This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Formation skydiving is a skydiving event where multiple skydivers attach themselves to one another by grabbing each other's limbs or by the use of "grippers" on their jumpsuit while free falling through the sky. The goal of this skydiving program is to build a formation of multiple divers arranged in a geometric pattern.
Formation skydiving can be further divided into several sub-categories, so named for the number of members in a team:
A competition in 4-way formation skydiving (FS-4) takes place like this:
There are two kinds of formations, called randoms and blocks. The randoms are singular formations with full separation of all grips both before and after building the formation. The blocks are double formations with a special designated movement pattern in between, called an inter. The start formation may, or may not be similar to the ending formation. The inters are differently performed. Here are some examples:
Inter 1: The grips are released between some of the flyers, so they become two pieces of two team members. they both do a 270 degree turn, and reconnect to a different formation
Inter 2: Three people stay connected, and do a 360 turn, while the last person, flies alone.
Inter 15: All grips are released and everyone does a 360 turn back to the original formation.
Blocks are designated by numbers, while randoms got letters. Blocks are worth one point for each correct formation, that makes 2 points, and randoms count as 1 point. There are 22 blocks and 16 randoms.
competition consists of up to 10 rounds, and each round consists of 5 or 6 points, which the teams are to repeat as many times as they can within the working time of 35 seconds. The score judging are based on the videographers material.
A competition draw may look like this:
The winning team will be the team that has collected most points, by completing the most correct formations within time after the final round is ended. In case of weather or technical problems, or other causes, a competition will be valid as long as all teams has completed at least one round.
A recent sub-category of formation skydiving is vertical formation skydiving (VFS). Skydivers build formations using higher-speed body positions normally associated with freeflying, such as head down and sitflying.
The current FAI world record for largest free-fall formation is a 400-way, [1] set on February 8, 2006, in Udon Thani, Thailand by the World Team. [2] It was held for 4.3 seconds. With the support of the Thai government, they used five C-130 Hercules airplanes and exited from an altitude of 25,400 feet. [3] In April 2013 the World Team tried to break the record for the largest 2-point formation dive in skydiving history. All 222 members came together and made a formation, broke apart, and then reformed to make a completely different formation. The team attempted the jump many times and came very close to breaking the record, but were unsuccessful each time. The World Team has not made anymore official statements about attempting the record again. [4]
Longest sequence in one round:
Set by the Belgian team(NMP-PCH Hayabusa), at the World Meet 2018 in round 6, where they posted 62 points in working time (35 seconds)
Set by the U.S. (Golden Knights) national team, at the "5th Dubai International Parachute Championship" in 2015, in round 2, where they posted 33 points in working time (50 seconds)
Year | Venue | Airplane | 4-Way Champion | Points (avg) | 8-Way Champion | Points (avg) | 4-Way Female Champion | Points (avg) | 4-Way Vertical Formation | Points (avg) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | West Germany Warendorf | United States | 40/49.92* | United States | 100/163.85* | Not Held | Not Held | |||
1977 | Australia Gatton, Queensland | Canada | 73 (7.3) | United States West Germany France | 42 (4.2) | Not Held | Not Held | |||
1979 | France Châteauroux | Canada | 82 (8.2) | United States | 66 (6.6) | Not Held | Not Held | |||
1981 | United States Zephyrhills, Florida | United States | 116 (11.6) | United States | 83 (8.3) | Not Held | Not Held | |||
1983 | South Africa Sun City, North West | Switzerland | 115 (11.5) | United States | 102 (10.2) | Not Held | Not Held | |||
1985 | Yugoslavia Mali Lošinj | USA Canada France | 118 (11.8) | USA France Canada | 120 (12.0) | Not Held | Not Held | |||
