SKYDIVING by Steve Staley
Initial exposure to skydiving
I was a paratrooper in the Army assigned to the 101 Airborne Division. After Jump School, I trained to be a parachute rigger and aerial delivery specialist. Riggers packed the parachutes that the 101 used, the big 100’ and 50’ cargo drop chutes, and maintained the equipment.
In the military, we did mass tactical jumps where we loaded a C-130 aircraft with 60 paratroopers. They then jumped onto drop zones on the base. Multiple planes were employed to quickly enable the delivery of a large contingent of troops. We also rigged trucks, tanks, cannons, C-rations (food), water, and anything else needed to supply troops in the field.
Fort Campbell had a sport parachute club while I was there with the 101st, so I bought my own rig, paid the $3 monthly club fee, and jumped as many jumps as I could pack in each Saturday and Sunday. The Army gave us Huey helicopters as jump vehicles. The cheap club fee compared to the expensive Huey rides was written off as training.
And so it began ...
Of course, I was hooked. At our Fort Campbell club, our instructors trained us to jump and deploy from free fall. This contrasted with the military jumps that were done with static lines. Those attached to the plane and parachute and deployed the chute automatically.
With free fall, the jumper is on his/her own to deploy the chute. To train, the student does some tandem jumps with an instructor attached to them, learns to do a stable free fall, and learns the equipment.
Usually, the student must be 18 years old, complete ground school training, do two tandem jumps, and three escorted jumps, which means two instructors jump with the student and hanging on. After the student can complete these jumps to the instructor’s satisfaction, the next step is a solo jump. That means jumping from the aircraft without being harnessed to an experienced jumper. However, other jumpers will almost always accompany the student.
Additionally, students learn to pack their own parachutes, and instructors will expect them to pack for their own jumps. As I was a certified rigger, I could pack chutes for others, and only a certified rigger can pack the reserve parachute. Yes, we jump with two chutes, a main chute and a reserve chute …the last resort.
And while you're entirely free of encumbrances ...
Free fall is an experience; just a flick of the wrist can turn the human body. Depending on body attitude, a person can be falling at about 180 mph in a stable arch and around 200 mph in a track position (feet straight out and hands down to sides). The 32 ft. per second speed of a falling body only happens until it reaches terminal velocity*. This occurs when the downward velocity is slowed by air resistance. It is something jumpers can feel in a stable position as a slight upward pressure …pretty cool. *Definition per Skydive Paraclete XP: While the standard belly-to-earth position results in a terminal velocity of around 120 mph, the terminal velocity of a human flying headfirst can increase the speed to 150-180 mph, and potentially reach 200 mph!
Next steps if you become addicted to skydiving
After 25 solo jumps (jumpers have to perform some required maneuvers in selected jumps), students can apply for certification from the USPA (United States Parachute Association). Most skydiving centers require proof of a certain level of training, and the USPA certification generally satisfies these requirements.