Parachute
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A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating drag or aerodynamic lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but a
Paratroopers deploying their parachutes during an exercise
The oldest known depiction of a parachute, attributed to Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Italy, 1470s)
Faust Vrančić's parachute design, titled Homo Volans ("Flying Man"), from his Machinae Novae ("New Contraptions", published in 1615 or 1616)
Louis-Sébastien Lenormand jumps from the tower of the Montpellier observatory, 1783. Illustration from the late 19th century.
Parachuting
Videos
Parachuting is the descent of a person through the atmosphere using a parachute. In sport parachuting, a jumper normally exits an aircraft, passes through a period of free fall, deploys a steerable ca
Parachute
…designs, including the introduction of the backpack-style parachute by Charles Broadwick and Gleb Kotelnikov's knapsack parachute. After World War II, parachuting became a popular sport, and new materials like nylon replaced silk. Today, parachutes are used in military, recreational, and emergency situations…
A skydiver holding the aircraft doorway immediately before entering freefall.
A nineteenth-century illustration of Garnerin's 1797 parachute descent at Parc Monceau
A group of skydivers entering freefall after leaving an aircraft
A skydiver flaring the canopy immediately before touchdown