The parachute is probably the most important piece of equipment in the sport of skydiving.  Modern parachutes are classified as rigid wings as they are designed to become rigid upon deployment through their ram-air construction.  In other words the parachutes are designed with two layers with multiple cells pushes air between the layers making the parachute inflate resulting in a firm and maneuverable design.  There are many other types of parachutes that are designed for other purposes outside of the sport and are sometimes used for special purposes.

Parachutes are typically made out of lightweight nylon and must be able to endure quite a high temperature from the friction caused by deployment.  In the past, a ripcord design was used and is still used today during training.  There are various types of training available today and the one referred to above is one with practice ripcord pulls.  Other types of training may circumvent this type of parachute design.  Typically, the training shoots are packed with a spring coil inside that propels the shoot away from the skydiver.  This allows for a wider range of mistakes made by the student.  The reserve shoot is packed by a rigger.  The rigger is someone that is certified to pack parachutes.  The packing is typically done in a more conservative fashion to ensure deployment in the event there is a malfunction with the first shoot.  Regulations require that the reserve shoot must be repacked periodically, whether it is deployed or not in order to ensure greater safety of the skydiver.

A term know as wing loading is used in aviation as well as in skydiving to measure how much weight per surface area is supported by the fabric.  Starting out one pound per square foot to one and a half pounds per square foot is typical.  As a skydiver gets more advanced these numbers increase to around two to two and a half pounds per square foot as they allow for a more rapid decent and greater maneuverability of the canopy.

The parachutes are designed and packed to open softly rather than a rapid and abrupt opening.  This is accomplished through the use of a slider that works its way down the lines from the canopy to the skydiver.  The slider essentially opens the parachute more slowly rather than having an abrupt close to open sequence.  The careful folding of the parachute, lines, and slider ensure safety and reliability of the parachute.

Skydiving equipment is an important to a safe and effective skydiving experience.  The altimeter is an essential piece of equipment for the sport.  The altimeter is used for notification of skydivers to know when to deploy their parachutes as well as to break formation.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not require that skydivers use altimeters; however, they are highly recommended for safety.  One may keep count in one’s head in order to keep track of the timing to deploy one’s canopy as an alternative.

The altimeters come in two main varieties.  There are visual and audible altimeters.  There are two main types of visual altimeters.  One is the wrist mounted altimeter, which is worn on the wrist.  The other is the chest mount altimeter, which is naturally worn on the chest.  The audible altimeters are worn near the ear of the skydiver on the skydiver’s helmet.  The audible altimeters are gaining in popularity.  The most commonly used altimeters are visual.

The chest mounted altimeters were initially designed so that when one is skydiving with another individual they could read the altitude from the person across from them.  The wrist altimeter is more common in the sport for individuals.  There are some altimeters that read differently depending upon the skydiver’s orientation.  Hence, if one is inverted it may provide a different reading then if one is not inverted.  Models exist that compensate for this difference and I am not exactly clear as to how much variation there may exist between the two models.  There are models that are designed for inverted flight.

Again although the altimeter is not part of the required gear, it is probably the most important piece of equipment next to the canopy itself.  It is very important to be altitude aware during freefall.  Additionally, glow-in-the-dark altimeters and/or auditory altimeters are recommended for night jumps.

The altimeters come in a variety of grades from a variety of manufacturers.  I would recommend talking with a skydiving professional before purchasing one as well as doing a little shopping around so that the device fits your application and budget.  Be safe and have fun.

I had progressed to be able to drop from a higher altitude.  I packed my shoot with the help of my girlfriend, checked the gear, suited up, and got on the plane for another jump.  I had some allergies that were kicking in so I was not in the best health but it was not going to stop me from another spectacular experience.

The ride up tends to be a time of reflection for me and I thought about all of the things I had done in my life.  The types of things that would cross my mind were not the mundane and inconsequential; rather they are the things that are meaningful.  I tend to make amends with anything that I may have regretted and simultaneously let go of anything that is yet undone.  As we increase in altitude, I live more and more in the moment enjoying the coolness of the air, the turbulence, as well as the sound of the aircraft.  The instructor went over what to look for in terms of spotting the landing zone and commented that I would be doing some spotting of my own very soon.  Although the training is slow in some regards it is also quite a bit to take in, which is why I think that the instruction progresses so slowly yet at a clear and steady pace.

