View source for Freeflying

{{Short description|Skydiving discipline}}
{{Multiple issues|{{notability|date=November 2022}}
{{promotional|date=November 2022}}}}
'''Free flying''' is a [[skydiving]] discipline that began in the late 1980s, involving falling free in various vertical orientations, as opposed to the traditional "belly-to-earth" orientation. The discipline is known to have originated when [[Olav Zipser]] began experimenting with non-traditional forms of [[bodyflight|Body flight]]. Zipser founded the Free Fly Clowns as a two-person competitive team with Mike Vail in 1992. He was joined by Omar Alhegelan (1st ever FAI Freestyle World Cup & World Champion), Charles Bryan, and Stefania Martinengo in 1994. The Free Fly Clowns are also credited with opening the first school to teach free flying, [[The First School of Modern SkyFlying|The First School of Modern Skydiving]].

[[File:Olav Zipser Space Ball and Space Games.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3| FreeFlyers training with a "space ball" for the Space Games]]

Free flying entered public awareness in 1996 when the SSI Pro Tour added free flying as a three-person competitive discipline at the second televised event (with Skysurfing), part of ESPN's Destination Extreme series. One-hundred and fifty countries watched the Free Fly Clowns (Olav Zipser, Charles Bryan and Omar Alhegelan) as they took 1st place in all four international competitions along with other teams including: the Fly boys (Eli Thompson, Mike Ortiz, Knut Krecker, Fritz Pfnür), Team AirTime (Tony Urugallo, Jim O'Reilly, Peter Raymond, Brian Germain), and many other pioneers of free flying.

From 1996 to 1997, the SSI Pro Tour staged eight televised events in both North America and Europe, with $36,000 in cash prizes awarded to free-fly teams. SSI invited the 1997 Pro World Champions, the Flyboyz, to participate in the 1998 [[ESPN X Games]] as an unofficial exhibition.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://webpages.charter.net/ssiprotour/fr.html 
|title=History and Development of Competitive Freeflying 
|access-date=2010-03-26 
|last=McKeeman 
|first=Pete 
|date=May 1996 
|publisher=SSI Pro Tour of Skysurfing and Freeflying }}</ref>
The resulting global television exposure attracted considerable attention to the FreeFly Clowns, the Flyboyz, and Freeflying as a discipline. A once fledgling offshoot of the mainstream, freeflying now comprises one-half of the overall [[skydiving]] community.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.bpa.org.uk/skydive/pages/articles/jun00/birthoffreefly.htm 
 |title=Birth of Freefly 
 |access-date=2007-01-27 
 |last=Malone 
 |first=Jo 
 |date=June 2000 
 |publisher=British Parachute Association 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214133219/http://www.bpa.org.uk/skydive/pages/articles/jun00/birthoffreefly.htm 
 |archive-date=2007-02-14 
 |url-status=dead 
}}</ref>

Zipser's [[Space Games]] used a "space ball" as a research and measuring device to provide a constant speed and direction from which individual athletes could be trained, judged, and allow individuals to race each other.  In 1998, the Space Games accelerated in popularity and brought publicity to the sport Free Flying.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070214133219/http://www.bpa.org.uk/skydive/pages/articles/jun00/birthoffreefly.htm British Parachute Association article], retrieved 10 Sep 2012</ref>

In 2000, Free Fly was accepted as an aviation discipline by the International Parachute Commission (IPC) and the first official Free Fly National Championships were held worldwide.<ref>[https://www.fai.org/page/isc-artistic-events FAI International Skydiving Commission], retrieved 6 Jan 2023</ref>

==Technique==
Free flying is a form of skydiving that involves a range of body orientations, including both traditional belly-to-earth positions and vertical flight, where the skydiver is either upright (feet-first) or inverted (head-first). These positions allow for unique formations and faster freefall.

To master free flying, skydivers must learn various body positions such as the box position (belly-to-earth), back flying, head-up, head-down, and side flying. Skydivers often transition between these positions during a dive, with varying speeds and orientations, either flowing continuously or holding specific positions to form larger formations.

Free flying carries additional risks due to the increased speed. Skydivers must be cautious to avoid collisions with belly-to-earth divers and must slow their descent before deploying their parachute, as most parachutes are not designed for high-speed openings.

Though a newer and more extreme discipline, freeflying is growing in popularity in competitions and record-setting events.

===Back flying===
'''Back flying''' is the ability to fly on the back in a stable and controlled fashion. This skill is critical, so that when the flyer flips out of some of the more advanced positions, he or she stays in control and does not endanger themselves or other skydivers.

===Sit flying===
[[File:Freefly (Manaus-Brasil) 2.JPG|240px|thumb|right|Freeflyer flying a sit in Manaus, Brasil.]]
'''Sit flying''' is called such because it looks similar to the position taken while sitting in a chair.

