Andy Stumpf

They open it up, the reserve.

They open the parachute up.

They inspect it.

They make sure that the canopy is good.

The lines are good.

The automatic activation devices, which are computers.

Sensing fall rate, barometric pressure with a firing criteria, which will fire your reserve for you if you do nothing, which has hundreds of documented saves, by the way, for an unconscious jumper or whatever it may be.

Or somebody as crazy as it is to say, somebody falling through the air, forgetting to look at their altimeter because they're having so much fun.

It happens.

So Cypresses or Vigils or just AADs, automatic activation devices, have saved hundreds of lives.

So that reserve parachute is packed by a rigger.

Most civilian jumpers will pack their own main parachute.

It takes five minutes for an experienced jumper, maybe 20 minutes for somebody who is learning.

And you can go do...

I think the most jumps I've ever done in a day was probably 30.

That was at an event called a boogie where it's just as fast as you can go and you're just jumping, jumping, jumping.

An average day for me when I lived in San Diego would be six to eight jumps.

13,000 is about average, 13 AGL.

So if you're learning in Colorado or another Rocky Mountain state, you might only get 12 AGL because you might be up to 16 to 18,000 feet.

But there's flying with your belly oriented to the earth.