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Safety While Skydiving

March 9, 2011 By

Skydiving can be really adventurous and fun as a sport. There are more than hundred people who enjoy this sport which is fun. Skydiving may be the biggest adventure of your life but you need to make it safe for you to enjoy it. Here are some safety tips that would help you stay safe during your adventures.

To have fun, you must avoid making mistakes. If you believe in the term “accidents happen” you must be aware of the kind of accidents that could happen during free falling from the sky. However, these can be prevented if you follow all instructions and guidelines carefully. Check if your parachute is working fine. It is important to check your chute and see if there are any tangles. Make sure it is packed the way it should be. If the parachute has knots and is wrongly packed it may not open when you want it to. Attempt skydiving only after you have taken some lessons. You must fully learn about it before you make any jumps. Attend training and instruction classes, learn it well and them skydive.

Skydiving is quite risky but you may start enjoying it with time. If you enjoy sky diving you will be surely branded a risk taker. Life has several junctures where things could go wrong and there are risks, but these should not stop you from having fun. If you follow you lessons well, there are very slim chances of you facing any problems. While you are busy enjoying your time and free falling, you must remember the importance of safety. By staying safe you will make yourself available for all the fun even next time.

Skydiving may give the biggest thrills of your life. Following some instructions and being careful will let you have much more fun. Take classes, follow guidelines and get ready for fun.

Filed Under: Safety, Sky Diving Tagged With: , ,

Truths About Skydiving

March 7, 2011 By

If you have always wished to free fall from the sky, you must try the adventures of skydiving. Skydiving looks quite easy and adventurous. Many of us think its all about jumping and pulling the parachute open. However, the truth is that skydiving can be really dangerous. If you really want to have a safe and adventurous skydiving trip, here are some important tips.

Choose to go tandem, for your first skydive. Make sure you make your first dive with an instructor; this will give you confidence and make it safer this way. You need to follow the basics clearly. Before you actually go sky diving, you must take a tutorial course before well in advance.  A proper training course will help you make better jumps and tell you about the safety measures that you need to remember.

Even if skydiving seems fun, there many kinds of risks that may prove to be fatal. You should be well aware of all the risks and dangers that are involved. Being fully aware of these will prevent you from shocks that you may have to face while making jumps. This sport is all about having loads of fun. It is important that you know all the rules and regulations that you must follow, but don’t compromise on the fun part of this entertaining sport. There are several people all around the globe who enjoy skydiving as their hobby. It is the kind of adrenalin rush that you will surely enjoy.

This sport may seem really crazy for certain people, but is you think you are crazy and ready enough to jump into the clouds, go ahead and have fun. If you are making your first jump, you need to bear all these important tips in your mind. Remember your basics, get up the plane and happy skydiving. Know this truth to enjoy.

Filed Under: Sky Diving Tagged With: , ,

Parachutes To Break Free Fall

February 16, 2011 By

If you jump out of a plane, and are still around to tell your story, it means that you did not forget to open the parachute, and your parachute worked. Parachutes are critical pieces of equipment for any person in the business of flying. Such people must get fully acquainted and trained on all aspects of using parachutes. Parachutes are used for several purposes. A common use is to safely land people after jumping from an aircraft from a certain minimum height. Other uses include dropping equipment in places where an aircraft cannot land. In times of flood, or other natural disasters, it is common to provide relief through parachutes.

Parachutes are also used to bring aircraft to a halt in a shorter distance. As a sport, paragliding is quite popular where a special parachute is used to manipulate movement and directions while in the air. Using parachutes is a hazardous activity, and the user must be fully trained before being entrusted with the task. The risk involved in any mishap related to parachutes is very obvious – the person will not be around to tell the story. This is why this activity is considered only for the professionals in the armed forces, or for people engaged in this specific sport. Using parachutes is not for the casual sports-person.

A good place to learn the use of parachutes is perhaps the armed forces, where they train complete battalions in the use of parachutes. All aspects of using parachutes are important, including wind directions and wind speeds. Pin-point landing on the ground is considered an important target. The person must land on the feet in a running position, and any wrong fall while landing could easily create severe disability. Perfection in the use of parachutes comes only after regular and rigorous training over months and years. Only then people are deployed to actual missions.

Filed Under: Equipment, Sky Diving Tagged With: , ,

Planes And The Fear Of Flying

February 10, 2011 By

Travel by air has become very common for people from all backgrounds. People travel in planes for all kinds of reasons. There are a large number of commercial airlines in the world today, covering all possible destinations in all countries.  In addition, several aircraft charter companies have also appeared on the scene to provide customized services to specific clients. It is now customary for all business tycoons to have their own private planes. Some people fly small planes as a hobby, while some do it to get flying lessons to get a pilot’s license. Some people even fly small planes to avoid the long journey to work and back home by road. Many industrial and business groups have their own fleet of planes. Major courier companies have a fleet of cargo planes. The armed forces in all countries have a fleet of their own planes.
There is a network of airports in all countries, and each airport has all the facilities to handle arrival, departure, and storage of all kinds of planes. Some large planes need special landing facilities, which may not be available at all airports. Many planes are now equipped with the capability to take off and land even in dense fog. All planes are equipped with all the safety features which are meant to safeguard human lives and property. Flying in a plane is no more a cause of worry. Millions of people fly in all kinds of planes each year. They travel to all destinations in the world.
Thousands of planes take off and land each hour in all countries. All commercial airports have the facility to handle the required traffic of people and planes. Safety at all stages is a critical issue for the aviation industry. Passenger safety and security at all stages is made possible by deploying fully trained people at all stages of operations, both inside the planes, as well as before and after the flight. People with special needs, like the elderly or sick, are provided special care till they are safely handed over to their friends.

