How long has sky diving been around?
Leonardo da Vinci is credited with the design of a parachute dropped from the Tower of Pisa. The first human sky dive, legend has it, was in 1617 when a man equipped with a chute jumped from a building in Venice.

How often does a parachute malfunction?
Records are scant because there is no requirement for sky divers to report equipment malfunctions. One widely accepted estimate is that in 600-1,000 random chute openings, one will fail, requiring the use of a reserve chute.

How dangerous is it?
Because there is little or no data on injuries sustained during flight or landing, the USPA usually explains risk in terms of the number of fatalities per jump. With more than 350,000 people making about 3.3 million jumps a year and an annual average of 30 fatalities during the last decade, that translates into one death per 110,000 jumps. Improved gear, training and safety procedures have kept the number of fatalities fairly constant the last 10 years, and the number of jumps each year has doubled.

What's the altitude record?
Sport jumps usually are made from 5,000-12,000 feet. The altitude record has stood since 1961, when Col. Joseph Kittinger Jr. jumped from a balloon 102,800 feet up. He wore a spacesuit and carried a cylinder of oxygen. Cheryl Stearns, an airline pilot and world champion sky diver, is training to break that record next year.

How do I get started?
The USPA suggests consulting the group member listings on its Web site. Call in advance to see what they offer. Options include:

A) Tandem jumping
Student and instructor jump, free fall and land together sharing one parachute.

B) Static line or instructor-assisted deployment
The student jumps and the chute opens right away automatically.

C) Harness hold
Two USPA Accelerated Free-fall Jumpmasters go alongside in free fall, holding on until the student opens his chute.