What is skydiving
Parachute – from the French “parachute” (Greek “para” – “against 2” and French “chute” – “fall”) – a device for braking an object due to the resistance of the atmosphere. Use for safe descent from the height of people, cargo, spacecraft, reduce mileage during landing of aircraft, etc.
It is believed that for the first time the idea of creating a parachute came to Leonardo da Vinci. In his manuscript, 1495 mentions a safe descent from a height with the help of a “tent” of starched linen measuring 12 x 12 cubits. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, another Italian scientist, Faust Veranchino, described a similar apparatus, the size of the sail of which depended on the weight of a person.
The Frenchman Laven used this design for the first time. It was in the 20s. 17th century. A French prisoner escaped from prison using a tent previously made from sheets, to the bottom of which he attached ropes and plates of whalebone. Jumping out of the prison window, the fugitive successfully splashed down …
In 1777, another Frenchman, Jean Doumier, who was sentenced to death, tried out Professor Fontage’s flying coat. The prisoner was asked to perform a jump from the roof with a “cloak”. In the case of a successful landing he was granted life. The experiment, as in the previous case, was a success.
So the first analogue of the parachute appeared. Practical use of parachutes began in the 18th century, during the development of flying in balloons. In December 1783, Lenormand performed a jump from the roof of the Montpellier Observatory on a device designed by him.
On October 22, 1797, the first real parachute jump was made over the Monceau Park in Paris. The Frenchman Andre-Jacques Garnerin jumped from a balloon at an altitude of 2,230 feet.
The parachutes of that time had a major drawback – the constant rocking of the dome while descending. The problem was finally resolved by the British. In 1834, Cocking created a parachute in the form of an overturned cone. Unfortunately, in the same year during the testing of this system, the frame of the dome could not withstand the load and was formed, and Cocking died. Another scientist, Lalande, suggested making a hole in the traditional parachute systems for air to escape from under the dome. This principle has proven effective and is used in many parachute systems so far.
What is skydiving
March 1, 1912 was made the first parachute jump from an airplane. It was made by the American captain Albert Berry in the state of Montana. Jumping from a height of 1500 feet and flying 400 feet in free fall, Berry opened the parachute and landed successfully on the parade ground of his unit.
On June 21, 1913, a woman made the first parachute jump. Twenty-year-old brave Georgia Thompson made her debut leap over Los Angeles.