Filed Under: Equipment, Sky Diving Tagged With: , ,

Overcome Fear With Skydiving

February 8, 2011 By

We got up early on the weekend to get to the skydiving club before the sun came up. I checked the battery levels of my camera, put on some tight fitting clothes, and off we went to the club. I wanted some great shots from higher up with the sun just coming up through the clear blue morning sky, as we soared down through the air. This was also my first experience with skydiving, and I was advised by the veteran next door to see that my stomach stays empty for a few hours before the dive. I went a step further and skipped the complete dinner the night before, and managed with some scraps of fruits. The stomach was empty for sure. The camera was ready to shoot. And here we were at the entrance to the club.
There was silence all around. as we were greeted at the entrance and escorted to the changing room. Geared and strapped, instructions fully read and understood, declarations signed, mock demonstration witnessed, and we walked to the small aircraft parked near the runway. As we got airborne, I realized that it was now too late for me to back out. I had no choice except to go through the whole process and walk out smiling at the other end of this adventure. Well, I wasn’t the first person doing this, and the instructor does it with people every day.

A bit of soaring around in a circle, and the aircraft must have reached the proper height, the instructor strapped himself at my back, and off we were in a backward dive out of the aircraft. The free fall was something right out of this world. Arms and legs spread out, it felt as if we can remain suspended in air for ever. But soon our free fall was interrupted, the instructor must have opened the chute. Ah yes, there it was above us. It was time now for taking the pictures. So I started clicking in all directions that I could possible turn the camera.

Filed Under: Equipment, Sky Diving Tagged With: , ,

Flying Like Birds

February 3, 2011 By

People have always been fascinated by the flying skills of birds, since as humans, they could only walk or swim, but flying was not possible. The wish to be able to fly has lingered in the human mind from prehistoric times. People could jump alright, but flying was only for the birds. Jumping higher or longer was not the equivalent of flying. If flying by humans was not possible, perhaps they could create other things that could fly. Thus, humans created several flying objects like balloons and aircraft.
Somewhere along the way, people also created kites that could fly at the end of a long string. This really kicked in a good deal of excitement among people of all ages, and particularly the young. Flying a kite was an inexpensive affair. The kite itself was an inexpensive toy, and all one required was a roll of string and some wind for the kite to fly. As the craze for flying kites spread among various regions, a number of kite manufacturers also appeared on the scene. These people would make kites out of sheets of paper and some supporting structure usually thin and lightweight bamboo or cane splits. The supporting structure needed to be flexible to withstand the force of winds. Adhesive was used to paste the paper to the supporting structure in a certain geometrical shape, and after drying of the adhesive, the kite was ready to fly.
Afternoons were the busy hours for business, since kids would quickly change and grab a bite after school, and rush to the kite shop for their stock of kites for the day. Since kites were quite cheap, they could buy several each day out of their pocket money. Back home and a scramble to the roof saw them eagerly spinning the thread out while the kite caught the wind and soared to greater heights. Since the material of the kite was paper, it could tear from contact with any hard surface. This was no problem, since there was another kite waiting, ready to catch the winds and soar high.

Filed Under: Equipment, Sky Diving Tagged With: , ,

Sports For Health

February 1, 2011 By

From time immemorial, humans have always indulged in sports. Prehistoric humans were hunters and gatherers, and the lifestyle used to be highly dangerous, and survival was a major issue. Hunting involved killing wild beasts for food. Often the wild beasts would seriously injure or kill the human hunter. This made it necessary for the humans to keep themselves fit, so that they can better face the challenges of finding food for survival. Study of the habits of wild beasts and their fighting skills was also keenly done by humans, so that they could develop counter-skills to overpower the animal during conflict. Any lapse on the part of the humans would mean certain death, and it was therefore important that the fighting skills were of the topmost quality.

As time passed, humans started growing crops for food, and the need for hunting reduced. The needs of fighting directly with animals also reduced with the reduced need for hunting. It then became necessary for humans to keep themselves fit so that in the eventuality where they have to face some wild beast, they could still survive because of the regular practice to keep their fighting skills in top form. The regular practice to keep themselves fit was done with other humans.
The focus also shifted to rivalry between humans, and combat between humans was also quite common, which again resulted in issues of survival. This again made humans regularly practice their fighting skills to ensure that they survive in any combat with humans as well as animals. This is how the concept of sports was created.

