Paraquedismo

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=125 BGCOLOR="#996699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="145467d1erlcll.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Parapente</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Parapente"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="parapente.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="O que é o parapente?"><U>O que é o parapente?</U></A>   |   <A HREF="meus_dados_parapente.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Meus dados de parapente"><U>Meus dados de parapente</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dinamica.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dinâmica"><U>Dinâmica</U></A>   |   <A HREF="meteorologia.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Meteorologia"><U>Meteorologia</U></A>   |   <A HREF="foto_galeria.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Galeria Fotográfica"><U>Galeria Fotográfica</U></A>   |   <A HREF="locais_voo.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Locais de voo"><U>Locais de voo</U></A>   |   <B>Paraquedismo</B>   |   <A HREF="links_parapente.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links de parapente"><U>Links de parapente</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="2258cdf0.jpg" border=0 width="140" height="223" ALT="José Flor ready for sky diving" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>Sky diving</B></div> <div> <B>Caboolture, QLD, Australia 1999</B></div> <div> <A HREF="paraquedismo_m.htm#top_page" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Paraquedismo"><U><I><B>Top of page</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Links in this page:</B></div> <div> <A HREF="paraquedismo_m.htm#accuracy_skydiving" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Paraquedismo"><U><B>accuracy skydiving</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="paraquedismo_m.htm#parachute" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Paraquedismo"><U><B>PARACHUTE</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="paraquedismo_m.htm#uses_of_parachutes" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Paraquedismo"><U><B>Uses of Parachutes</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="paraquedismo_m.htm#parts_of_a_parachute" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Paraquedismo"><U><B>Parts of a Parachute</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="paraquedismo_m.htm#how_parachutes_work" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Paraquedismo"><U><B>How Parachutes Work</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="paraquedismo_m.htm#history" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Paraquedismo"><U><B>History</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="paraquedismo_m.htm#parachute_picture" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Paraquedismo"><U><B>Parachute picture</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=355 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Paraquedismo</div> <div>  <A NAME="top_page"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>SKYDIVING is a sport in which one or more people jump from an airplane and fall freely before opening a parachute. Skydiving is also known as sport parachuting. Skydivers typically jump at altitudes of up to 15,000 feet (4,600 meters) and fall at speeds of more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour. They open their parachutes at 2,000 to 3,000 feet (600 to 900 meters) and then glide to earth at about 10 miles (16 kilometers) per hour.</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="accuracy_skydiving"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>In accuracy skydiving, the jumper aims for a target that measures about 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter. In relative work skydiving, a team of free-falling skydivers join together to make geometrically shaped formations.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <A NAME="parachute"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><B>PARACHUTE</B></div> <div> Parachute is a device used to slow the fall of a person or object from an aircraft or any other great height. The operation of a parachute is based on simple principles. There are two forces that act on any falling object--gravity and air resistance. Gravity pulls the object toward the earth. But air resists the object's movement.Because the pull of gravity is much stronger than the resistance of the air, the air can only slow the speed of the falling object. Large surfaces offer the greatest resistance to the air. Thus, the larger the parachute's surface, the more air resistance it meets and the slower it falls.</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="uses_of_parachutes"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>Uses of Parachutes</div> <div> One of the early uses of parachutes was to allow descent from gas-filled balloons. Since the development of airplanes, parachutes have been used for emergency jumps from damaged aircraft. They have also been used to deliver cargo.Airplanes drop food and medicine by parachute to places that cannot be reached easily by other means. Special military uses for parachutes were developed during the 1930's.Both the Allies and Germans used paratroops, or parachute troops, during World War II (1939-1945). Some airplanes use parachutes as brakes when landing.Parachutes are also used to recover the booster rockets from spacecraft that have been launched into the atmosphere. Today, most parachutes are used for sport jumping, called skydiving.</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="parts_of_a_parachute"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>Parts of a Parachute</div> <div> The part of the parachute that catches the air is called the canopy. For many years, parachutes had a round canopy that looked somewhat like an umbrella. Today, most canopies have a rectangular shape, somewhat like the wing of an airplane. The front part of a rectangular canopy is cut off, allowing air to enter. The air inflates the canopy and makes it fairly rigid, like an air mattress.</div> <bR> <div> Skydivers generally use a rectangular parachute that is twice as wide as it is deep. Many sport parachutes measure 11 by 22 feet (3.4 by 6.8 meters). Round parachutes, which are used mainly for cargo, may measure up to 100 feet (30 meters) across.Parachute canopies were once made of silk.But nylon, which is stronger and cheaper, has been used since the early 1940's.</div> <bR> <div> The canopy is packed in a container made of heavy nylon cloth.Special pins called ripcord pins hold the container shut. The container is attached to the parachutist's body by a harness that fits around the shoulders and legs. Straps called risers connect the harness to suspension lines, which attach to the canopy. Skydivers wear a main parachute and a reserve parachute for emergencies. The reserve parachute is usually mounted on the back, just above the main parachute.</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="how_parachutes_work"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>How Parachutes Work</div> <div> Skydivers generally open their parachutes at about 2,500 feet (750 meters). The parachutist reaches into a pouch on the leg strap and pulls out a pilot parachute that measures about 3 feet (0.9 meter) across. This parachute quickly inflates, releases the ripcord pin on the container, and pulls out the canopy. If the main parachute fails, there is time to activate the reserve parachute. After the canopy opens, the ride to the ground takes about 3 minutes. The parachute moves at about 20 miles (32 kilometers) per hour. The parachutist can pull on the right steering line to turn right and on the left steering line to turn left.</div> <bR> <div> Rectangular parachutes have a greater forward speed than round parachutes and so are not easily blown backward when they encounter wind.Rectangular parachutes also descend more slowly than round parachutes. In landing, the parachutist can pull down the back edge of the rectangular canopy with steering lines. This slows the parachute's motion and permits a gradual, soft landing.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="history"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>History</B></div> <div> As early as the 1100's, the Chinese may have experimented with parachutes by jumping from high structures with rigid, umbrellalike devices. The first known parachute jump was made from a tower in 1783 by the French physicist Sebastian Lenormand. The first parachute jump from a balloon was made in 1797, and the first freefall parachute jump from a damaged airplane in 1922. </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <A NAME="parachute_picture"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><IMG SRC="22648ec0.jpg" border=0 width="328" height="492" ALT="Parts of a parachute " ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A sport parachute brings a skydiver down very slowly. When the skydiver pulls the ripcord, the pilot chute opens and pulls out the canopy, which unfolds in a few seconds.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>