and then have nothing else to do. But what if you could see this natural wonder while falling 13,000 ft? It's literally a breathtaking way to view the Great Barrier Reef. But there are also many other places over coastlines and national parks that make for a beautiful skydive.

On your first jump it will be tandem, skydiving with an instructor who will first brief you on safety and how to position your body during the jump. Shortly after you will be up in the air peaking out at 9,000 ft, right up to 14,000 ft and this is when the nerves really kick in, particularly as you are edging closer to the door. Your instructor will make the jump and within seconds the plane you leapt from seems miles away. This is when the feeling of the skydiving freefall and adrenalin really kicks in.

Although the feeling is difficult to describe, the skydiving freefall itself doesn't seem to give you a feeling of falling at high speeds, even though the skydiving freefall is huge. This is because the ground doesn't seem to get any closer until at last you arrive at the point where the instructor pulls the shoot.

If want to talk about extreme skydiving then let's talk about a famous name in Skydiving... Joseph Kittinger, a military officer who holds the world record for highest altitude jump and the fastest skydiving freefall. In 1960 Kittinger made his jump from a balloon at an unbelievable height of 102,800 ft which got him speeds of up 988 kph. This kind of jump is the definition of extreme skydiving.

Another record worth mentioning is in formation skydiving. In Udon Thailand, 2006 400 skydivers participated in breaking the world record in formation skydiving. Formation skydiving gets more and more difficult when increasing the number of skydivers but in 2006 they pulled this stunt off successfully.

Many who skydive get hooked on the adrenalin where as others just try it for the experience, no matter how terrified they may be. But skydiving venues are located all over the world and can be easily taken up as a hobby or a one-off experience.

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History of Skydiving

Skydiving, today, is a very popular sport that attracts millions of people each year to participate. The feeling of freedom and the exhilaration of falling weightless through the air are experiences many people pay big bucks to get. However, the origins of how skydiving started may be a surprise to many people.

The earliest recorded skydiving attempt or recognition goes all the way back to China in 90 B.C. Emperor Shun was in peril of his life; his father was trying to kill him. In an attempt to escape, he went into a granary tower and while he was in there, his father set fire to it. Seemingly with no other option to escape, he strung together several straw hats which were conical in shape. After making his 'first' parachute, he jumped from the top of the granary tower, holding the conical hats which acted like a parachute and actually delivered him safely to the ground.

In 1100, Canton, an Arab escaped after stealing property by climbing to the top of a mosque and using two umbrellas, one in each hand (without handles). These acted like mini parachutes and also landed him safely to the ground.

China continued to amaze with the invention of parachute like devices. Acrobats, both Chinese and Thai, were known to use parachute like devices to entertain the courts at the Imperial Court. This inspired the first 'real' prototype of a parachute to be constructed in the 1680s in France, during the reign of King Louis XIV.
However, official recognition for developing the parachute goes to Joseph Montgolfier from France, who used a parachute during the late 18th century to jump successfully out of a hot air balloon. This success led to people using parachutes as a precaution and safety method while traveling in hot air balloons, which, during that time, could be very dangerous and not always the most desired way for travel.

Later, the parachutes were brought in to help the military so that soldiers could safely escape an aircraft that was disabled or going down as well as to deliver rations and other necessities to their armies. As the continued use of parachutes became more and more popular just for their safety benefits, they also became extremely popular with enthusiasts who wanted to test their endurance and experience the freedom of skydiving.

Thus, skydiving had officially been born. The booming popularity of skydiving only increased with the invention of the airplane and other aircraft. Today, skydiving enthusiasts can be seen enjoying their passion by jumping out of most anything including planes, helicopters, balloons and other flying machinery as well as jumping from buildings, cliffs and other high places. Skydiving has become so popular and such a widespread sport that it has grown into various types of competitions that competitors travel around the world to test their skill and abilities against others.

Skydiving has changed a lot since the Emperor Shun's frantic attempt to escape death at the hands of his father. Today, Skydiving isn't just used for sporting events, but also to save lives and aid in military movements. From the conical hats to the huge (and much safer) parachutes of today, skydivers everywhere are always looking for that better jump, the higher free-fall, the total freedom that skydiving allows.

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