Parachuting: The Skydiver s Handbook

Now you can fly like a bird with the one and only howto, whereto, basictoadvanced skydiving manual. It covers all training methods in great detail: static line, Accelerated FreeFall, InstructorAssisted Deployment and Tandem. It traces the history of the parachute up to modern skydiving, year by year. The chapter on emergency situations is absolutely fascinating. Full of statistics, it reveals the best solution to every possible emergency situation. The book goes on to coach you in your freefall progression, from the basics through advanced relative work and free style, and in flying your canopy, from the basics to advanced canopy relative work. The equipment chapter is lengthy because this is where Dan Poynter has always been strongest. He tells you all about your gear, what to look for, what repairs you can make and when to take it to a rigger. Another chapter covers special jumps: at night, into the water, BASE, paraski, high altitude, Smokejumping, with cameras and much more. The Appendix directs you to the action by listing clubs, drop zones, equipment companies, books, magazines and videos.Never before has so much skydiving information been available in one placeand it can be yours.(From Chapter One) Jump? Out of an Airplane?Jumping is fun! Skydiving is not just falling, it is flyingthe closest we have been able to come to free, unencumbered, nonmechanical individual flight. Nearly everyone flies in his or her dreams; the young idolize Superman while the old admire the birds. Anyone who has sprung from the three meter board, jumped from the hayloft into a haystack, or even stood on a hill in a high wind with arms outstretched has experienced a form of nonmechanical flight. Skydiving, individual and group human flight, is what this book is all about.See the equipment chapter and the Glossary in the back of this book for any words that are new to you. If riding in an airplane is flying, then riding in a boat is swimming. If you want to experience the element, get out of the vehicle. Since skydiving began to catch on as a sport in the late fifties, it has become a wellorganized, widely recognized form of aviation activity and is now an established recreational pursuit. Just as airline travel has changed dramatically since its beginnings back in the early 1900s, advances in techniques and equipment have made the sport of skydiving relatively safe and thoroughly fun.Equipment. Sport jumpers wear a highly maneuverable main parachute that, when controlled properly, lets them down so softly that they can easily stand up on landing. They usually wear protective clothing: a helmet, a jumpsuit, and perhaps goggles and gloves. They wear an extra reserve parachute for the same reason you use a seat belt in your carfor protection in that rare case when something goes wrong.Going up. After you suit up, you climb aboard the aircraft with fellow parachutists for a ride to thousands of feet above the ground. The higher you go, the longer your freefall can be. A common freefall time is 60 seconds, starting from 12,500 feet (approximately 3,800 meters) above the ground (also written as AGL or Above Ground Level). Once the aircraft reaches the planned jump altitude, the jumpmaster directs the pilot to fly the plane over the proper point (the spot) on the ground so that even with some wind, you can land on target. Then out you go!Skydiving. After leaving a perfectly good airplane, you will accelerate for eleven seconds until you reach about 110 mph downward, which is nominal terminal velocity, that speed at which the pull of gravity (force on your body) equals your wind resistance. You will continue to fall at this same speed unless you alter your body position. We will explain why later.Does it feel as if you are falling? Noit s more like laying on a very noisy, partially deflated air mattress. Although you reach 110 miles per hour in a bellytoearth stable (arched) position (or even 200 miles per hour in a headdown