LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Parachuting
built 655 days ago
Parachuting is popular amongst many people as it is the closest one can get to flying, while others just like the rush of adrenaline that comes from jumping out of an airplane. Most skydivers will make their first jump and first few jumps in tandem with an experienced and trained skydiver.
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Parachuting is a generic term which now covers a wide range of activities that have evolved as leisure activities in general have increased. Originally parachutes were semi-spherical in shape and parachutists jumped from planes, opening their parachutes as quickly as possible. Now there are numerous variations: spot landing, canopy control, free style, aerobatics, relative formations, free flying, sky surfing, base jumps, swoops or blade running…
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Parachuting has complex skills that can take thousands of jumps to master, but the basics are often fully understood and useful during the first few jumps. There are four basic areas of skill: basic safety, free fall maneuvers, parachute operation, and landing.
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Parachuting jumps typically involve individuals who jump out of an airplane, helicopter or hot air balloon at a level of about 13,000 feet. There is a freefall period before the parachute is deployed. The parachute is then used to slow down the landing speed and allow the skydiver to steer his or her way to a safe landing zone.
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Parachuting (or Skydiving, to use its increasingly popular name) provides a wide variety of breath-taking, dynamic and very attractive competitive events focusing on athletes rather than aircraft. Parachuting & Skydiving events are very attractive for spectators, since modern technologies may be used to follow and display the athletes’ performance on large screens in front of the public.
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Parachuting has been around for about 200 years. Of course early parachutes were not as safe as they are today. Much of the improvements in parachuting equipment are due to government's military use.
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Parachuting