A Website Is Now Devoted To Sport Parachuting’s Colorful History

The “Encyclopedia of All Things Skydiving” is a new online presence for a planned museum exploring the history of skydiving around the world. Its WIKI format invites registered visitors to contribute their personal experiences in skydiving, with an eye toward building a comprehensive resource for future generations of freefallers.

Website content includes early accounts of people jumping from buildings, bridges, balloons and finally, aircraft using some sort of decelerator. A wide range of topics trace the history of parachuting equipment, the people who designed it, and how it has been used over time – by thrill-seeking barnstormers who were the face of early aviation for many, for commercial cargo delivery, for aerospace and military purposes in both war and peacetime, and by today’s skydivers.

As a whole, the website presents a comprehensive picture of the equipment innovations, aircraft, attitudes, competitions, and record-setting milestones that trace skydiving’s popularity and growth. The WIKI is a searchable research tool that will serve future generations of aviation enthusiasts who have an interest in parachutes and how they are used.

Many of the WIKI’s encyclopedic entries have been thoroughly researched by long-time skydiving author Madden (Pat) Works, who has written several books on the sport since the 1970s and is an advisor to the Skydiving Museum’s Collections and Curating Committee chaired by Dan Poynter.

The project is an initiative of the Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation governed by a Board of Trustees which is raising funds and encouraging pioneering parachutists and parachute equipment manufacturers to donate historic gear, packing manuals, videos and stories for future displays.

FMI: www.Skydiving-Encyclopedia.com