Parachuting - how and why become skydivers. Russian athletes won medals at the World Championships in wingsuit piloting Parachuting World Championship

29/7/1956 At the Tushino airfield (Moscow), the III World Parachuting Championship started, in which national teams from 10 countries participated: the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the USA, France, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Israel (there were also paratroopers-observers from England and delegations from China and North Korea). Competitions were held in two exercises: long jumps from a height of 1500 and 2000 meters with free fall, respectively. at 20 and 30 seconds. First and second places among men's and women's teams occupied by the USSR and Czechoslovakia. Israel took the last, tenth place.

29/10/1956 2009, the Sinai campaign began at the Mitle Pass (Suez), in which the "athletes" of the Israeli national team, already familiar to us, took revenge.

The coach of the Israeli national team made his first parachute jump in Moscow, his second jump was in Suez (by the way, it was also during the day, only Raful's helmet was different, and full gear to boot. Well, not a team of 10 athletes , and his 890th battalion - 395 soldiers then made the first military landing in the history of the IDF). In Moscow there was an An-2, and in Israel there was a Li-2 (aka Douglas, aka Dakota).

In the right upper corner: Shimon Tshor after performing the jump
In the lower left corner: parachutists Yocheved Tzur and Yosef Tal (Photo: Boris Evgenievich Vdovenko)
Upper left: American team against the background of the inscription " Greetings to the participants of the III World Parachuting Championship"

So, 1956 was marked by the XX Congress of the CPSU and Khrushchev's report on the exposure of Stalin's personality cult. The Iron Curtain lifted and Israeli Prime Minister Ben-Gurion gladly accepted the invitation to this competition. There were only a few problems: there were no skydivers in Israel, and, accordingly, there were no sports parachutes, and 45 days remained for everything about everything. Then the combat pilots did not have any experience in parachuting (hey, the command decided that a pilot who was confident in a catapult was more likely to leave the plane - so the training was purely theoretical). All hope was on the paratroopers and instructors. It turned out to be the easiest way to turn the military into civilians - they were simply enrolled in the Israeli flying club (the "Flying Camel" had existed since 1933). Soon, the Ministry of Defense learned that Shimon Tskhor, who graduated from the first course of instructors in 1949, had heard something about skydiving - he was instructed to train "athletes" on an old Boeing Stirman. Brigade commander Arik Sharon assembled the national team, and appointed Raful as the official coach.

Israeli delegation:

Arie Sarig- head of the delegation (from the Ministry of Defense).
Raphael "Raful" Eitan- trainer (commander of the 890th paratrooper battalion). I loved .
Shimon Tskhor- skydiver instructor.
Yaakov Shabtai- Military pilot of 103 squadron.
Zvi Yanai(nee Sandro Toth) - skydiver instructor. Today he is 77 years old, philosopher, self-taught.
Yoav Shaham(Bernstein) - commander of the 890th battalion. He was the commander of the 202nd airborne battalion and died in the line of duty on 11/13/1966. Moshav Givat Yoav in the south of the Golan is named after him.
Micha "" Ben-Ari- commanders of the 202nd battalion.
Shraga "Poplar" Tal- skydiver instructor.
Eliyahu Ben David(Segman) - commander of the security equipment department of the parachute school of the IDF.
Yocheved Zur- parachutist (after these competitions she married Poplar).
Yosef Tal-Mikhaeli- parachutist. Today she is 76 years old, a physiotherapist, author of the Body Cognition methodology.

***
Let's try to understand why Arik decided to give such a gift to Raful. Six months earlier, Sharon held the position of Raful, who in turn was a company commander, and together they participated in the Kinneret operation, where on 11/12/1955 Raful was wounded.
Raful's parents Eliyahu Kaminsky and Miriam Orlova (from subbotniks) arrived in Israel in 1904 - Raful could read and write in Russian, but had never been to Russia.
The coaches of the national teams themselves were not supposed to jump at the competitions, so Sharon decided to get a ticket for a friend ...

