Since the beginning, mankind has always wanted to fly, but unfortunately gravity has served as a relentless ball and chain that held us down in such times. The concept of falling from the sky dates as far back as the 1100's in China when the Chinese would do what today we call "base jumping"; jumping from cliffs or outcroppings floating to the ground in makeshift parachutes. Later in 1485 the renowned Leonardo DaVinci sketched the blueprints for the first parachute.
The actual history of skydiving starts with French man Andre-Jacques Garnerin, who made successful parachute descents in 1797 using a canvas canopy and a small basket tied beneath a hot air balloon. The first recorded free fall jump is credited to Leslie Irvin in 1919 and the earliest competitive dives date back to the 1930'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 1952.
The highest recorded skydive in history happened recently, on October 14th, 2012, 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. His achievement was broadcast on national television and entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Each year, more than half a million people enjoy the life-changing experience of jumping out of an airplane for the first time.
For the past decade, skydiving has continued to grow in popularity. In 2018, United States Parachute Association (USPA) membership set record highs, topping 40,000-plus members for the first time in the association’s history. USPA members, along with about a half million first-timers, made roughly 4 million skydives last year at more than 230 USPA-affiliated skydiving centers across the United States.
USPA also welcomed more than 6,800 new members and issued more than 4,000 basic skydiving licenses, proving that more first-timers are pursuing the sport and becoming certified solo jumpers.
Whether you’ve always wanted to skydive or just want to learn more about the sport, take the leap now!
Start the journey by completing at least two tandem skydiving jumps within a 30 day period at a dropzone of your choice. On these tandem jumps, instructors will teach you the tasks that will help you pass the next step towards the Assisted Free-Fall Program (AFP). The AFP consists of seven levels and starts with 4-6 hours of ground training, followed by a solo skydive with a certified skydiving instructor.
Welcome to Skydiving