Who invented skydiving

While the use of parachutes dates all the way back to in China, the activity we call "skydiving" can be most directly linked to France in the late 18th century. Skydiving has come a long way from the beginning of parachuting, which dates all the way back to 10th century China.

The activity we know today is more closely related to what a man named Jacques Garnerin became famous for in late 18th century France-Garnerin jumped from balloons with a parachute for show. This got the ball rolling for the popularization of parachuting, and in the transition from balloons as base platforms to airplanes, American parachutist Tiny Broadwick was the first woman to jump from a plane at the beginning of the 20th century.

In World War I, observational air balloons were often used, especially in areas that utilized trench warfare. The men who were stationed in the balloons were airborne for many hours at a time, and although they were usually heavily guarded, they were still easy targets for enemy aircrafts. Due to the dangerous nature of being a static target in hostile territory, operators were equipped with emergency parachutes that allowed them to escape if their balloon was attacked.

World War II introduced paratrooper insertions into enemy territory, which created a mass of skilled parachutists and parachuting equipment.

This is the style of chute that became en reg with the actual chute being stored or housed in a casing on the jumper's body. On June 21, , Georgia "Tiny" Broadwick became the first woman to parachute jump from a moving aircraft over Los Angles and to dive in free fall in Tethered parachutes were initially tried but caused problems when the aircraft was spinning.

In Leslie Irvin invented and successfully tested a parachute that the pilot could deploy when clear of the aircraft. He became the first person to make a premeditated free-fall parachute jump from an airplane. Another life-saving jump was made at McCook Field by test pilot Lt.

Harold H. Harris on October 20, Shortly after Harris' jump two Dayton newspaper reporters suggested the creation of the Caterpillar Club for successful parachute jumps from disabled aircraft. The first recorded free fall jump is credited to Leslie Irvin in and the earliest competitive dives date back to the 's. Skydiving became much more mainstream once the military began developing parachute technology and used the act of skydiving as a tactical move during World War II.

After the war skydiving became much more popular as many returning soldiers took it up and had regular competitions, which led to it becoming a national sport in Our Chief Instructor will be able to tell you all about that if you would like to know more! The highest recorded skydive in history happened recently, on October 14th, , when 43 year old Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner successfully jumped from 39 kilometers, literally jumping from the edge of space.

He is the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power on his descent.