5 faits liés au parachutisme qui vous surprendront!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
We’ll take you to the heart of the most surprising anecdotes in the world of skydiving! Enough to liven up any conversation!
Skydiving, by its very nature, is a sport shrouded in mystery and generating immense curiosity! Imagine the extent of this curiosity when you gather the most fascinating facts and statistics in the field. Follow us, this way!
1. It is very rare to see round parachutes these days!
Although round parachutes are commonly seen in cartoons, only the military still adheres to the round (hemispherical) shape, and even then, only for specific drops. For everything else, rectangular and elliptical parachutes have now taken over due to their ease of handling and softer landings !
2. The smallest parachute ever jumped by a human measured 34 square feet (3.15 square meters)!
While our tandem jump parachutes measure 340 square feet, Luigi Cani is the man to have jumped and landed the world’s smallest parachute , made from only 34 square feet of material!
Before him, Ernesto Gainza held the record with a parachute landing measuring 35 square feet. To give you a point of comparison, that’s roughly the size of a standard double bed fitted sheet! Note that this Venezuelan is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 114 pounds at the time of the record in 2014. Despite his light weight, it took him a year of methodical preparation and several tests to achieve this feat!
3. Red Bull did not record the highest parachute jump in history!
While the Red Bull Stratos jump made headlines and received massive media attention, it’s the jump of computer engineer Robert Alan Eustache that holds the record for the most incredible statistics in the world of skydiving. In 2014, he jumped from a balloon at nearly 137,280 feet ( 42 kilometers) and freefalled for 15 minutes . He is one of the few people to have broken the sound barrier, reaching a top speed of 1,287 kilometers per hour ! He thus set two new world records: the longest freefall and the greatest distance flown over Earth!
4. You cannot speak while in freefall.
Even though some filmmakers have made this artistic choice in their scripts, it’s impossible to converse during freefall ; it’s simply too noisy! At nearly 230 kilometers per hour, the ever-present wind will make it impossible! Parachutists communicate using hand signals; needless to say, they stick to the essentials!
That said, once the parachute is deployed , you’ll be able to chat with your tandem instructor without even raising your voice, it will be so quiet! Skydiving is definitely a sport of contrasts!
Also, some skydiving disciplines such as wingsuit flying and flocking (synchronized parachute flying) can be practiced with headphones and microphones in the participants’ helmets. Most of the time, it’s the leader who speaks to give precise instructions to their group!
5. The largest formation of skydivers in freefall had 400 people!
What a fascinating experience it must have been in 2006 for those 400 people who came from all over the world, including Canada, to participate in this record attempt in Thailand. All participants had to attach themselves to each other simultaneously in their specific positions (determined before the jump) for the record to be validated. The giant mandala formed in the sky was held for 4.3 seconds, and it took five Hercules aircraft (photo above) to bring everyone up to an altitude of 25,400 feet! Remember that the skydivers then had to separate safely, open their parachutes, and land, all within seconds of each other! Imagine the logistics involved!
Did you enjoy it?! Discover Canadian skydiving records by browsing other articles in our blog section!
