How long has skydiving been around?
Leonardo da Vinci is credited with the design of a parachute which was dropped off the Tower of Pisa in Italy. In 1617, story has it that a countryman actually jumped from a tower in Venice. Eventually in the 18th Century Frenchman Andre Garnerin jumped out of a balloon over Paris. This was likely the first “skydive” since it was from an aircraft. In the early 20th Century, people referred to as “barnstormers” began trying aviation stunt flying. This eventually included jumping out of airplanes with a parachute. Skydiving really came of age following World War II and the extensive use of airborne delivery of troops to the battlefield. A few stalwart pioneers proved that parachuting was not limited to low altitude military jumps in which parachutes were automatically opened by a static line attached to the departure aircraft. Man could make a controlled fall through the air for over a minute, open his own parachute and land safely.
