Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes.

SKYDIVING

Ayesha Raza

When you attend a skydiving certification course you will be able to hire all the skydiving supplies you need for the duration. However if you are serious about the sport you are going to need to equip yourself for action. Your basic equipment needs to begin with are a jump suit, goggles, and helmet. You may also like to buy your own altimeter and gloves.

Some of the equipment you will come across when shopping for skydiving supplies explained:

Altimeter – This is a device used by skydivers to measure the altitude above a landing area.This lets the diver known when its time to release the canopy.

Audible Altimeter – This sounds an alarm when the diver reaches a pre-set altitude

Canopy – This is the major component of a parachute.It is the material that is connected by lines to the harness that provides wind resistance and makes deceleration possible.

Pilot Chute – This is a small chute that works in conjunction with the main chute to speed up or initiate deployment.

Harness – What connects the diver to the chute and restrains the diver in position.

Automatic Activation Device – An Electro-mechanical devise that automatically deploys the reserve chute at a pre set time or velocity.

Containers – This is the bag that holds the chute until deployment.

Depending on your level of experience you can look into varying types of canopies and other devices that will affect the speed and control of your jumps. Some of the major suppliers of canopies include Icarus, Precision Aerodynamics and Aerodyne. You might also use other equipment such as knives, creepers, drag mats and windsocks. Skydiving supplies range from beginner products to professional and custom designs.

There are other components that you will come across when learning about equipment that are more advanced. Components such as rigging and static lines will effect your ability to control and maneuver your parachute. You will also be using toggles these are the mechanisms that are attached to the lines that allow you to slow your speed when you are about to land. They act as a break mechanism so that you can cont-rol your descent.

People are afraid of skydiving mainly because there are a lot of myths related to it in the popular culture. These several inaccuracies that have been propagated are the biggest reason for skydiving fear. Here are four of these myths along with the real explanation.

Myth 1: During free fall you can’t breathe

Fact: Breathing during free fall is possible, contrary to the way people tend to think. If breathing wouldn’t be possible the skydiver wouldn’t be able to open the parachute because they would be unconscious.

Myth 2:A conversation can be held during free fall.

Fact: This might be doable in movies but it is strictly Hollywood. The reality is that while free falling you can’t hear anything because the wind screaming through your ears is too loud. Trying to have a conversation in that conditions is impossible.

Myth 3: Holding on to someone that has a parachute is possible, if you don’t have one yourself.

Fact: This is indeed a movie miracle and is 99% likely not to happen. This kind of stunts have been pulled off but again that is almost impossible and that is because of the forces that are at work when the parachute opens.

Myth 4: You can free fall for five minutes

Fact: The cruise height of an airplane is at about 10,000 – 12,000 feet and that means about 40 seconds of free fall before opening the parachute. A five minutes fall requires a height of about 60,000 feet and you would need extra oxygen.

Fact: There are a lot of natural fears about your parachute failing to open but this has been take care of with all modern parachutes because they are now fitted with a device that will deploy the parachute automatically in case you fail to do that yourself. The device is called Automatic Activation Device, or AAD.

The most common reasons for skydiving deaths and injuries, and that is 92%, are mistakes in judgement and procedure. This means that if you are well prepared for the jump and do everything right for the time it takes to get to the ground then you’ll enjoy 60 seconds of exhilarating free fall and live to tell the tale.

Accelerated Freefall courses combine ground school classes and a series of jumps taken with two instructors, maintaining progressively less hand contact with you on each subsequent jump. This leads up to a completely unassisted solo jump where you will demonstrate basic maneuvers. While these jumps are typically taken to receive your USPA (United States Parachute Association) license, it is not (usually) a requirement that you perform the subsequent jumps in order to do the first one. While the price of that first dive is higher than a tandem jump (far more ground school and two instructors per diver), it also offers a bigger thrill and substantial feeling of accomplishment. Most skydiving schools will have you complete your ground school and first AFF jump in a single day. If you continue on with your training, you’ll eventually receive your USPA licensing after you have met all requirements and taken the required tests. This licensing is required by nearly all drop zones in order to jump.

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