How to Skydive

So you have watched the latest James Bond movie and saw how exciting skydiving is. However, thanks to Hollywood, people misunderstand skydiving. Most of the things that you see on screen are actually myths about this breathtaking experience.

Usually, you see actors talking while they skydive. This is definitely a myth. When you freefall, the wind is very loud. It is so loud that it would be almost impossible to communicate by talking. Note that skydivers freefalling in a group just use their hands to tell each other about their situation. It’s just too noisy to talk!

There is also no such thing as a freefall that lasts for more than three minutes. If you are not taking oxygen with you while you are on the plane, a single jump is only limited to an 80-second freefall time. Any longer would require the plane to go higher, necessitating oxygen as the air would be so rare.

It is also impossible to pull the parachute when you are just a few feet from the ground. To avoid injuries when landing, a sky diver must deploy his parachute around 2000 to 2500 feet.

Diving stunts, such as catching someone that does not have a parachute, only happens in movies. Although there are similar stunts that have been done before, it is practically impossible to hold onto somebody when opening the parachute because of the deployment shock.