1987 | Brazil Foz do Iguacu | France USA Austria | 134 (13.4) | USA France USSR | 119 (13.2) (9 rd) | Not Held | Not Held | |||
1989 | Spain Gerona | France USSR USA | 152 (15.2) | USA USSR France | 138 (13.8) | Not Held | Not Held | |||
1991 | Czechoslovakia Lučenec | Mil Mi-8 | France USA Italy | 171 (17.1) | USA France USSR | 181 (18.1) | Not Held | Not Held | ||
1993 | United States Eloy, Arizona | DHC-6 Twin Otter | France USA Denmark | 195 (19.5) | USA France Russia | 169 (16.9) | Not Held | Not Held | ||
1995 | France Gap, Hautes-Alpes | Pilatus PC-6 Porter | USA France Denmark | 207 (20.7) | USA France Russia | 195 (19.5) | Not Held | Not Held | ||
1997 | Turkey Efes | CASA C-212 Aviocar | USA France South Africa | 210 (21.0) | USA Russia France | 224 (22.4) | Not Held | Not Held | ||
1999 | Australia Corowa | DHC-6 Twin Otter | France USA Norway | 208 (20.8) | USA Russia France | 211 (21.1) | Not Held | Not Held | ||
2001 | Spain Granada | CASA C-212 Aviocar | USA France Norway | 214 (21.4) | Russia USA France | 193 (19.3) | USA Norway Sweden | 147 (14.7) | Not Held | |
2003 | France Gap, Hautes-Alpes | Pilatus PC-6 Porter | France USA Norway | 229 (22.9) | Russia USA France | 221 (20.9) (11 rd) | Great Britain Norway USA | 165 (16.5) | Not Held | |
2004 | Croatia Rijeka | Mil Mi-8 | USA France Russia | 227 (22.7) | USA France Russia | 172 (19.1) (9 rd) | USA France Russia | 169 (16.9) | Not Held | |
2006 | Germany Gera | DHC-6 Twin Otter | USA France Italy | 117 (23.4) (5 rd) | France USA Russia | 123 (20.5) (6 rd) | Great Britain France Russia | 95 (19.0) (5 rd) | Not Held | |
2008 | France Maubeuge | Pilatus PC-6 Porter | USA France Belgium | 195 (24.4) (8 rd) | France USA Italy | 151 (21.6) (7 rd) | Great Britain USA France | 120 (20.0) (6 rd) | Not Held | |
2010 | Russia Menzelinsk | L-410 Turbolet | France USA Russia | 277 (27.7) | France USA Russia | 203 (20.3) | France Great Britain USA | 236 (23.6) | Not Held | |
2012 | UAE Dubai | DHC-6 Twin Otter | USA Belgium France | 279 (27.9) | USA France Russia | 229 (22.9) | USA France Norway | 207 (20.7) | France UAE USA | 185 (23,1) (8 rd) |
2014 | Czech Republic Prostějov | L-410 Turbolet | Belgium USA Canada | 264 (26.4) | USA Russia France | 216 (21.6) | France USA Great Britain | 214 (21.4) | France USA Canada | 179 (22,4) (8 rd) |
2016 | United States Chicago | DHC-6 Twin Otter | Belgium USA France | 262 (26.2) | USA France Russia | 239 (23.9) | USA France Great Britain | 224 (22.4) | France Canada USA | 168 (22.4) (8 rd) |
2018 | Australia Gold Coast, Queensland | Cessna 208 Caravan | Belgium USA France | 279 (27.9) | USA Russia Qatar | 224 (22,4) | France Great Britain Sweden | 257 (25,7) | USA Canada Australia | 217 (21,7) |
2020 (2021) | Russia Kemerovo region | L-410 Turbolet | Belgium USA Qatar | 193 (32,2) (6 rd) | USA France RPF | 166 (23,7) (7 rd) | RPF France Polen | 150 (25,0) (6 rd) | USA RPF Italy | 143 (20,4) (7 rd) |
2022 | United States Eloy, Arizona | DHC-6 Twin Otter | USA Belgium Qata | 261 228 219 | USA Qatar Germany | 205 164 131 | Great Britain France USA | 200 189 184 | USA Australia Norway | 212 190 140 |
Freeflying is a skydiving discipline which began in the late 1980s, involving freefalling in various vertical orientations, as opposed to the traditional "belly-to-earth" orientation. The discipline is known to have originated when Olav Zipser began experimenting with non-traditional forms of bodyflight. Zipser founded the FreeFly Clowns as a two-person competitive team with Mike Vail in 1992. He was joined by Omar Alhegelan, Charles Bryan, and Stefania Martinengo in 1994. The FreeFly Clowns are also credited with opening the first school to teach freeflying, The First School of Modern SkyFlying.
Sky surfing is a type of skydiving and extreme sport in which the skydiver wears a custom skysurf board attached to the feet and performs surfing-style aerobatics during freefall.
Wingsuit flying is the sport of skydiving using a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit called a wingsuit to add webbed area to the diver's body and generate increased lift, which allows extended air time by gliding flight rather than just free falling. The modern wingsuit, first developed in the late 1990s, uses a pair of fabric membranes stretched flat between the arms and flanks/thighs to imitate an airfoil, and often also between the legs to function as a tail and allow some aerial steering.
