Russian Holidays - Parachutist Day

From his very existence, man dreamed of soaring in the sky like a bird Some continued to dream, and some daredevils came up with all sorts of designs for conquering heights Over time, man created technologies that allowed him to fly, soar and not fall Only the strong and brave, pilots, hang gliders, astronauts and parachutists, will conquer the sky Thanks to their courage and courage, each of them deserved their professional holiday; paratroopers celebrate it on July 26 The celebration is celebrated every year on July 26, but, unfortunately, the holiday does not have official status and is not considered a day off It is celebrated in close company, among amateurs and professionals of parachuting, most often somewhere in nature The date for the celebration was chosen for a reason: on July 26, 1930, a group of USSR paratrooper pilots made their first organized jumps from an airplane, near Voronezh The group of professional extreme sports enthusiasts was led by B Mukhortov The first parachute in the USSR was developed by self-taught scientist Gleb Kotelnikov He was very concerned about the fact that aviation employees had no protection in case of an accident; it was thinking about safety that led him to create the first parachute He developed a lightweight but durable design that pilots could always take with them in their backpack The first tests showed good results, the landing was soft, the parachute opened on time On October 27, 1911, Kotelnikov patented his invention and gave it the name “RK-1” He tried to offer his product to the War Ministry, but they rejected his proposal, considering it “unpromising” Believing in his “brainchild,” Kotelnikov continued to modernize his invention and in 1923 he patented the “RK-2” model, and in 1924 the “RK-3” with a soft backpack In the same year, he invented the RK-4 industrial parachute for heavy loads In 1926, all Kotelnikov’s inventions and patents were transferred to the state department, and only in 1929 did the parachute become a mandatory part of the equipment of the flying crew 1) The first prototype of a parachute was invented in the 15th century by the genius Leonardo da Vinci, who called it a “tent” It was first tested in action at the end of the 19th century, Andre Jacques Gorneret jumped from a hot air balloon and survived His student Alexander (surname unknown) became the first paratrooper of the Russian Empire 2) The first person who dared to jump with a parachute was Albert Beria from the USA, in 1912 This daredevil did all the maneuvers in the open sky, while the aircraft was moving, from the outside of the airplane and jumped out from a special container attached to the fuselage 3) The speed of a parachutist jumping from a flying plane is 50 m/s or 180 km/h 4) A distance of 3 km, a person with a parachute flies in 60 seconds 5) Parachuting is considered the safest of extreme sports; for every 100 thousand jumps there are 25 accidents 6) During the jump, it is not possible to talk, which is shown in the movies, just a “director’s fantasy” 7) Felix Baumgartner is recognized as the most fearless skydiver, who jumped from a height of 38600 He got there on a “special plane” - a stratospheric balloon, and in order not to incinerate in the layers of the atmosphere, he used a special protective suit 8) George Moise is recognized as the oldest athlete, who made the jump on his 97th birthday So grandfather decided to celebrate his holiday, instead of a traditional party 9) The most dangerous jump was invented by the Japanese, and all in order to get into the Guinness Book of Records First, a parachute is thrown out of the plane, and then a person jumps, who must put on and open the aircraft while flying This jump was called a “banzai”