***
Training in Israel, as it turned out later, was not entirely suitable: the fighters were taught to jump from the wing of an airplane, and in competitions they had to jump out of the door. But thanks to Raful, our team showed itself with honor in the Great Synagogue - they all looked at the coach and knew from his sign when to stand up, when to turn to the east and when to say amen (the army rabanut prepared the delegation for Shabbat prayer, but in vain).

On the way back from Moscow, the soldiers, athletes of the Israeli team visited the territory of the former Warsaw ghetto and drove to Paris to their colleagues at the Airborne Forces base (there there was a big embarrassment with Cabbage, which has survived to this day thanks to his memoirs - about this in Losev).

A Brief History of the FAI (International Aeronautical Federation) World Championships.

The 1st Parachuting World Championship was held in August 1951 year on Lake Bled (Yugoslavia), it was attended by athletes from six countries: France, Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Great Britain, Italy and Holland.

II championship: 1954 year, Saint-Yan (France). Participants: USSR, Czechoslovakia, France, Yugoslavia, Great Britain and Italy.

In France, Ivan Fedchishin became the world champion, so the III championship was held in the USSR. Cm. video 1956 (English 1:44).

IV championship: 1958, Bratislava (Czechoslovakia). Participants: USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, France, USA, Hungary, Austria, Canada, Belgium, Great Britain and Israel (again in last place).

V championship: 1960, Sofia (Bulgaria). Participants: Czechoslovakia, USA, USSR, Bulgaria, Poland, France, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, Great Britain, Austria and Canada.

VI championship: 1962, Orange (California, USA).
VII championship: 1964, Leutkirch (Germany).
VIII championship: 1966, Leipzig (Germany).
IX championship: 1968, Graz (Austria).
X championship: 1970, Bled (Yugoslavia).

Post to the topic: (July 1957, festival of youth and students)

Since its inception, the school has paid serious attention to the parachute and search and rescue service, as well as parachuting. A lot of effort and energy was invested in this work by teachers V.A. Perepalov, A.A. Akhmadullin, A.V. Kuroyedov, parachute and search and rescue service of the school, led at different times by lieutenant colonels V.M. Vinokurov, P.P. Nikolaev, A.V. Navarnov, service regiments. A large number of jumps were performed by pilots and cadets during the year - an average of 7-8 thousand, at least three thousand more were performed by officers and ensigns of services, paratroopers.


Over the years of its existence, the school has prepared:

Honored Masters of Sports are:

  • Elena Mikhailovna Marakutsa,
    absolute champion peace in 1980;
  • ensign V.V. Gavrilov, multiple champion of the Air Force, the Armed Forces, the USSR, ten-time world record holder, 5 times among the top ten strongest skydivers in the country, included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Also included in Guinness Book ensigns S.S. Shishin- multiple winner of the World Cup, European Championships, two-time world record holder, and V.I. Subbochev- Head of PDS 131uvp, multiple champion of the Armed Forces, the USSR, world championships. They, together with the founder of group aerial acrobatics, our ensign A.I. Zapolnov, repeatedly became prize-winners of competitions of all levels.

The team of the school won the district championship in classical parachuting 3 times.

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ACHIEVEMENTS OF SPORTSMEN-PARACHUTISTS
SARATOV VVAUL:

  1. World Champions, European Champions: 1976, 1982,1983,1984.
  2. Prize-winners of the world championships: 1982-1986.
  3. World record holders: 1976, 1982 - 1986.
  4. Champions of the USSR Armed Forces, USSR: 1976 - 1977, 1982 - 1986.
  5. Saratov VVAUL team consisting of:
    masters of sports of international class ensigns A.I. Zapolnova, S.S. Shishin, masters of sports captain A.A. Shamrai, ensigns Yu.N. Bubyr, V.A. Subbochev, masters of sports V.A. Ruchkina, E.V. Boryshneva (Kuchina), S.S. Gavrilova, T.A.
  6. Awarded with the title "JUDGE OF THE REPUBLICAN CATEGORY" Lieutenant Colonel A.V. Kuroyedov

