The journey of skydiving from being a war tactic to an adventure sport
The thought of jumping from a high altitude can be dizzying even for the stronghearted too! The thought is enough to send chills down most of our spines, isn’t it? What if we told you there are many people who do it and that too with much vigour? We are talking about the adventure sport of skydiving and not suicide missions, don’t worry! Skydivers, however, undergo extensive training before they are allowed to do so. This adventure sport, which has become quite popular now, is also known as parachuting in many parts of the world. Basically, skydiving involves free fall from an aircraft or a mountain till a parachute is deployed for safe landing on the ground. But who came up with the idea of skydiving? Come, let’s find out more about the origin, history and evolution of this adventure sport.
The principles of parachuting used in China
It seems, the concept of falling from the sky dates back to 12th century China. There are several ancient Chinese drawings which depict people using the principles of parachuting while descending from high altitudes with the help of umbrella- and kite-like constructions. Legends have it that a Chinese prince, imprisoned in a tall tower by his father, used two large conical bamboo hats to jump out of it. Evidences also suggest that 12th century Chinese adventurers made use of make-shift parachutes to dive from cliffs and other heights. This is known as base jumping now.
The inception of parachutes
The oldest record of a parachute-like object can be found in the medieval age. During the early years of Italian Renaissance, several designs of parachutes were appearing in anonymous manuscripts. Within a few years, more sophisticated designs were created by famous Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci. However, the first human to jump in a frameless and soft parachute, like the ones we use today, was Andrew Garnerin, a French balloonist. He did so in the late 18th century. Parachutes evolved a lot thereafter.
Skydiving: A military tactic during World War II!
Yes, modern skydiving hasn’t always been a sport the way it is today. In fact, it was used as a war tactic during World War II by the US troops. The initial military training given to the divers was known as a static line programme. During the training, a skydiver exits the aircraft and wears a parachute that can be deployed by a tether line. The development of parachute technology by the military played a major role in skydiving becoming a mainstream sport. The soldiers who returned from the war took to skydiving as a regular competition. This is how it became a national sport in the US in 1952!
Now, the training is more advanced and much safer. There is programme offered by the United States Parachute Association known as Accelerated Freefall (USP-AAF) for people 18 years and above. Veteran jumpmasters help the students remain stable and train them in various tasks to maintain stability. All of these prompted multiple skydiving competitions.
Start of skydiving competitions
The first skydiving competition was held in the year 1951 in Yugoslavia. Later on, many world championships were organised the under Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). In the classical style, the divers perform several acrobatic moves in the air. Relative work in freefall involves a group of divers building a prescribed number of formations while in the air. There is canopy relative work, in which the divers build formations after their parachutes have opened. Freestyle skydiving involves a mix of freestyle acrobatic and gymnastic moves by the diver. A videographer (who jumps with the diver) records all the moves with a video camera.
At the annual World Free Fall Convention in Quincy, Illinois, that began in 1990, divers take up new challenges. It is one of the largest skydiving events. Here, skydivers can afford the opportunity to jump from a Boeing 727, a helicopter, in addition to aeroplanes and hot air balloons, as their heart pleases!