History of Skydiving
Skydiving is a sport that is enjoyed by many. In fact, people started jumping out of balloons with parachutes at the end of the 18th century. Over the years, planes were invented and the military used the practice to complete missions. The sport become highly popular when U.S. President George H.W. Bush jumped out of a plane in the 1980s.
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True Beginnings
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It is believed that skydiving was invented by French inventor Andre-Jacques Garnerin 1797. Actually, Leonardo da Vinci first used a parachute in 1100s in Italy.
Skydiving the Sport
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Andre-Jacques Garnerin made skydiving a worldwide sport in 1797. It was then that he jumped out of a balloon with a parachute over Paris.
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Invention of Aircraft
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The Wright Brothers took the first aircraft up in 1903. Their creation helped to skyrocket the parachute industry.
World War I
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The military started using parachutes between 1914 and 1918, during World War I.
Nylon Parachutes
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During World War II, when the military used paratroopers, the demand for nylon parachutes began. The U.S. Army was the first to make a sport out skydiving.
1980s
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After the 1960s, the sport started catching on. Its popularity grew further in the 1980s as the equipment became more lightweight and easy to use.
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