Name: __________________________________

Fly Into Action

by Rebecca Besser
Ready, Set, Jump!
For skydivers, the sky isnt the limit. Its just the
beginning. Thousands of people eah year try the
sport of skydiving. !ome only jump one, "hile
others go on to e#periene lifelong adventures,
maneuvering and flipping through the air.
$!kydiving is not for everyone. %ut, if you enjoy the
hallenge of learning to perform in a ompletely
ne" environment, are "illing to make the effort to
do it safely, and an overome your fears to make
the first fe" jumps & the re"ards an be
tremendous,' says skydiver %ill von Novak. (e has
jumped around ),)** times, is a fill+in instrutor at
,erris -alley !kydiving in .alifornia, and sometimes
teahes a free fall ourse to Navy !/01! at Ta+0ir.
!kydivers jumping from an airplane 2photo by %ill von Novak3
First Jumps
There are three options for your first jump. (o"ever,
before you an make any attempts at skydiving, a
ground ourse on safety and e4uipment is re4uired.
The length and omple#ity of the ourse depends
on the jump you hoose.
The most popular first+jump tehni4ue is tandem.
Tandem has the shortest ground ourse, and is the
easiest to omplete. 5ou and the instrutor are
strapped together in a double harness 2the
instrutor behind, "ith you in front3. 5our instrutor
"ears the tandem rig, "hih ontains a main and a
reserve parahute. 5ou jump out of the plane
together, and the instrutor takes are of opening
the parahute at the appropriate altitude.
The seond tehni4ue is aelerated free fall or
0FF. 0elerated refers to the learning proess. 5ou
jump out of the plane "hile being held by t"o
instrutors, one on either side. They hold onto you
until you open your parahute.
The third tehni4ue is alled !tati line. The stati
line is onneted to the rip ord on your parahute
and to the plane. 0fter jumping out, you "ill
e#periene free fall for a seond or t"o. Then the
"eight of your body "ill pull the line tight, opening
the anopy.
For eah of these three methods, an instrutor is
there to oah you in the air "ith hand signals or
"ith a radio.
Skydiving Q & A
How many people skydive each year? 0ppro#imately 6 million parahute jumps our eah year.
Who was the world's oldest skydiver? Frank 7oody, from 0ustralia, "ent skydiving at 8*8 years of age.
Who was the world's first parachute jumper? 0ndr9+:a4ues ;arnerin "as probably the first parahute
jumper. In 8<=< 2over 8** years before airplanes "ere invented3,
he jumped from a hot air balloon.
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!kydivers join hands in this arobati maneuver 2photo by %ill von Novak3
EQUI!E"#
>hen someone says parahute, huge round irles might ome
to mind. Its more ommon today to use a retangle anopy
alled a ?am+air. >hen they are opened, the for"ard speed fills
ells in the parahute "ith air, keeping it stable.
!kydivers also "ear jump suits, helmets, and gloves to help
protet other areas of their bodies. Fae shields or goggles are
also ommonly "orn. This helps "ith visibility, an important
onsideration, sine you are falling to"ard the /arth at the rate
of 86*+6** mph.
If you deide to try skydiving, just remember that there are very
real risks involved. For some, the risk is the dra". >hen I asked %ill
von Novak "hat his favorite thing about skydiving is, he said,
$The freedom. For a fe" minutes there is absolutely nothing
holding you to a spot on the planet, or in an airplane. 5oure
ompletely free to fly around the sky and to hoose your o"n
orientation, speed, and trajetory.'
$e%ine It!
Skydiving &ingo
Skydiving & the sport of jumping from
an airraft and performing arobati
maneuvers in the air before landing by
parahute.
Free fall & do"n"ard movement under
the fore of gravity@ rapid desent
"ithout means of stopping.
Altitude & the height of an objet or
point in relation to sea level, or ground
level.
Static Line & a line attahed to a
parahute pak and to a able in an
airraft for the purpose of
automatially opening the parahute
after it is dropped.
Rip cord & a ord on a parahute that,
"hen pulled, opens the parahute for
desent.
Traectory & the path desribed by a
projetile flying or an objet moving
under the ation of given fores.
!rop "one & an area into "hih
paratroopers, soldiers, or supplies are
landed from airraft for a military
operation.
'ertical (ind #unnels
!ine skydiving is a risky sport, you must be eighteen years old to jump out of a plane at skydiving shools or
areas alled drop Aones. %ut, there is an alternative if you are not yet of age & vertial "ind tunnels.
