A Brief History On Skydiving

There is a long and rich history on skydiving, but this article will give you just a brief history on skydiving. Although many of the skydiving milestones occurred within the twentieth century, the history on skydiving goes back much further. Parachuting actually originally started in China around the 1100s, which is almost a thousand years ago. Even though there was no airplanes at that time, individuals found natural formations where they could leap and float relatively safely to the ground below. In addition, Leonardo Da Vinci created a design that showed a wood frame parachute in a pyramid shape, proving that parachuting is a lot older than many think.

The Sport Of Skydiving

When it comes to skydiving as a sport, the history on skydiving then has a more recent start. The first person to do this was Jacques Garnerin who jumped from balloons in the late eighteenth century and performed fanciful displays. After performing his jumps he would use a parachute to land safely. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that women started participating in this sport as well. Kathe Paulus is one of the more famous women in the history on skydiving who parachuted in Germany near the end of the nineteenth century and she became well known for her skill.

The history on skydiving moves to another level when the airplane was invented. As the airplane evolved it became possible to parachute from a faster-moving mechanical device and causing more spectacular skydiving routines. Tiny Broadwick was the first woman to jump from a plane in 1913. She was also the first woman to make a free fall from an airplane in 1914.

Although it is interesting to note that in the history on skydiving, it wasn’t actually declared skydiving until the mid-1950s and the term was applied to Raymond Young. Before this time everyone referred to it as parachuting. After World War II the art of skydiving changed from a novelty act to an actual sport. This was a result of parachutes and skydiving being used as a tactical move during the war. In fact, during World War I pilots were told to land their planes rather than bail out and often weren’t given parachutes. After the first successful bailout of an airplane in 1922, parachuting became a more popular form of bailout for pilots.

Skydiving then became more of a mainstream hobby after World War II. Especially since the returning soldiers enjoyed the ski diving aspect and had the courage to attempt freefall. The soldiers often engaged in competitions when they returned home which led to skydiving becoming a sport. For commercial purposes the first skydiving schools started to appear around 1957. Today skydiving is both a popular hobby and an extreme sport.