Sky Diving

A skydive combines strength, conquest of fear, mastery of technique, and presence of mind with the unique experience of feeling and seeing like a bird as the exit from the aircraft is followed by the rush and blur of freefall and then by a sudden calm and silence after the parachute unfurls.

This is also called a Static Line Jump (SLJ) and is convenient for soldiers who are jumping with heavy loads of weapons, ammunition, explosives, rations, and other wartime gear. The freefall is very brief, lasting only the two or three seconds that it takes for the tape to unfold. The military also uses other, extremely advanced, jumps but those are mainly reserved for commando operations.

In Style competitions, jumps are made from 6,500 ft and the skydiver performs turns and loops that are recorded by a video camera on the ground. Points are awarded for clean as well as fast execution. In Accuracy competitions, jumps are made from 3,000 ft and the landing has to be extremely precise - the skydiver has to touch a coin-sized electronic pad with one heel.