Techniques
The team normally jumps from an altitude of 12,500 feet above ground level, freefalling approximately 2 miles, reaching speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour. This freefall can last up to one minute. During their freefall, the members of the team maneuver their bodies, like the flight surfaces of an aircraft, to form numerous aerial designs and formations in the sky. When the jumpers approach an altitude of 4,000 feet, they will break their formation and glide in different directions. As each team member reaches an altitude of 2,500 feet, they will begin deploying their parachutes. Once open, the members steer their parachutes and perform what is called "stacking." Stacking enables the jumpers to form up in the air as a group and land one behind the other, with precision accuracy.
The USSOCOM Parachute Team modifies the military aspects of MFF operations and provides graphic displays of intricate maneuvers and precision canopy control techniques. Jumps by the team may include carrying a flag or passing a baton while descending in freefall, all while wearing burning smoke canisters attached to their boots to allow viewers to see them better.
Read more about this topic: Special Operations Command Parachute Team
Famous quotes containing the word techniques:
“It is easy to lose confidence in our natural ability to raise children. The true techniques for raising children are simple: Be with them, play with them, talk to them. You are not squandering their time no matter what the latest child development books say about “purposeful play” and “cognitive learning skills.””
—Neil Kurshan (20th century)
“The techniques of opening conversation are universal. I knew long ago and rediscovered that the best way to attract attention, help, and conversation is to be lost. A man who seeing his mother starving to death on a path kicks her in the stomach to clear the way, will cheerfully devote several hours of his time giving wrong directions to a total stranger who claims to be lost.”
—John Steinbeck (1902–1968)