The World of High Profile Skydiving

1. The World of High Profile Skydiving Southern Skydivers Hangar 6 Busselton Regional Airport , WA 6280 1 300-449-669

2. On October 14, 2012, Red Bull’s resident daredevil Felix Baumgartner set the record for the highest skydive ever performed. Baumgartner is the first human to break the sound barrier using only his body. He jumped from a helium balloon 3.9 kilometres above Earth. The stunt dubbed as ‘Red Bull Stratos’ drew an audience of more than 8 million worldwide, showcasing the immense boundaries today’s skydivers are willing to push. Falling for Parachutes Skydiving piqued the world’s interest ever since its inception. Historical accounts date back as early as 90 B.C. in China, where Emperor Shun was said to have tied straw hats together atop a burning granary. He used this to safely make his way down. Up to the 17th century, Asian performances involving death-defying jumps aided by parachute-like devices were sources of wonderment to the West. These events were the first instances of assisted descent treading the line between sport and spectacle. The concept of the modern parachute came from the notebook of Leonardo da Vinci. The sketch he described as a ‘tent of linen’ had to wait a quarter of a millennium before the assembly of its first prototype. It was in 1783 when Frenchman Louis-Sébastien Lenormand performed the maiden test in public. Lenormand also coined the term parachute, which in French translates to ‘protect against falling’.

3. Faster Records in Slow Descent Today, parachuting evolved into skydiving, which evolved into spacediving. Each passing year sees bested records, while daring individuals continually create new ones. Three days after Red Bull Stratos, a new formation skydiving record was set. Sixty-one skydivers overtook the 42 set only in June. They formed a diamond formation in midair, while the previous record made a flower. Felix Baumgartner was not the first to spacedive, though. The person he was in direct communication with during the jump was Joseph Kittinger. He was the Air Force pilot who plunged 23 kilometres into the atmosphere in 1959 while wearing a duct-taped suit. Another person involved in Baumgartner’s jump is Luke Aikins, a veteran base jumper who plans not to use a parachute in his upcoming ‘Heaven Sent’ jump. A specially-designed catch net will serve as Aikins’ target, and the event will be televised as well. Humans are evolving through technology. Life is becoming faster, simpler and more connected through it. Continual advancements allow skydivers to test the limits of the human body, achieving new heights not only in space, but in the collective interest on exploration as well.

4. RESOURCES: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-space-skydive-idUSBRE89C0JN20121016 http://www.skydivegeronimo.com.au/skydive/#skydivesolo http://www.dropzone.com/news/General/Luke_Aikins_Planning_No- Parachute_Jump_From_25_000ft_1111.html