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Story: Aerial recreation

The thrill of skydiving

Audio file

Listen to a skydiver talk about overcoming the fear of jumping from an aircraft.

Modern skydiving has come a long way since the sport of parachuting first developed. Training is rigorous, equipment is more sophisticated, and beginners take their first jump harnessed to an instructor or attached to a line that automatically opens the chute. The experience of skydiving is portrayed through this series of images, beginning as the skydiver prepares to leap from a plane flying at a height of between 2,700 and 4,600 metres.

Using this item

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Reference: 18281

Image: NZONE Skydive

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Aerial recreation – Parachuting and skydiving, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/speech/6100/the-thrill-of-skydiving (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009.