-ertial "ind tunnels simulate the feeling of free fall. They are used by professional skydivers and ompetitors to
pratie their routines or triks. %ill von Novak says, $The "ind tunnel is a great "ay for younger aspiring jumpers
to see "hat free fall is like.'
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)*!E#I#I*"S A"$ (*R&$ RE)*R$S
If you deide after your first jump or a visit to a vertial "ind tunnel that
skydiving is a sport you "ould enjoy, you might "ant to look into the
various types of sky sports and ompetitions. /ah sport and
ompetition has its o"n set of rules, and hallenges. There is also a long
list of people "ho have set or broken reords.
%ill von Novak is one of these people. (is first "orld reord "as as part of
a B**+person formation in 0riAona in 6**6. (e "as also one of the
people that set the "orld reords in Thailand for formations. In 6**C,
they made a formation of B)< people, then "ent bak in 6**D to break
that reord "ith a formation of C**. !kydiving maneuver 2photo by %ill von Novak3
&E#+S ,* U"$ER,R*U"$!
>hen you think of skydiving or %0!/ jumping, you
generally think of going up in the air, or limbing to
a higher altitude to jump. That is not al"ays the
ase. In 7e#io, there is a ave that people %0!/
jump into. It is the deepest hole in the "orld. It has
an opening at ground level and is over 8,*** feet
deep. The ave is alled !Etano de las
;olondrinas, or ,it of the !"allo"s. It is also
sometime kno"n as the %asement or .ellar of the
!"allo"s. The ave gets its name from the vast
number of birds that live "ithin.
If you think that %0!/ jumping underground may be
safer than jumping into the air from a high altitude,
its not true. It is very dangerous to jump in this
ave. :umpers must fly in a onstant spiral to avoid
hitting the "alls.
U##I", #-E . I" ./#RE!E!
Fn 0ugust 8D, 8=D*, a man named :oseph Gittinger
did something that no one "ould ever dream "as
possible. (e "ent up in a polyethylene plasti helium
filled balloon alled, Excelsior III. (e reahed an
altitude of 8*6,H** feet. From there, he leapt out of the
balloons gondola, to free fall for H*,*** feet. (e fell for
four minutes and thirty+si# seonds, reahing a speed
of around D8C mph, before opening his parahute.
Gittinger set reords that still stand today. These
reords inlude: the highest balloon asent@ the
highest parahute jump@ the longest free fall@ and the
fastest speed by a man through the atmosphere of
D8C mph.
To "ath videos of his amaAing jump go to
5ouTube.om and hek out:
1. Iisovery !iene -ideo: Free Fall from !pae
. :oseph Gittinger jump at 8*6,H** feet
FU#URE *F S01$I'I",
>ith ne" innovations of e4uipment and kno"ledge, there are endless possibilities to "here the future of
skydiving "ill lead. If you are eager to try something hallenging and "ould love to feel the freedom of flying,
skydiving might be an adventure for you. >ho kno"sJ >ith risk and e#itement mi#ed together, skydiving might
just hange your life.
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Name: __________________________________
Fly Into Action
by Rebecca Besser
1. Name five piees of e4uipment used by skydivers.
__________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
. >hat is a vertial "ind tunnelJ
a. a "ind storm that skydivers jump into
b. a mahine that produes "ind to make people feel like they are skydiving
c. an area belo" the airplane that skydivers should avoid
d. a plae "here skydivers store their gear
!. >ho "as :oseph GittingerJ
a. the first person to parahute from an airplane
b. the person "ho organiAed the reord B**+person skydiving formation in 0riAona
c. the person "ho holds the reord for parahuting from the lo"est altitude
d. the person "ho holds the reord for parahuting from the highest altitude
". (o" "as :oseph GittingerKs parahute jump in 8=D* similar to 0ndr9+:a4ues ;arnerinKs jump in
8<=<J
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
#. >hen "ould a skydiver pull the rip ordJ
a. "hen he or she "ants the parahute to open
b. "hen the main parahute fails to open
c. "hen he or she reahes the ground
d. "hen he or she first puts on a parahute
$. Iesribe a tandem parahute jump.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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Name: __________________________________
Fly Into Action
%pinion &ssay
If you had the opportunity to go skydiving, "ould you do itJ
>rite a short paragraph 2"ith at least ) sentenes3 to e#plain
"hy you "ould or "ould not like to skydive.
