Dreams of flight have haunted romantics, extreme sports enthusiasts and experimenters since ancient times. Many people, trying to conquer the sky, becoming like birds, died. But indefatigable imagination, an inquisitive mind and quick wit allowed humanity to find a way to discover the beauty of soaring. The best device for this was the parachute. The brave souls who decided to make the jump with him receive well-deserved congratulations on July 26.
History of the holiday
The first parachute was invented by Gleb Kotelnikov. He was a self-taught technician who could not accept the many tragic outcomes that ended aviation flights. It was a lightweight design that fit into a backpack. The latter was with the pilot during the entire flight. Practice has shown that the functions of parachutes were trouble-free. Modern means for flights have become widespread. They are used by the military, athletes, and pilots.
The developer Kotelnikov wanted to patent his invention on October 27, 1911. But the Ministry of Military Affairs, to which he applied, did not appreciate the importance of the design, and the technician’s proposal was rejected. The inventor continued development. In 1923, he created a new, improved model, and later another one. The patent was issued on the third attempt in July 1924. Subsequently, the scientist developed a cargo parachute, characterized by a large dome with a diameter of 12 m. It made it possible to lower loads with a total weight of 300 kg. Two years later, all of Kotelnikov’s developments were given to the government. Three years later, parachutes were recognized as an integral part of aviation.
By the second half of 1931, paratroopers from the USSR made about 600 jumps. These were demonstration, training flights. Some of them were carried out in water and snow. The instructors conquered skydiving, which is common today. This is how parachuting appeared, which was enjoyed not only by men, but also by the fair sex. The first Soviet woman to conquer the sky was V. Kuleshova. She flew on July 14, 1931. The date July 26 was chosen to honor paratroopers for a reason. On this day, back in 1930, the first group jump was carried out, during which the instructors hovered at a great height.
The dream of flight has always haunted both romantics and extreme sports enthusiasts. Many brave experimenters have died in search of a way to soar in the clouds. The indefatigable imagination and inquisitive mind of outstanding personalities allowed humanity to discover the delights of flight.
But someone watches with a dream in their thoughts and hearts the unhurried heavenly soaring of birds from the ground. Someone had the courage to climb up the plane's steps and watch the process through the window. But the bravest were lucky enough to experience the delights of flight and make a parachute jump. It is these brave souls who are dedicated to the Parachutist Day holiday, which is celebrated annually on July 26th.
Parachutist Day in Russia: history of the holiday
For people who have learned the delights of skydiving, this activity has become not just a hobby, but a part of life.
Having once stepped into the abyss of heaven, they cannot refuse repeated jumps. Every year there are more and more people who want to soar in the clouds under the heavenly dome.
Many entertainment organizations offer parachute jumping. It has become not only an attribute of the military and athletes, but also a hobby for many people.
It was for athletes, military personnel, and amateurs who connected their lives with the skies and extreme flights, that is, jumping, that Parachutist Day became a holiday.
However, this holiday has not yet been approved at the state level. Among paratroopers, it is customary to celebrate the holiday on July 26th. This is the day when, in 1930, Soviet paratroopers made their first group jump and hovered in the skies under parachute canopies.
It was this event that became key in the further development parachuting and the beginning of a mass hobby among Russians.
The history of the parachute
It is impossible to list how many people have tried to create devices that can hold a person in the skies.
Some engineers and mechanics, because of their own experiments, parted with the most precious thing - life. But the search continued, and a solution was finally found.
It is said that the drawings of the first parachute prototype belong to Leonardo da Vinci.
But for some reason they were not immediately put into practice and the first design that allowed a person to make a successful parachute jump appeared in the 18th century. The daredevil who decided to jump from a height of 700 meters was the Frenchman Garnerin. He stepped out of the balloon and landed successfully.
His niece had the first female experience of air jumping. The girl parachutist was able to complete 60 jumps with an air canopy.
Despite the spread of a hobby that was unusual for those times, the design remained unchanged for more than a century.
And only at the beginning of the 20th century it acquired the outlines familiar to us. Later, a backpack appeared, which not only allows you to conveniently move the parachute, but also provides all the possibilities for opening the canopy. The impetus for inventions in the field of parachute business was the rapid development of aviation.
The era of parachuting begins after demonstration group jumps performed by Soviet paratroopers.
A parachute has long been a mandatory attribute of all pilots. All new inventions belong to self-taught technician Gleb Kotelnikov. It was he who designed a lightweight parachute placed in a backpack.
The designer could not look indifferently at the tragic outcomes of aviation flights and set a goal to come up with a unique device.
However, the bureaucratic state machine did not appreciate the first work of the designer, provided by Kotelnikov in 1911 as RK-1.