THE MOST TITLED SPORTS PARACHUTISTS
SARATOV VVAUL

Has 12397 parachute jumps. Master of sports of international class in parachute group acrobatics, master of sports in classical parachuting, member of the world team. Seven-time USSR record holder in group and dome acrobatics, two-time champion of the USSR, champion of the Cup - 60th anniversary of parachuting of the USSR (Moscow), silver and bronze medalist of the European Cup (France) in 1988 in parachute group acrobatics, multiple champion of the Air Force, 2 world achievements in formations 220 and 300 people (Guinness Book of Records - parachute formations). In 2013 he made a jump to the North Pole. Emergency and rescue training instructor of the Saratov VVAUL.

Today the results of the Second JUMP-TANDEM/Dropzone Prostějov Wingsuit Piloting World Championship, which took place these days in Czech Prostějov, became known. The program includes two sports disciplines of parachuting: wingsuit acrobatics and wingsuit piloting. Our team won three awards: "gold" and two "bronze".

The championship was attended by representatives of 23 countries, a total of 78 participants. The two largest national teams: Russia (14 athletes) and the USA (13 participants).

"Wingsuit flights are the youngest, but at the same time actively developing disciplines of parachuting. International Federation Aeronautics (FAI) held the first official international competitions in these disciplines in 2015. And in our country, at the initiative of the Parachuting Federation of Russia, wingsuit piloting and wingsuit acrobatics were officially recognized and included by the Russian Ministry of Sports in the All-Russian Register of Sports in 2017, - the head of the Russian delegation, the head state coach of the sports team of the Russian Federation, explained to RG parachuting Vadim Niyazov. - Flying in wingsuits is very popular in Russia: our athletes took part in the first world championship in the USA (2016), performed very well, and immediately entered the elite of the world's pilots. This year we held the first official championship of Russia. Based on its results, a national team of the country was formed from the best wingsuit pilots. It is also important that the Ministry of Sports of Russia supported us and allocated funds to ensure the participation of the national team in the World Championship."

Today, on the final day of the competition, the final results have become known. Both of our teams of acrobats are on the podium. The "Baza" team - Mikhail Shumakov, Sergey Burmenkov, cameraman Dmitry Fisanov - won the "gold". Angry dogs team - Gleb Chekmenev, Andrey Deev and operator - Alexey Demin "bronze". 63 athletes participated in wingsuit piloting (flying for speed, time and range). Team leader Dmitry Podorashchiy is in third place. Alexey Shatilov - eighth. Leonid Sigalov - 15th. Considering that the majority of foreign participants are professional skydivers, instructors, work on drop zones and have the opportunity to jump without restrictions, and ours are amateurs who train in their spare time, the result speaks for itself.

The next World Parachuting Championship will be Russian. It will take place in 2020 in Tanai - this is one of our best dropzones. "It will be a great holiday, a world championship, where 30 parachuting disciplines will be presented and 50 sets of awards will be played," said Vadim Niyazov.

About wingsuits

Wingsuit piloting is the youngest discipline in skydiving. Wingsuit is a special suit - "wing", the pilot in it visually resembles a flying squirrel. IN modern form such a "flying" suit was designed by the French parachutist Patrick de Gaillardon in the mid-90s, and since then the design of the wing has been constantly improved.

After leaving the plane, the athlete's wings are inflated between his arms and legs. The third wing is located between the legs. The wings are inflated by the flow of incoming air through the air intakes. This creates a lifting force during the flight of a parachutist. The wingsuit increases the flight time until the opening of the parachute by 3-4 times and allows the athlete to fly 8-10 kilometers horizontally (according to the latest data, up to 12), and with a certain skill of the pilot, he can even gain altitude for a while. At the end of the flight, the athlete opens the parachute and flies on it to the landing site.