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'()W&R *&+
Fly Into Action
by Rebecca Besser
1. Name five piees of e4uipment used by skydivers.
1. parachute, . jump suit, !. helmet,
". face shield -or .o..les/, #. .loves
'lso accept0 radio
. >hat is a vertial "ind tunnelJ b
a. a "ind storm that skydivers jump into
b. a machine that produces wind to make people feel like they are skydivin.
c. an area belo" the airplane that skydivers should avoid
d. a plae "here skydivers store their gear
!. >ho "as :oseph GittingerJ d
a. the first person to parahute from an airplane
b. the person "ho organiAed the reord B**+person skydiving formation in 0riAona
c. the person "ho holds the reord for parahuting from the lo"est altitude
d. the person who holds the record for parachutin. from the hi.hest altitude
". (o" "as :oseph GittingerKs parahute jump in 8=D* similar to 0ndr9+:a4ues ;arnerinKs jump in
8<=<J
1hey both jumped from a hot air balloon.
#. >hen "ould a skydiver pull the rip ordJ a
a. when he or she wants the parachute to open
b. "hen the main parahute fails to open
c. "hen he or she reahes the ground
d. "hen he or she first puts on a parahute
$. Iesribe a tandem parahute jump.
2n a tandem parachute jump, the parachuter is strapped to an instructor. Both people jump
out of the plane to.ether. 1he instructor pulls the rip cord at the appropriate altitude.
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B2B32%4R'5H+0 6ain 'rticle
.arey, Geith. 0 %eginners ;uide to 0irsports. 1ondon, >.: 0L. %lak, 8==C
.efrey, (olly. M+treme Futdoor@ !kysurfing. ?osen %ook >orks, In., 6**B
;ale, 1eslie. Nltimate Thrill !ports@ !kydiving. Tiktok 7edia 1td., 6**<@ ;areth !tevens, In., 6**H
Novak, %ill von. !kydive Instrutor. ,erris -alley !kydiving .alifornia. /+mail Intervie". !ent Thursday, 7ay
68, 6**=. ?eeived %ak, 7onday, 7ay 6), 6**=.
$,arahute.' >ikipedia, the free enylopedia. ,age last modified = :une 6**= O 8D:88. 8* :une 6**=.
Phttp:QQen."ikipedia.orgQ"ikiQ,arahuteRhttp:QQen."ikipedia.orgQ"ikiQ,arahutehttp:QQen."ikipedia.orgQ
"ikiQ,arahuteR
?yan, ,at. !kysurfing. 7ankato, 7innesota: .apstone ,ress, 8==H
!mith, >endy. $Thailand S*D >orld Team.'.atapadamania@ Neale, !arah. ,i "ith all jumpers names, in
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fatorTCRPhttp:QQatapedamania.omQC**"aynamessale.aspJfatorTCR
B2B32%4R'5H+0 75uttin. the 8 in 891reme:;
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Phttp:QQ""".balloonlife.omQpubliationsQballoon_lifeQ=)8*Qballoonm.htmR
$:oseph Gittinger.' >ikipedia, the free enylopedia. ,age last modified 6B 7ay 6**= O 86:B). 8D :une
6**= Phttp:QQen."ikipedia.orgQ"ikiQ:oseph_GittingerR
?umerman, :udy. N.!. .entennial of Flight .ommisson. $:oseph Gittinger.'
Phttp:QQentennialofflight.govQessayQ/#plorers_?eord_!etters_and_IardevilsQGittingerQ/MB8.htmR
>illard, Geith. %allooning. 7ankato, 7innesota@ !mart 0pple 7edia 6**8.
5oon, :oe. 8H !eptember 6**). $Fastest !kydiver :oseph Gittering.' 0erospae"eb.org.
Phttp:QQ""".aerospae"eb.orgQ4uestionQaerodynamisQ4*6CB.shtmlR
B2B32%4R'5H+0 73et's 4o <nder.round:;
$.ave of !"allo"s.' >ikipedia, the free enylopedia. ,age last modified 86 :une 6**= O 8B:**. 8D :une
6**=. Phttp:QQen."ikipedia.orgQ"ikiQ.ave_of_!"allo"sR
Iukek, :ohen. !Etano de las ;olondrinas: .ellar of the !"allo"s + ,it of the !"allo"s + The %ig (ole.
!ho" aves. Phttp:QQ""".sho"aves.omQenglishQm#QavesQ;olondrinas.htmlR
;ale, 1esley. Nltimate Thrill !ports@ !kydiving. Tiktok 7edia 1td., 6**<@ ;areth !tevens, In., 6**H
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