Only the third model with a backpack was patented in 1924.
The designer owns many unique developments, including a cargo parachute, thanks to which it is possible to lower loads weighing up to 300 kg. But all his inventions were donated to the government.
And already in 1929, by decision of the government, a parachute became a mandatory attribute of pilots and all people associated with aeronautics.
Today, parachutes are used in the army, sports, and aviation. Clubs and organizations have been created where amateur skydivers are united. Competitions are held using parachutes, demonstration performances.
Records and interesting facts about parachutes
When jumping from an airplane, a skydiver reaches a speed of 180 km/h before the parachute opens.
In a minute, a person in the air before the start of soaring with an open canopy flies 3 km.
Despite claims about the safety of skydiving, for every 4,000 skydivers, the hobby ends in disastrous results.
The first parachutist to jump from an airplane was the American Albert Berry.
To do this, in 1912 he had to get out of the aircraft on the landing gear.
And the first domestic experience of such a jump belongs to Captain Sokolov, who performed it in 1917 on May 17.
Felix Baumgartner is called the most desperate skydiver, who stepped into the blue abyss from a height of 38,600 m. During the fall, he reached a speed of 1342 km/h.
If you think that the hobby of parachute jumping is for the young and desperate, you are very mistaken.
One of the records belongs to a 97-year-old man.
He gave himself such a unique gift for his own birthday, jumping, accompanied by an instructor, from a height of three hundred meters.
But the American Dorothy Custer was able to break this record. She jumped off the highest cliff in Cyprus when she was 102 years old.
The most extreme record belongs to the Japanese. In order to get into the Guinness book, they came up with a dangerous trick called “Banzai”. This fun involves throwing a parachute out of an airplane. The skydiver must catch it in flight, put it on himself and, if all stages go well, finally pull the ring.
The lucky one who landed almost safely in extreme situation, when neither the main nor the safety parachute opened, American Shayna Richardson became the winner.
Before landing, the woman reached a speed of 80 km/h and remained alive after landing on the asphalt.
In addition, as it turned out, the woman was pregnant and subsequently gave birth to a healthy baby.
The record for the lowest jump belongs to the Englishman Spencer. The man had to jump out of a plane shot down by the Germans in 1945 from a height of only 12 meters. Despite the height that was unacceptable for jumping, the military pilot was able to land safely on the ground.
The tradition of celebrating Parachutist Day goes back to July 26, 1930, when several Soviet parachutist pilots, led by B. Mukhortov, made a series of parachute jumps from airplanes for the first time in the country. This day is considered to be the birthday of Soviet parachuting. Parachutist Day was not only formally approved, but is also widely known and actively celebrated by paratroopers themselves to this day.
Professional parachuting, which originated at the dawn of industrialization, developed at a rapid pace, and by the end of 1931, Soviet paratroopers had already made more than 600 training and demonstration jumps. Soviet paratroopers quickly improved their skills and carried out more and more successful experiments. Just a year and a half after the first group jump, the first water jump was carried out. At the beginning of 1932, they were already jumping in deep snow and at night. Subsequently, the first skydives were organized. high altitude, which later became widespread.
Soviet women also actively took up parachuting. July 14, 1931 is the date of the first parachute jump in the USSR by a woman. The first Russian parachutist was V. Kuleshova.
A safe landing after a jump from a great height became possible thanks to the ingenious invention of mankind, which since ancient times dreamed of conquering airspace - the parachute. The inventor of the first domestic parachute was an enthusiast and self-taught engineer Gleb Kotelnikov, who from his youth dreamed of finding a means to prevent tragic outcomes and prevent loss of life as a result of plane crashes and falls from great heights. The first parachute was packed into the backpack and came out very light. Thus, the pilot could use it at any time if the plane failed and a disaster was imminent. Kotelnikov's parachute was successfully tested and, logically, should have been accepted into mass production. In 1911, the self-taught inventor Kotelnikov patented his successful invention “RK-1,” which stood for “Russian, Kotelnikov’s first,” and appealed to the War Ministry. However, as often happens in Russia, the bureaucrats failed to implement it, without paying any attention to its extreme importance, and the breakthrough invention of the left-handed Kotelnikov was rejected with the stupid formulation “as unnecessary.”
Realizing the promise of his product and its immediate demand, Kotelnikov continued his work after 1917. In 1923, he created a new model of the backpack parachute “RK-2”, and later - “RK-3”, which was patented on July 4, 1924. After this, the inventor designs the RK-4 cargo parachute, the dome of which was 12 meters in diameter. This huge parachute was designed to lower loads weighing up to 300 kilograms. In 1926, the rights to all Kotelnikov's inventions were transferred to the Soviet government. And at the end of 1929, parachute training became mandatory for aeronautics. This is brief history the birth of domestic parachuting, which gave the country many heroes and brought its defense capability to a qualitatively new level, creating the prerequisites for the formation of a new unique type of troops - the Airborne Forces.
