It has been suggested that Sit flying be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) It has been suggested that Head down be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) FreeFlying: skydive the free Flying Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Freeflying. ...
Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Freeflying. ...
Freefly, the art of Human Flight, is a skydiving discipline founded circa 1986 by a group of skydivers from around the world, including the commonly accepted originators "The Freefly Clowns", which included Charles Bryan, Omar Alhegelan, Mike Vail, and Olav Zipser. It is now the fastest growing discipline in parachuting.
With 'Freefly’ you learn to fly your own body freely in every possible direction, orientation and rotation while remaining in control of your flight and trajectory (Olav).
THE HISTORY of FREEFLY (original Text of the FAI International Aeronautic Federation) www.FAI.org
Freeflying is the latest event in sport parachuting. Freeflying is the only event which incorporates all dimensional axes during the freefall part of a parachute jump. First tried by Olav Zipser in the beginning of the nineties he soon found that many people wanted to do the same he did: to be able to control your body and enjoy the sky in all possible positions. The most popular position though is the so called "head-down" position. Jumpers fall with their head towards the earth, seeing the whole world upside down. Needless to say, this is more difficult than it sounds as the most relaxed position puts you on your belly.
Soon after freeflying was invented, people started to compete. Several formats were tried by various organisers. The main component though is that all acts are filmed by a freefall videographer. Pete McKeeman from SkySports International took up the first serious freeflying events. Later, Olav Zipser followed with the "Space Games". The formats tried were 3-way teams, human pylon racing, manoeuvrability races with a skyball as reference and more.
The International Parachuting Commission (IPC) viewed these developments and took action in 1998. At the IPC meeting in Canberra 2000 this resulted in the inclusion of freeflying as an official event. The adopted format is the a 3-way team, one of the members being the videographer. The event consists of 7 jumps, 2 of which are compulsory routines and 5 free routines. Jumps will be scored by a panel of 5 judges, the compulsories on control of the 4 drawn compulsory moves, the free rounds on technical and presentation.
The first worldcup freeflying was held in Eloy, Arizona, USA in November 2000 while the first world championships was held in Granada, Spain during the 2nd World Air Games, June 2001.
Top teams are currently training full time and making more than 1000 jumps a year. This high dedication and quality results in extremely spectacular freefall footage. All this footage is gathered at IPC competitions on high quality tapes and available to the media.
Freefly is not only a Sport but can be considered a form of Art as well. We have the element air and a three-dimensional stage, the sky, in which to freely move and express ourselves in a very imaginative way by creating choreographies, new moves, games, challenges, competitions, photos, videos….either by ourselves or with friends.
The feeling of flying freely with the body in direct contact with the air, therefore not enclosed inside an airplane or supported by a rigid wing, is just beautifull!
It doesn’t correspond to the feeling of falling in the void, as many might think. Indeed we immediately realize that the sky and the atmosphere are elements where we can feel comfortable. There is no place on Earth that can reproduce the sensation and joy you will have with freeflying. Its a lot of fun!
Thanks to Freefly we learn to use the force of gravity and the different low and high pressure areas forming around our body while we move through the atmosphere. We can fly in a three-dimensional space by using a wide range of vertical and horizontal speeds and while manipulating stable, unstable and harmonic aerodynamics. The Freeflying concept since its introduction has created a new opportunity for skydivers to fly in new ways. What Freeflyers can do in the sky nowadays, only 15 years ago was practically unimaginable. The general skill level is continuously progressing and evolving .
A Freeflyer, in order to fully understand the aero dynamical power of his/her own body in the atmosphere, needs to first learn to control flying in the basic orientations: box position (the way of flying when we open our parachute), back flying, head-up flying, head-down flying, side flying. These orientations are not static but they may be used to fly and move freely in the air, either with vertical speeds (moving vertically) or/and horizontal speeds (covering horizontal distances). Thanks to the wide combination of all possible vertical and horizontal speeds, directional and orientation changes we obtain all the Freeflying possibilities.