As times further changed, further development happened, communities grew across the world, countries were formed, and interaction among countries and communities across the world became a regular affair. The need to indulge in physical fights for survival became negligible since society provided enough protection to all humans. The concept of sports was kept alive under these conditions more as a means to display specific skills rather than a means for survival. Today people indulge in sports more for physical fitness and to maintain good health.

Filed Under: Equipment, Sky Diving Tagged With: , ,

Bungee

January 30, 2011 By

Obviously anytime a person jumps from a great height there is the possibility they could land on an unforgiving surface and kill themselves. Bungee jumpers don’t expect this to happen, however, since the proper maintenance and measurement of the bungee cord is designed to prevent this from happening. And, though this a relatively new sport, it seems to be relatively true, as there have been very few deaths attributed to the act of bungee jumping – somewhere in the neighborhood of half a dozen. So apart from sudden death, what other health risks are associated with bungee jumping?

It might be a surprise, but the number one risk for bungee jumpers only affects women. The problem is the dramatic physical force put on the body during bungee jumping (particularly repeated jumps) can actually cause uterine prolapse. In other words, the pressure involved with bungee jumping can cause the uterus to either tip, slip out of position and in some rare cases come out of the body completely: Obviously a life threatening problem that can’t be easily dismissed.

Eye trauma is another risk when bungee jumping. The problem most often observed is that of retinal hemorrhage, which can lead very easily to a permanent loss of sight. Another ocular risk with bungee jumping is orbital emphysema another condition that can result in permanent vision loss. Anecdotal evidence has produced many account where bungee jumping has led to a temporary loss of sight, or other vision related symptoms.

Additional bungee jumping related health risks include such things as bruises, back and neck injuries, rope burn, whiplash and other motion related injuries. Therefore, prior to throwing yourself from a great height tethered to nothing but a flexible line of elastic and rubber, weigh the risks against the thrill factor, and don’t forget almost everything in life comes at a cost.

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Filed Under: General Tagged With: ,

Gyroplanes vs. Helicopters

January 29, 2011 By

Gyroplanes are able to fly by using freely turning rotor blades that tilt to catch the air. Lift is achieved by the air rushing through the spinning blades, while forward movement is accomplished by an engine-driven propeller. This airflow through the rotor process that creates lift is called “autorotation.”

With helicopters both lift and thrust are created by a powered rotor which can be tilted forward. This design, by comparison to the gyroplane, allows for helicopters to hover: a maneuver a gyroplane can’t duplicate.

Though unable to hover, gyroplanes can both fly slower than airplane without stalling, and faster than a helicopter. Gyroplanes also have not need of a tail rotor which provides helicopters with anti-torque to compensate for the torque they experience. Autorotation powers the gyroplane much like a windmill is powered by wind. Helicopters’ powerful rotor blades pull air down. This allows them to hover, but also makes them more expensive to use.

The gyroplane’s relatively simple design results in greater safety, lower maintenance, higher performance and it is more economical to utilize than a helicopter.

Another rather amazing safety feature of autorotation is that should the power fail, the air continues to pass through the blades causing the craft to come down slowly to the ground no matter what altitude it began at.  So, gyroplanes end up being safer for high or low flying when compared to airplanes or helicopters. It is really a hybrid of both technologies since it uses the best parts of the other two forms of aircraft. It can fly faster than a helicopter, but slower than an airplane.

Gyroplanes, however, lose out to helicopters for practical purposes, particularly in military applications. The helicopters ability to hover gives it a significant advantage in certain circumstances. When a rescue operation is underway, this ability is imperative.

Filed Under: Sky Diving Tagged With: ,

Where are the Jet Packs?

January 27, 2011 By

The idea of a jet pack seems like the ultimate flying experience – if we could just get them to work!

Actually jet packs are better thought of as “rocket packs” since jets mix flowing air to create combustion where jet fuel is carried and combusted together during flight. Most “jet packs,” use “rocket pack” technology.

Back in 1949 when the U.S. Army thought it might be nice if a single soldier could propel himself into the air over enemy territory, take a quick look around then jet back to camp with the Intel. By 1952 a rocket pack actually lifted Thomas Moore into the air for a few seconds. But that was it: a few seconds.

Next came the “Rocket Belt.” It flew for a longer period of time and could go 10 mph, but the military wasn’t impressed because it was too big and too heavy.

Since that time, the push to create jet packs has pretty much stopped, except within the ranks of amateur inventors who use their inventions for air shows.

The reason no one has been able to create a useful jet pack is because human beings aren’t aerodynamic in the least, forcing a jet pack to do all the work. The thrust necessary to get us off the ground eats up a lot of fuel. The result has been that we can get off the ground for around 30 seconds, but after that point the fuel is spent. If we use more fuel it weighs us down taking up more fuel. It’s a catch-22 that can’t get off the ground.

In the end, we haven’t moved forward to develop the technology because there isn’t a great need for it.  Anything a jet pack might be able to do can be done now by already existing technology that is a lot cheaper and can carry more – think airplane, or helicopter.

Filed Under: Safety Tagged With: ,
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