Sky Surfing
Sky Surfing
Sky surfing was invented by two French skydivers, Dominique Jacquet and Jean-Pascal Oron, in 1986. The gap between sky and sea was bridged using sky surfing. It comes in the category of adventurous sports where there is no chance for mistakes. A single mistake can be life-threatening. So, there a numerous disciplines and rules in skysurfing that you never bypass. And remember insurance is a must for this type of extreme sport.
They found that the sky surfboard allows the rider to surf in the air, in the same way, you surf on the sea waves. Skydiving and sky surfing is an extreme sport in which the skydiver wears a special sky surfboard attached to the leg and performs surf-style aerial acrobatics while free falling. Some brave people tied planks to their feet jumped out of planes and gave “air surfing” a whole new meaning. Sky surfers competed against each other to win prestigious skysurfing titles, and the sport was featured at the ESPN X Games from 1995 to 2000.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_iEdUrRjZk
Skysurfing is a type of skydiving in which a board is attached to the skydiver’s feet so that he can perform tricks traditionally used in surfing and snowboarding. It has basically two grades namely Sky Surf Grade 1 and Grade 2 or SS1 and SS2 are designed to teach skydivers all the skills and guidelines. After clearing SS1 only you can be promoted to SS2.
Watching someone glide through the air currents while a surfer swims through a wave is an optical illusion that is only possible through skillful shooting, which is why skysurfing is a team sport for two people. When a skysurfer is filmed by another skydiver falling next to him, the result is that the skysurfer appears to be riding through the air in the same way that a surfer is riding a wave. The nature of skysurfing footage means it appears to be very slow as the skysurfer floats through the air, but the reality is that skysurfers fall faster than any other type of jumper.
Skydivers fall at a speed of 90 to 160 miles per hour. It’s hard for everyone, and skysurfers do it with their feet tied to the board. “Of all the skydiving disciplines, this was the hardest,” says Troy Hartman, a former gold medalist in skysurfing who competed consistently during the sport’s heyday. In 1987, for the film The Sleeper, French paratrooper Joel Cruciani made the first freefall jumps while standing on a surfboard with snowboard bindings.
Type of surfboard skysurfers use
Sky surfboards are shorter and flatter than those used for water surfing. It also attaches to the rider’s legs to keep the board from falling to the ground. Skysurfing is a part of skydiving where a board is attached to the surfer’s feet. A skydiver attaches a surfboard to their feet and uses it to perform stunts and acrobatic stunts in the sky.
Beginner skysurfers use a smaller sky surfboard which is having a lesser surface area. As their skill and comfortability increase with time they “graduate” to longer boards.
It attaches to the feet of skysurfers, but unlike a snowboarder, the skydiver wears their normal jumping shoes rather than special boots. Skysurfboards are usually made to size by the skysurfer in collaboration with qualified parachute fitters to produce bindings and cutout systems.
Master of sky surfing
A skysurfer who has already mastered skydiving must complete about 200 jumps just to master the board before attempting any spin or flip as the board can make a difference in the blink of an eye.
There are currently a very limited number of skysurfers on this globe. Similarly, there are limited numbers of trainers who provide you with a skysurfing experience.
Kebe Keith Edward Snyder a skysurfer from the USA jumped from a height of 13,500 feet and did helicopter spin while skydiving, which was registered in the Guinness Book of world record. He can be called the true master of skysurfing. It requires discipline, practice, physical fitness, and time.
