Skydiving and parachuting equipment

Skydiving and parachuting... in order to feel the excitement and live long enough to tell about it, you need to buy good equipment! Especially when you get into the skydiving branch, there are quite a number of gizmos and thingummies you might want or need.

Altimeters are one of the obligatory pieces that you would use for skydiving. You may be surprised with the vast variety of choices. However, it is recommend that you use one that’s easy to read.

Although audibles are not strictly compulsory, getting an extra altitude warning would be very useful, especially if you’re doing various disciplines like: freefly, flat-fly, and breaking off high. If you want to go freeflying, most coaches wouldn’t let you jump without an audible.

Helmets, of course, are mandatory. You should consider bother safety and comfort, by trying on as many as you can to find the perfect fit. For extra protection, a full-face would be your right pick. Open-faced helmets allow easier communication, but they don’t protect your mouth and jaw and you'll need additional goggles. Then there are the leather frappe hats. Our advice is simple: leave them alone, on account of insufficient protection.

Gloves can protect your hands from scrapes, line burns, mishaps, and cold weather. For skydiving they must be thick to protect you from the cold, while thin enough that you can still feel your handles.

Hook knives can be your life saver in case of a line-over malfunction with your reserve chute. Get one that fits conveniently fit in your rig. Don't wear the knife on your chest strap - it can easily be lost from there. Your leg strap is the right place.

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A short history of skydiving

Parachuting started about a thousand years ago in China. People would find natural formations to leap off and float safely towards the ground - at least that's what the records say. In Europe it was Leonardo da Vinci who designed an early parachute, in the shape of a pyramid with a wooden frame. Indeed, parachuting is quite a bit older than generally thought.

Early male and female skydivers

Skydiving, in contrast with traditional parachuting, is much more recent. The first skydiver on record was Jacques Garnerin who, about the late 1700's, jumped from balloons. After a fanciful free fall display he employed his parachute to make a safe landing. One of the most famous women in early skydiving history is Kathe Paulus, who jumped in Germany near the end of the 19th century and lived long enough to become famous.

Then the airplane joins!

After the invention of the airplane, skydiving made a big jump forward (silly pun intended - wide grin!) which led to more and more spectacular routines. The first woman to ever jump from an airplane was Tiny Broadwick in 1913. A year later she became the first woman to make a free fall from an airplane.

The term skydiving was first used in the mid-1950’s, to distinguish it from "normal" parachuting. Its increasing popularity led to the appearance of the first skydiving schools in 1957.

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