Over the course of their existence, parachutes have saved tens of thousands of human lives. Millions of people around the world and in our country use them, some out of professional necessity, some out of love for the thrill. The accumulated experience makes it possible to constantly improve the design of parachutes and increase the possibility of their use.
Story
It is well known that Russia is the birthplace of the parachute. Because the Russian inventor Kotelnikov created the first working model of this very useful device. The patent for the parachute was issued to him in 1911. However, the parachute began to enjoy active popularity already in the Soviet period. At the same time, mass parachuting began to develop.
The beginning of the parachute era in our country dates back to 1930, when a group of pilots completed the first Russian history group jump. Since then, our parachutists have made tens of millions of jumps from airplanes, airships, balloons, helicopters, and hang gliders. But it was the date July 26 that remained in the history of domestic parachuting. So its choice as an unofficial holiday for professionals and ordinary fans of skydiving is by no means accidental.
Traditions
In fact, it has much to do with the parachute more people than one might assume. Jumps with it are made by:
- athletes and rescuers;
- firefighters and paratroopers;
- special forces and extreme sports enthusiasts;
- pilots of all types of aviation and astronauts.
Therefore, although not officially, Parachutist Day is celebrated very widely in Russia. Mainly in a professional environment, of course.
All skydivers try to time their anniversary jumps to coincide with this date (many athletes already have a personal account of thousands). Mass demonstrations take place at civil aviation and military airfields. The most outstanding parachuting masters make jumps on July 26, claiming world records for landing accuracy, long jump duration, drop height, etc.
Often, it is on a holiday that the first “takeout” of newcomers takes place for their first jump. And, of course, all these events attract a lot of spectators from among relatives, friends and relatives of parachutists and simply fans of this spectacular sport.
Every year in our country we celebrate, unofficially for now, the holiday of Soviet and Russian professionals and lovers of parachuting - Parachute Day.
On July 26, 1930, a group of Soviet parachutist pilots, led by B. Mukhortov and under the leadership of L. Minov, made a series of jumps from airplanes near Voronezh for the first time. This event marked the beginning of the massive development of parachuting in the USSR.
It is in honor of this event that every year on July 26, professionals and amateurs of parachuting celebrate their professional holiday, which has not yet been approved by law, but is known and widely celebrated among parachutists.
By the end of 1931, Soviet paratroopers had completed about 600 training and demonstration jumps. In the same year, young Soviet instructors made a number of jumps on water, in deep snow, at night from great heights and long jumps, which later became widespread.
Soviet women are also interested in parachuting. In 1931, for the first time in the USSR, a Soviet woman, V. Kuleshova, made a parachute jump. Somewhat later, on August 19, V. Fedorov and A. Chirkov made parachute jumps.
The first parachute was designed, constructed and tested by self-taught technician Gleb Kotelnikov, who was not indifferent to tragic outcomes in aviation flights. The first parachute was light, packed in a backpack, and was always with the pilot. Test results showed that the parachute operated without failure.
In 1911, Kotelnikov patented his invention “RK-1” (Russian, Kotelnikov’s first) and applied to the War Ministry. But the bureaucratic machine did not realize the importance of the invention, and Kotelnikov’s proposal was rejected “as unnecessary.”
Realizing the importance of the matter, Kotelnikov continued his work and in 1923 created a new model of the RK-2 backpack parachute, and later a model of the RK-3 parachute with a soft backpack, which was patented in 1924. In the same 1924, Kotelnikov manufactured the RK-4 cargo parachute with a dome with a diameter of 12 meters. This parachute could lower a load weighing up to 300 kilograms. In 1926, Kotelnikov transferred all his inventions to the Soviet government.
At the end of 1929, by decision of the party and government, parachutes became mandatory for aviation and aeronautics.
Today in Russia, parachute jumps from airplanes, balloons and other aircraft number in the tens of thousands, and parachutes are used in aviation, the army, sports and other spheres of human activity. There are also many parachuting competitions.
What kind of dots are in the clear sky - high, you can’t see
There are paratroopers hovering there for a long time to fly down,
Their free fall is a holiday for the soul
Enjoy! How good!
Now they have gathered in a circle, holding a strong lock with their hands
So they grouped themselves into a star, well, could you do it like that?
Soar in united formation to embrace the sky,
And take a bucket of adrenaline every day?
Man does not live in the world by bread alone,
He dreamed of becoming related to the clear sky from century to century,
So please accept congratulations! Finally a dream come true!
You, brave ones, without a doubt, have conquered the heights!