Freestyle skydiving is a competitive skydiving discipline where one member of a two-person team performs acrobatic manoeuvres in free fall while the other one films the performance from a close distance using a helmet-mounted camera.
Felix Baumgartner is an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper. He is widely known for jumping to Earth from a helium balloon from the stratosphere on 14 October 2012 and landing in New Mexico, United States, as part of the Red Bull Stratos project. Doing so, he set world records for skydiving an estimated 39 km (24 mi), reaching an estimated top speed of 1,357.64 km/h (843.6 mph), or Mach 1.25. He became the first person to break the sound barrier relative to the surface without vehicular power on his descent. He broke skydiving records for exit altitude, vertical freefall distance without a drogue parachute, and vertical speed without a drogue. Though he still holds the two latter records, the first was broken two years later, when on 24 October 2014, Alan Eustace jumped from 135,890 feet with a drogue.
Accuracy landing is one of the oldest skydiving disciplines, in which skydivers attempt to land as closely as possible to a pre-determined target.
Roger Warren Nelson was a skydiver and founder of Skydive Chicago, one of the largest skydiving centers in the United States.
Skydive Hibaldstow is a parachuting and skydiving drop zone centre in Hibaldstow, North Lincolnshire, England. Skydive Hibaldstow is affiliated with the skydiving company British Skydiving.
Parachuting and skydiving is a method of transiting from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes.
A big way is a type of formation skydiving involving a large group of skydivers coming together while in freefall to form a specific and predetermined formation. All the skydivers involved aim to connect with each other and hold the complete formation for a designated period.
James Maxwell McCormick is an American speaker, author, and professional skydiver who is known for his expertise in intelligent risk-taking and innovation. He is founder of The Research Institute for Risk Intelligence, holds ten skydiving world records, and was a member of an international expedition that skydived to the North Pole. He served three years in the Reagan Administration in Washington, DC before returning to the private sector where, among other engagements, he served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at design firm Anshen+Allen Architects.
Speed skydiving is a skydiving competition in which the goal is to achieve and maintain the highest possible terminal velocity. It was developed in the late 1990s and is the fastest non-motorized sport on Earth. The speed, achieved by the human body in free fall, is a function of several factors; including the body's mass, orientation, and skin area and texture. In stable, belly-to-earth position, terminal velocity is about 200 km/h (120 mph). Stable freefall head down position has a terminal speed of 240–290 km/h. Further minimization of drag by streamlining the body allows for speeds over 500 km/h (310 mph).
Roberta Mancino is an Italian skydiver, BASE jumper, wingsuit flyer and international model. She has participated in more than 12,500 skydives and won several awards and world records. She has gone on four skydives while completely naked, and on five occasions her parachute did not open in mid-jump. In 2010, Mancino was named the World's Sexiest Female Athlete by the magazine Men's Fitness.
Chris "Douggs" McDougall has a career spanning 25 years as a professional skydiver, BASE jumper and wingsuit pilot. He works globally as a keynote speaker and is also founder of the largest BASE jump school "Learn to BASE jump".
World Parachuting Championships is the main competitive parachuting championships in the World, and is organised by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Skydive Empuriabrava is the brand that has been commercially operating Empuriabrava Aerodrome since 1985. Since it began operating its main activity has been skydiving although it also offers photo flights, aerial and tourist advertising, and runs a school of aviation for private pilots.
Wind Games are an annual tournament for indoor skydiving, sponsored by Windoor, a manufacturer of vertical wind tunnels. The event first took place in 2014 and as of 2017 has always been held at Windoor's facility in Empuriabrava, Spain.
Jeff "Jeffro" Provenzano is an American professional skydiver, wingsuit flyer, BASE jumper, HALO jumper and stuntman. He is a member of the Red Bull Air Force, and is considered to be a pioneer of the skydiving discipline of swooping.
The women's duet event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, took place at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre from 2 to 4 August 2021. It was the 9th time the women's duet event was held at the Olympic Games.
The Skydive Chicago Resort is a skydiving resort and camping ground in Ottawa, Illinois in the United States. It operates a private airport, Skydive Chicago Airport, and offers indoor and outdoor skydiving, along with camping, RV parking, an observation area and restaurant, and an auditorium. The airport is located on the Illinois River. The resort claims to operate the largest fleet of skydiving aircraft in the midwestern United States.