If you are an adventure junkie and enjoy the thrill of challenging yourself then skydiving is just the sport for you. It involves taking a literal leap of faith out of an airplane at a high altitude. After a certain amount of time lapses, the parachute opens up while you make your descent to land below. What was once employed as a technique for airmen in the military has now become an adventure sport that is popular among many people in different parts of the world. Safety precautions are always in place to ensure that no one faces any difficulty.
Here are some of the most interesting facts about skydiving:
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Facts About Skydiving:
- Captain Kittinger is famous for breaking the record for the highest skydive (from almost 102,800 feet). After descending for 85,000 feet, he then opened his parachute for landing. However, it should be noted that this record was broken by Felix Baumgartner, who descended from a height that was around four miles higher.
- It is estimated that during the time of a free fall, the wind that travels past your ear is over 100 mph. This means that you are deaf to most sounds that you might want to hear during a free fall. It also means that you will not be able to hear any of your fellow skydivers as the wind will block your hearing capacity. This is one of the main reasons why our ears ‘pop’ while descending in an airplane or while driving.
- It is estimated that well over 2 million skydives takes place every year. Also, it is important to note that out of these skydives; the fatalities average around 35 which can be worked out to less than 1% of all the jumps that occur during the year. Therefore, it is said that skydiving can be considered safer than driving a regular car on a normal day.
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- If you enjoy adventure trips with your friends, then skydiving is just the right sport for you. In the year 2006, around 400 divers from as many as 31 countries took just about 80 seconds to form a flower arrangement in the sky. This feat was accomplished at a height of a little over 23,000 ft. This particular skydive is still considered as one of the most dangerous in the history of the sport. Now that’s what you call adventure!
- One of the most interesting facts about skydiving is that a person named Jonas holds the record for getting a tattoo made while free falling at from a 4000 m altitude. Hailing from Sweden, he got the acronym WFFT tattooed on his arm. What does WFFT stand for? Well, it stands for Worlds First Freefall Tattoo. He is still hailed as a local hero for this feat. Bravo!
- If it is believed that skydiving is only for men, then you could not be more wrong. Georgina Broadwick, in 1913, was the first woman to jump with the aid of a parachute from an aircraft. This feat was accomplished over Los Angeles. It is fitting that she performed such a daredevil act over the ‘City of Angels’. Why should men have all the fun?
- Fred Mack, at the age of 100 years, was the oldest person to skydive. He promised he would do it after completing a century, and he stayed true to his word. He truly serves as a massive inspiration.
- Toni Stadler from the country of South Africa was the youngest person to skydive at the age of four. He accomplished this feat from an altitude of 10,000 feet.
- Michael Zang created a new world record by completing 500 jumps in a single day. He completed this in intervals of less than 3 minutes.
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