I climbed out onto the wheel again holding the supporting bar of the wing and prepared to jump.  As the instructor gave me the go ahead to jump a giant smile crossed my face as I was about to enter the world of nature once again.  I let go and had a nice exit and held my heading well as I continued toward the earth.  I needed to bring my knees back a bit and arch more during free fall, which is something I would work on for my next jump.  My body is not really used to the arch position and I found it rather difficult to maintain a really good position.  I checked the altimeter and enjoyed every second of the freefall.  I deployed as instructed and the shoot opened without a hitch.  I was on my own.  I had decided to no longer use the radio for instruction on flying the canopy back to the ground so it was all in my hands.

For some reason, my landing pattern became a bit erratic.  Instead of performing s-turns and approaching the landing pad as I had done before I ended up coming in too high and essentially circled the drop zone in a wide spiral pattern, which is not recommended nor was it taught to me.  When I finally got close enough to the ground I flared a bit early and consequentially came down a bit hard and bruised left heel a little.  It was no big deal and I considered it a minor issue that just comes with the sport.  Things to work on from this jump: flying the canopy, executing a better landing pattern, and improve my flare timing.  I felt great and could not wait to go skydiving once again.

It was time to go off to the drop zone once again for me and my girlfriend.  She had chosen to only do tandem jumps due to the fact that she has epilepsy, which is not extreme; however, she does blank out from time to time.  She calls them blanks where she just stares off into space for a bit and she loses time for a little while.  The seizures do not happen very often, but in circumstances such as skydiving where a few seconds lost could mean the difference in survival or extreme injury it is really the best choice.  She has never had a blank while she was skydiving, but it does not make sense to take unnecessary risks.  It is somewhat unfortunate in that she will not independently skydive as I know that she wants to jump on her own, but she is really making the right choice given the circumstances.  Unfortunately, this drives up the cost of the two of us enjoying the experience together.  She learns as much as she can about the sport and is wonderfully supportive.  Perhaps one day I will become certified to tandem jump, which is one of the goals, so we can jump together.

There is a wonderful bonding experience that is generated by jumping with others.  You do not even have to really know them very well.  By the sheer fact that you are experiencing nature in such a wonderful way and sharing that time with others is really great.  I have found somewhat of an unspoken mutual respect for fellow skydivers that is unseen in the normal course of mundane life.  I highly recommend going skydiving with friends and family.  If you do not have friends or family then go skydiving and you will find something new.

This day my girlfriend chose not to jump watched from the ground.  The sky was blue and it was great to get out of the Arizona heat.  The temperature drops about three degrees per thousand feet of altitude so we would go from mid-summer heat to weather like at the beach.  It is a great way to get out of the heat for at least a little while.  When we jumped the instructor thought I was a bit unstable like a teeter-totter when in actuality I was intentionally doing the wave with my body a few times.  I have no idea why but it was something new to try.  The shoot opened without any problem however when I started to descend the shoot was collapsing upon itself when I would attempt to turn and the lines would become twisted.  The shoot was rigged for someone with a little shorter arm length so when I would pull the drive lines they would become over pulled causing the shoot to buckle and steer rather poorly.  It was a bit of a reality check as it is easy to get caught up in the adrenaline and endorphin rush of the experience.

I was able to steer down just fine but was not thinking well enough not to pull the lines down so low when turning, which made the decent a bit of an unpleasant experience.  It was more of a nuisance than anything else.  I landed a bit hard as a result because when I flared, I over pulled the lines again causing part of the canopy to buckle again.  It was all good and was a fantastic day of learning.  My girlfriend on the ground found it difficult to watch that day as she could see the shoot buckling when I was in the air.  It was not the sort of thing that required me to cut away but I can understand and appreciate her concern.  I could not wait to jump again.