Demonstration Skydiving at Sporting & Celebratory Events Demonstration skydiving, or “demos” for short, is where a highly skilled sky diving team performs a sky diving show for an audience. Sporting events such as NASCAR, MLB, and College Football, use skydivers to bring in the American Flag to start the event. There are military demo teams and a few civilian teams that perform for sporting events around the country. The Golden Knights are a very well known military team that performs at many events around the country to help with recruiting efforts for the United States Army. One of the better know civilian demonstration skydiving teams is Aerial Adventures Inc. They perform at many NASCAR Races including the race at Richmond International Speedway. The members of demo teams are very highly qualified skydivers; the best of the best. They will fly in a large American flags, game balls, and smoke as they land on a designated spot at a certain time. Landing in a stadium…

What is Free Flying Skydiving? Most traditional skydives involve falling in a certain body position (stomach facing the ground, or "belly to earth"). A new way of enjoying the sky has started to take hold in the skydiving community. This method is called Free Flying. It was created by a skydiver named Olav Zipser in the late 1980s. Free Flying involves skydiving in any position other than a belly to earth, such as a vertical position with their feet or head first, or at any angle or position. Free Flying involves a higher rate of descent due to less body surface being exposed to air friction. This means faster falling! While a regular skydive averages around 120 mph, a Free Flying skydive will reach speed of approximately 160 mph or more. Before deploying their parachute, a free flyer must return to a belly position to slow their rate of descent. Opening a parachute at the speed of 160 mph is…

What is Military Skydiving? The first military use of parachutes were used by artillery detectors riding in observation balloons. They would jump from the balloons when they were damaged by enemy fire. Of course, the military use of skydiving has advanced a long way since 1912. Most people associate military skydiving with the special forces and H.A.L.O. jumps. H.A.L.O. stands for High Opening Low Opening. In a typical HALO skydive, the military personnel will jump from an aircraft at a high enough altitude to require supplemental oxygen use. By deploying the parachute at a low altitude, it enables them to avoid radar, and being spotted by enemy personnel. This allows for a stealthy insertion by military personnel and helps them to complete their mission.