There is, by definition, a basic risk associated with the sport of parachuting. After all, you are leaving the safety of an airplane that has elevated you to 10,000 or more feet in the air. It is no surprise that one of the first items of business attended to when a novice skydiver signs up at a skydiving school is a registration form that includes an acknowledgment of the risks associated with the sport. If you can believe it, skydiving has been around for hundreds of years. Some historians have traced the first parachutes back a thousand years ago to China.

Once you have completed parachute training you will be tested regarding your knowledge. Oral, written and practical tests are part of the testing skydivers must undergo. Oral testing is used to develop decision-making abilities, while written tests give students the opportunity to explain their knowledge and understanding of parachuting. Practical testing is of vital importance as well to demonstrate reactions and skills.

When it comes to taking your first jump, a tandem free-fall is often the most common form of parachute jump. A tandem jump means that the jump is done while the student and the instructor are attached to the same parachute system. You will free-fall for about thirty to fifty seconds, depending on the altitude. Both the instructor and student descend together under one single parachute that has dual controls.

Another method that is used is called accelerated free-fall, and is done with two instructors exiting the airplane with the student. All three fall together for about thirty to fifty seconds, depending on the altitude. The instructors will maintain a grip on the student’s harness. This is for “in the air instructional purposes” as well as helping stabilize the student, if necessary. When a level of about 4,000 feet above the ground has been reached, the student is instructed to open the parachute and pilot it to the landing area.

Another form of skydiving is called the instructor-assisted deployment, also called the static-line method. This is done after classroom instruction of the essentials has been completed, and includes climbing out and exiting of the aircraft, free-falling, canopy flight, landing and emergency procedures. A key difference with this method is that the parachute will deploy immediately upon leaving the aircraft. This is typically done at about 3,500 feet. The student will then pilot the parachute to the ground.

Still another training technique used in the sport of skydiving is called the vertical wind tunnel. It is a large fan that produces a current of air which is strong enough to support a person or a small group of people. Instructors sometimes use this technique to teach stability and maneuvering prior to an actual free-fall.

Parachuting lessons and jumps sites can be found from coast to coast, from California skydiving to Florida skydiving, no matter if you are a beginner looking for your first tandem ride or a seasoned veteran looking for your next adrenalin rush. The United States Parachute Association (USPA) has a list of skydiving schools and drop zones on its website at www.uspa.org, and has a list of the basic safety requirements that prospective parachutists will need to meet.

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Tags: military parachutes, parachute jump, skydiving center, skydiving parachuting, tandem skydive

A vertical wind tunnel allows almost anyone to experience what it feels like to float on air. What is a vertical wind tunnel, you ask? Vertical wind tunnels, or simply VWTs, are tunnels that blow air up in a column and are used for recreational as well as training purposes. Most of the time, VWTs are advertised as equipment to be used for body flights or indoor skydiving. They are also a very helpful parachute training tool that many skydivers utilize.

The history of skydiving indoors dates back to 1964, when the U.S. military started building vertical wind tunnels to enhance army parachute training of their soldiers. The first VWTs for use by the general public opened in 1982 in Las Vegas and Tennessee. Though these tunnels were lots of fun, they only approximated how the true free-fall parachute jumps actually felt, and were pretty difficult to master.

A lot of skydiving skills can be learned and practiced using vertical wind tunnels. Many skydivers like to use this as practice tool so that they can become more adept at controlling their bodies while falling from great heights. Floating your body can be done by decreasing and increasing your body’s drag by using your arms and legs as rudders for motion control. You can see why they call it indoor skydiving.

Indoor vertical wind tunnels have two sub-categories: non-re-circulating and re-circulating. Non-re-circulating wind tunnels typically suck air through inlets found in the bottom portion of the building in which they are housed. The air is then pushed up the body flight area, and then exits through the top portion of the structure. The re-circulating type of VWT creates an aerodynamic loop that has turning vanes, which are similar to wind tunnels used in labs, but have a vertical loop and a body flight chamber inside the vertical section of the loop. Re-circulating tunnels are generally used in places where the climate is just too cold to use the non-re-circulating type. Indoor vertical wind tunnels tend to have a smoother and more controlled airflow than outdoor VWTs. They also have much more control of the temperature inside, providing year-round body flights in cold climates.

For competitive skydivers, indoor skydiving is a critical training element because it gives them the ability to train for hours. Before VWTs, many were only getting about ten minutes of real skydiving practice per day. Vertical wind tunnels have taken the sport to a height never seen before and can be the ultimate skydiving equipment for gaining that competitive edge.

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Tags: military parachutes, parachute jump, skydiving center, skydiving parachuting, tandem skydive