"Baza" team: Mikhail Shumakov, Sergey Burmenkov and cameraman Dmitry Fisanov. A photo: Irina Nevinnaya/RG

What is wingsuit piloting

Piloting is the ability to fly at speed, range and time. During the competition, athletes make nine jumps according to the rules, three attempts in each of these three exercises. Wingsuit pilots jump out of the plane at an altitude of 3700 m. With the help of a special device - a flysite - all the necessary flight parameters are recorded. The results are summarized for three attempts in each of the three types of jumps.

During the flight, the wingsuit pilot must clearly maintain the designated course - everyone is flying to a specific "point" (each has its own). If the pilot makes a mistake and deviates from his course, or, moreover, goes beyond the designated corridor, he is fined. And then sum up.

What is wingsuit acrobatics

To put it simply, this is the execution of various figures and rebuildings during the flight. The Russian national team at the World Championships is represented by two teams - two triples: two pilots and a cameraman who shoots the jump program in the sky. The result equally depends on the skill of the acrobats and on the skill of the air operator: the judges on the ground watch the records of the flights and evaluate the performance of each team and the camera work.

“In wingsuit acrobatics, there are only seven rounds, seven jumps,” Dmitry Fisanov, the operator of the Baza team, the world champion in this sport, told RG. “Four is a mandatory program when athletes perform predetermined figures: “barrels” - coup in the air, somersault, flying on the back, etc. There are 11 figures in total, and two are performed in the jump. What exactly is determined by the draw. After each figure, the guys must fix the "capture" - hold hands. The exercise is evaluated by the number of captures - the more the better.The other two criteria for evaluation are the style of performance (smoothness, the pose in which they fly, the cleanliness of the execution of the figures), as well as the work of the camera.The operator must not only clearly keep the athletes in the frame, but also shoot them from different angles , top, bottom, the more creative and beautiful the shooting, the higher the score."

The remaining three jumps are free program, where athletes show especially interesting and difficult tricks.

For example, a double somersault - when one flies up to the other, takes him by the legs, and both twist in the air. Another beautiful element is the "rodeo": the athlete flies up to the partner from behind and from above, "lies" on his back, and for some time they fly together as a single whole. And here the operator is a key player in the team: a lot depends on the beauty of his shooting.

Parachuting - relatively the new kind human activity. The idea of ​​high-altitude jumps using a fabric dome has its roots in the Renaissance. However, the technical implementation of this idea, its subsequent transformation into a sports discipline and a way of spending time, took 5 centuries.

Pre-sport era of skydiving

A person has always invented and invented something new when this new one allowed solving a problem that had not been solved by that time, or when it fundamentally simplified the methods of solving a specific problem that were already available at the time of invention. The use of a fabric dome to descend to the ground is completely out of this standard inventive paradigm. At the time of Leonardo da Vinci, people did not yet use any vehicles to fly over the earth. The only option when a person of that time could be high above the ground is to climb the bell tower. True, not in every city the bell towers were so high. And then there were few cities.

Jumping from a bell tower is jumping from a building, that is, it is a real base jumping. Today, it seems surprising to many, but initially parachuting arose in the form of base jumping!

At the end of the 16th century, the Croatian scientist Faust Vrancic stretched a fabric with an area of ​​36 m², fixed it on a frame and jumped from the Bratislava bell tower more than 80 m high. Later, he repeated his experiments several times. In 1783, another base jumper, Frenchman Louis Lenormand, jumped on a similar design, but not rectangular, but round in shape like an umbrella, from the city tower in Montpellier, France.

It is obvious that these jumps did not have any practical value and were made for the purpose of " demonstration performance". Thus, initially skydiving was an extravagant entertainment designed for publicity, and jumps resembled circus tricks.

Then he was committed, airships, airplanes. Periodically air vehicles fell and broke. At this stage, parachutes became in demand as a means of saving people. This gave the necessary drive, which led to technological improvement in the design of the parachute and brought parachuting from the field of tricks of urban lunatics into a professional sport.

