Image: Darryl Leniuk/Digital Vision/Getty Images
About This Quiz
Skydiving has been described as one of the greatest adrenaline rushes a human being can have. So what keeps skydivers safe as they plummet to Earth? And what happens if something goes wrong on your jump?
How fast is a skydiver falling through the air in a typical jump?
100 mph
120 mph
A typical jump finds a skydiver falling at about 120 mph.
200 mph
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How long is a skydiver typically in free fall?
45 seconds
If a skydiver jumps out of a plane at about 10,000 feet, this usually means about 45 seconds of free fall -- referring to the moment the diver exits the plane.
60 seconds
150 seconds
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At 2,500 feet, a skydiver deploys the:
main rig
drogue chute
At 2,500 feet, the skydiver throws out a drogue chute, and it deploys the main parachute.
automatic activation device (AAD)
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The backup parachute is called the:
container
riser
reserve
The reserve is the second parachute, the one a skydiver uses in case things go wrong. If the main canopy, or chute, fails, the skydiver can cut it away and deploy the reserve chute.
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Skydivers can control their parachutes once they're deployed with handles called:
toggles
Toggles are the handles on the lines connected to a parachute that allow skydivers to turn left, turn right, slow down and make extremely accurate landings.
rams
lines
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What is a bridle?
the pin holding the main canopy inside the container
a piece of nylon webbing that pulls out when the drogue is released
When the drogue chute catches the air and inflates, it pulls out a 10- to 20-foot long piece of nylon webbing called the bridle. As the bridle is coming out of the container, it pulls a pin, called the closing pin, on the container. This pin holds the main canopy inside the container. Pulling the pin opens the container with a small pop.
heavy nylon straps connecting the lines to the container
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If something goes awry midjump, an AAD will release a backup chute at what height?
1,500 feet
1,200 feet
750 feet
If a skydiver gets distracted or passes out flying though the air, a computer-controlled AAD (automatic activation device) will deploy a backup chute at 750 feet.
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An AAD's cutter is:
the computer that measures a skydiver's altitude
a bullet that fires and cuts the closing loop to deploy the reserve chute if necessary
The cutter is essentially a bullet, and the computer sends the bullet a signal when it is time to deploy the reserve chute. The bullet, which is shaped like a knife at its tip, fires and cuts a piece of cord called the closing loop to release the reserve.
a battery that can power the AAD for up to 200 jumps
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In tandem jumping, all skydiving pairs must have:
three extra reserve chutes due to the excessive speeds generated
a large drogue chute deployed to slow down the tandem from falling too fast
In tandem skydiving, an instructor throws out a drogue chute when the pair jumps. The drogue is out during the pair's entire free fall to avoid dangerous speeds they could generate due to their combined weight.
a radio communication system so that they can talk to one another in the air in case something goes wrong
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How many jumps are made in the U.S. each year?
about 500,000
about 1.5 million
about 3 million
The United States Parachuting Association reports that about 350,000 people in the U.S. complete roughly 3 million jumps a year.
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You Got:
/10
Darryl Leniuk/Digital Vision/Getty Images
