By Kim Cassell
iFLY Indoor Skydiving: Free-Fallin’ SKYDIVING IS AN ACTIVITY OFTEN FOUND ON BUCKET LISTS. BUT THEN THERE’S THAT REALIZATION OF HAVING TO JUMP OUT OF AN AIRPLANE…AT GREAT HEIGHTS… RELYING ON A PARACHUTE.
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Humankind has long had a love affair with the idea of flying high like birds in the sky. The Chinese even devised a sort-of parachute in the year 1100. Then, in 1483, Leonardo da Vinci created a detailed sketch of what was considered a parachute. It wasn’t until 1797, however, that André-Jacques Garnerin parachuted from a hydrogen balloon 3,200 feet above Paris. Parachuting was used in earnest in World War II, often seeing troops jumping with cargo strapped to their backs. This eventually led to the idea of tandem skydiving, credited to Ted Strong in 1983. According to Skydive Coastal Carolinas, “The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) waived the experimental status, opening the door for tandem skydiving to grow in popularity. The United States Parachute Association (USPA) gave it sport status in the 1980s, making it possible for drop zones to offer tandem skydives to their customers.” In 1998, SkyVenture LLC began manufacturing wind tunnels. Used in the automobile and construction industries, besides aircraft and spacecraft, the tunnels aided designers in the study of aerodynamics. In 2008, Haas Automation’s Windshear Full-Scale Rolling Road Wind Tunnel