The beginning of sport skydiving

The first parachute jump, performed not in the style of a base jump, but from an object flying above the ground, was made by the Frenchman Jacques Garnerin. In 1797, he jumped out of the basket of his balloon from a height of 600 m. This event is traditionally considered the beginning of the era of parachuting.

In the 19th century balloons have become extremely popular in Europe. IN summer time ballooning festivals were held, just as air shows and air exhibitions are held in our time. came in very handy: they added spectacle to the sedate flight of balloons. Balloonists competed with each other and enthralled the inexperienced audience of that time with their tricks.

The importance of aeronautics increased. With the invention of airplanes and light aircraft, this industry is of particular importance. In 1905, the International Aviation Federation (FIA) was created, which still oversees all issues related to sports aviation and skydiving.

We owe the design of the modern parachute to the Russian designer G.E. Kotelnikov, who packed a parachute with a compact satchel and came up with a system for opening it. But the first one started World War, and everyone was not up to sports jumping.

In the 1930s parachuting completes its final formation. The USSR is leading in this process. Even then, in the Soviet Union, competitions were held for the accuracy of landing. Parachuting becomes a Komsomol sport, which is practiced not only by men, but also by women. The approaching Second World War required the preparation of people trained in airborne landings.

First World Skydiving Championship

The fact that the first world championship in parachuting took place almost immediately after the Second World War is quite understandable. This war, in many ways, was "aircraft", and landing behind enemy lines became its main tactical innovation, which distinguished it from previous wars.

After returning from the war, paratrooper pilots found a use for themselves in civilian life: instructor work in massively organized parachute schools and flying clubs, participation in local city and regional competitions. All this gave an additional drive to skydiving in many European countries.

In August 1951, the first world parachute jumping championship took place. It took place in Yugoslavia, which, perhaps, was a tribute to tradition and personally to Faust Vrancic, who made the world's first parachute jump in this region (Croatia at that time was part of Yugoslavia). For the championship, a place was chosen in the north of modern Slovenia - in the area of ​​​​the cities of Lesce and Bled.

Skydivers from 5 countries took part in the 1951 championship:

  • Yugoslavia;
  • France;
  • Holland;
  • United Kingdom;
  • Italy.

The representative of France became the winner of the first world championship. Despite the fact that in the USSR the parachute movement was developed like in no other country, the political disagreements that took place between the President of Yugoslavia (I.B. Tito) and the leader of the USSR (I.V. Stalin) made it impossible for Soviet athletes to participate in this championship.

There is no doubt that if in 1951 Soviet parachutists participated in the competition, they would have been winners, since the Soviet post-war school of parachuting was undoubtedly the best.

Subsequent World Championships

This is what happened at the second World Championship, which took place in France in 1954. Athletes from 8 countries, including the USSR, took part in it. The absolute winner was a military pilot from Dnepropetrovsk, a veteran of the Second World War I.A. Fedchishin. He took first place in all championship exercises.

The fate of Fedchishin is indicative for its time. After demobilization from the army, he came to grips with training in flight skills, mastered parachuting, easily passed all the standards, worked as an instructor, teaching pilots and parachutists, repeatedly became the champion of the Dnepropetrovsk flying club in parachuting, received the highest category in parachuting.

The Soviet team in 1954 included the famous Soviet parachutist Valentina Seliverstova, who became famous all over the world for her record free fall jump of 8326 m (1952) at that time.

Starting from the second championship, international skydiving competitions are held once every 2 years. The venue of the next World Cup is determined by the representative of which country won the previous one. For all the time, Russia became the host of the championship 2 times: in 1956 and 2006. Both times the competition was held in the Moscow region.

Representatives of Yugoslavia more often became world champions (1968, 1976, 1988). After the collapse of Yugoslavia, this tradition was continued by the athletes of the Balkan Republics:

  • Croatia (1996, 2002);
  • Slovakia (2006);
  • Montenegro (2008);
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (2012).