Air

Terminal Velocity 120 mph! Free fall from 36,000 feet and experience what few humans experience: flying without an aircraft. Free Fall Jumping can be both exhilarating and terrifying. Try doing it at night, with full equipment, on oxygen from 20,000 feet. With Free Fall Jumping, you are committing suicide until you save yourself by pulling the ripcord! :( Using the Para-Flight Ram-Air Free Fall Rig, jumpers can fly under canopy, keeping a tight formation and landing all within a few yards of each other. Free Fall Jumping really came into it's own in the Teams when Richard Marcinko got SEAL Team SIX heavily involved in free fall HALO and HAHO operations.

H.A.L.O.

SEAL Team SIX pioneered the use of Free Fall to jump boats and other large operational gear. They perfected the method of High Altitude/Low opening (HALO) jumping from upwards of 36,000 feet on oxygen; at that altitude the temperature is subzero, and it is common for your goggles to freeze and shatter, and your eyeballs to freeze shut. This type of jumping is very dangerous because of the effects of hypoxia - lack of oxygen. Hypoxia can cause a man to lose consciousness in an instance with no prior warning. One second you are checking your altimeter, the next you are out. Bam - no warning. If this happens while in freefall it can lead to sudden deceleration trauma - you guessed it - death upon impact. Equipment common to all freefall ops are the Ram Air, altimeter, FF2 (automatic pressure activated rip cord pulling device - it is supposed to pop your chute if you don't when you descend past a pre-set altitude). Hook knife, helmet and goggles, gloves, oxygen bottle and mask (if jumping over 12,000 feet) and a sturdy pair of jump boots (Danner's are a highly recommended brand) are a must for ankle support.