I was recently asked skydiving, parachuting, static line & freefall – what’s the difference? Let’s be honest there’s a little confusion here for anyone not in the know. So let’s set about clearing it up!
History of Parachuting
A brief look at the history of parachuting helps for the background. Leonardo da Vinci sketched the first chute, although parachutes were seen in China way back in the 12th century – mainly as gimmicks to help with stunts and entertainment.
It’s the French who can accurately claim to have pioneered the first parachute. Jean Pierre Blanchard trialled it on his dog before giving it a go himself!
Pilots in the First World War soon found the parachute had a life-saving function, as they bailed out of their stricken craft. The first ever freefall jump was by an American, Leslie Irvin, in 1919. From here, in the civilian world at least, there are now two clear roles for the parachute: safety and sport.
Skydiving, Parachuting, Static Line & Freefall:
Skydiving is parachuting. There you go! Freefall is a type of parachuting (you are in freefall after you jump and before you open your parachute).
Another way to think about it is: skydiving is the sport, parachuting is the use of a parachute, and freefall is the fall! So what is static line….
Static line parachuting
This is where you jump from a plane and the chute is pulled automatically as you exit. The pilot chute is joined to the inside of the plane, and is pulled when you exit the aircraft.
Your first jump is likely to be on a static line. If you’ve seen images of paratroopers leaving an aircraft en-masse, they are jumping using a static line.
Freefall
Gets its name as you fall ‘free’ before you deploy your chute (you are also free from the aircraft as there is no static line). You pull your own chute, and after professional training and practice, can freefall for 20, 30, 40 seconds, often even longer.
And the longest freefall jump ever? That has to go to Felix Baumgartner who famously jumped from the edge of space!
We hope you found this guide to skydiving, parachuting, static line & freefall useful. Now if someone asks ‘what’s the difference?’ Just point them to this article!