For flying a sit, the feet are oriented toward the relative wind and 90-degree bends are maintained at the knees, hips, and shoulders. To move around, the flyer redirects the airflow in the opposite direction the jumper wants to go. [[Sir Isaac Newton|Newtonian]] mechanics then push the flyer in the desired direction. Fall rate changes (descending faster or slower) can also be made.

=== Head down ===
A person falling in the ''head down'' position has less cross-sectional area exposed to the air while falling, which results in much faster fall rates. Average speeds while flying head down are around {{convert|260|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. Due to the increased speed, every movement made can cause the skydiver to become unstable or disoriented; thus increasing the risk involved in free flying.

==Vertical Formation Skydiving==

'''Vertical formation skydiving (VFS)''' is a subcategory of [[formation skydiving]] using high-speed body positions normally associated with free flying. Competitors build pre-selected formations in [[free-fall]] with multiple people gripping each other's limbs or specially built "grippers" on their jumpsuits.

The [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]] (FAI) world record for the largest VFS [[free-fall]] formation is a 164-way, set on July 31, 2015 over [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], United States.  [https://web.archive.org/web/20150731184538/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9e4173d18bfe4a33b4d6ee677a3b00e2/164-skydivers-set-head-down-world-record-illinois]

Project Horizon, the Lodi Sequentials, VFS Arizona, and several other yearly invitational [[skydiving]] events are centered on pushing the boundaries of VFS.

=== Competition ===

There is only one category of official VFS competition, that being VFS 4-way, which is part of the [[United States Parachute Association]] Skydiving Nationals. The first official VFS 4-Way US Nationals Competition was held on October 27, 2006, in Eloy, Arizona.  Nine teams (45 skydivers) competed.

VFS 4-way has been adopted as an addition to future FAI world competitions (as VFS 4-way), the first being the FAI World Cup in Eloy, AZ, in October 2008.

== Records ==
The world's largest vertical (head down) formation took place on Friday, 31 July 2015, when a multinational team of 164 skydivers, some traveling at speeds of over 200&nbsp;mph, linked over Skydive Chicago,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Skydive Chicago – World Class Skydiving Resort |url=https://skydivechicago.com/ |access-date=2023-03-15 |language=en-US}}</ref> in [[Ottawa, Illinois]], United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2015/07/31/164-skydivers-set-head-down-world-record-in-illinois |title=164 skydivers smash head-down world record in Illinois, some hitting speeds exceeding 200mph |date=July 31, 2015 |publisher=[[US News]] |author=Andrea Thomas}}</ref> This broke the previous record of 138 linked skydivers set on Saturday, 4 August 2012 also at Skydive Chicago.

[[Marc Hauser (skydiver)|Marc Hauser]] set the world record for the fastest horizontal free fall at 304&nbsp;km/h in Empuriabrava, Spain without specialized equipment, in October 2012.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.bielertagblatt.ch/nachrichten/unterhaltung/geschwindigkeits-weltrekord-im-fallschirmspringen| publisher=Bieler Tagblatt| date=September 10, 2012| title=Speed record in skydiving | access-date=April 21, 2016}}</ref>

In 2022, skydivers from twenty-two different countries set a new all-female head-down world record with 80 free flyers in formation over Eloy USA.  The first attempt at the record jump was scheduled to happen in 2020, the 100th anniversary of women being granted the right to vote, but was postponed due to the [[covid pandemic|coronavirus pandemic]].<ref>[https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/11/20/women-skydivers-attempt-world-record/10711122002/ USA Today - Group of 100+ skydivers to attempt world-record jump in celebration of women's rights], retrieved 6 Jan 2023</ref><ref>[https://www.abc15.com/news/uplifting-arizona/all-women-sky-diving-group-sets-new-world-record USA Today - All women sky diving group sets new world record], retrieved 6 Jan 2023</ref>

==See also==
*[[Freestyle skydiving]]
*[[Freefall]]
*[[Parachuting]]
*[[Vertical Wind Tunnel|Vertical wind tunnel]]
*[[Olav Zipser]]
*[[The First School of Modern SkyFlying|The First School of Modern Sky Flying]]
*[[Space Games]]
*[[Extreme sport]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Freeflying}}
{{commons|Parachuting}}
*[http://www.uspa.org USPA] The United States Parachute Association &ndash; The governing body for sport skydiving in the U.S.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150721231237/http://www.uspa.org/USPAMembers/Competition/History/tabid/135/Default.aspx Competition History] USPA History of Skydiving Competition
*[http://www.fai.org FAI] The Federation Aeronautique Internationale &ndash; The international governing body for all airborne sports, including skydiving.

[[Category:Air sports]]
[[Category:Aerial maneuvers]]
[[Category:Aerobatics]]
[[Category:Parachuting]]
[[Category:History of aviation]]