In order to move forward or backward (technique called tracking or more in general diagonal flying) we need to angle ourbody more or less compare to the horizon and we can do this in all possible orientations. We have basically 360 degrees of possibilities in which to position our body compare to the horizontal or the vertical axes. Moreover, in the chosen flying trajectories, we can modify our speed by widening or diminishing our body surface.
The difference between us and a rigid wing relies in the fact that our body is very well articulated so we can use this quality to modify the asset of our body by using all our joints: neck, shoulders, elbows, fingers, spine, hips, knees....Mhhh not bad at all!!!
Once learned the control in all Freefly basics we can put together all the elements and free our imagination. "Freefly is fly free where ever your creative spirit brings you without forgetting safety " (Olav)
Common freefly body positions include:
Freeflying is especially noted for its varying terminal velocities. While in the standard "boxman" position (belly to earth), a skydiver's descent rate following initial acceleration remains at roughly 120 mph. Variations in jumpsuit construction and the skydiver's weight will affect this fall rate typically no more than 10 mph more or less. Sitflying is a form of locomotion available to skydivers and vertical wind tunnel flyers. ...
Tracking, one of the first skills learnt by a beginner skydiver is the technique of assuming a body position that allows the skydiver to cover ground, moving horizontally as well as vertically. ...
This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
The terminal velocity of an object falling towards the ground, in non-vacuum, is the speed at which the gravitational force pulling it downwards is equal and opposite to the atmospheric drag (also called air resistance) pushing it upwards. ...
Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity, and at any point on a v-t graph, it is given by the slope of the tangent to that point In physics, acceleration (symbol: a) is defined as the rate of change (or time derivative) of velocity. ...
A woman in a ski jumpsuit (what could also be called a one-piece skisuit). ...
However, freefliers often use body positions that present less surface area to the relative wind. For example, a freeflier might dive straight, head-down to the earth using legs and arms to adjust orientation and speed and to remain stable. In such a position, a freeflier may obtain speeds up to 270 km/h (170 mph). Freefliers may exceed this rate, but generally only by making a special effort to streamline both their body and their equipment, or by jumping from a higher altitude. Joseph Kittinger reached 988 km/h (614 mph). Whether or not he broke the sound barrier has been the subject of debate. Wind is the roughly horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earths surface. ...
Joseph W. Kittinger II (1928- ) Kittingers record-breaking skydive Joseph William Kittinger II (born July 27, 1928) was a pilot in the United States Air Force. ...
Freefliers usually jump in groups. Each jumper uses the others as a relative reference to help judge his or her own trajectory. Together, they may perform acrobatic maneuvers, make contact with each other (dock), or simply photograph or video each other in freefall. This is typically called "relative work, or RW."
Freefly positions, other than belly-to-earth, tend to be less "stable." That is, they require increased skill and concentration from the skydiver to maintain. Since changes in position, intentional or otherwise, may also cause a change in terminal velocity, Freefliers must take special care when jumping with others. Freefliers in control of their dive can make contact (dock) with each other safely, called "vertical relative work, or VRW." Unstable freefliers may experience rapid velocity changes and collide with one another at high rates of speeds. When a freeflier slows down quickly and accidentally, he/she is said to have "corked," because the other jumpers see him/her rapidly going 'up' like a cork being shot off a champagne bottle. These speeds can kill outright, dismember, or disable one or both jumpers. As a result, freeflying is considered more risky than flat or belly flying.
The difference in difficulty between freeflying and flat (belly) flying can be seen in their respective world records. The world's largest, completed, flat flying skydiving formation consisted of 357 skydivers (set in Thailand, 6 February 2004) (See http://www.theworldteam.com/). The world's largest "freeflying" formation (head down) consisted of only 53 skydivers (set during March 2005).
In spite of the increased difficulty and danger of this type of skydiving, freeflying is rapidly growing in popularity in the skydiving community as a whole, and within the youngest skydiving generation especially. The rush by skydiving equipment manufacturers to modify their equipment designs to support the special needs of freefliers illustrates this growing popularity.
See also
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