Examentrainers - Gebruik een examentrainer als examentraining en slaag voor vrijwel elk vak op VMBO KB, VMBO GT, VMBO BB, HAVO, en VWO.

terug

Leap of faith

Leap of faith
	Like so many skysurfers Mark Harris, a		and surfing the waves, participants
	slender Cornishman, is addicted to the		jump out of a plane with boards
	thrill of the fall. So, despite the deaths	35	strapped to their feet and surf on the
	of two friends in skysurfing accidents,		slipstream. ‘The buzz is phenomenal,’
5	here he is in a plane climbing over the		says Dr John Carter, medical advisor
	Cambridgeshire landscape.		to the British Parachute Association,
	Harris jumps and rides the roaring		(BPA), who has completed 40 skyboard
	air currents at 120 miles per hour,	40	jumps.
	increasing to 180 mph as he dips the		Yet skysurfing seems not exciting
10	board’s nose down. He decides to try a		enough for some, for even as the
	move called a ‘helicopter’, flipping		number of parachutists increase, they
	himself upside down, straightening his		seek ever more extreme thrills.
	body and spinning, the board on his	45	[id:48929] , as our extraordinary
	feet rotating like chopper blades.		photograph shows, some skysurfers in
			the States jump while inside dinghies,
			and others ride convertible cars out of
			the back of planes. As the car falls, the
		50	‘passengers’ clamber out, pulling their
			chutes at the last moment. The vehicle
			lands with a ground-shaking thud in
			the Arizona desert, spewing dust
			clouds and leaving a huge crater.
		55	The acrobatics of simple skysurfing
			are more elegant, for sure, but also
			more breathtaking because, as Mark
			Harris knows, it’s easy to get into a
			dangerous spin. ‘We all have our hairy
		60	stories, but there’s nothing like seeing
			how far you can push your body,’ says
			Dave Sturgeon, British skysurfing
			champion.
15	Faster and faster he twirls, until he		The extra stresses on the body at
	becomes a blur, spinning so savagely	65	high altitude and the rapid spinning
	he can’t stop what he has started.		can take their toll and affect your
	Hurtling towards the ground, he has		brain, says Dr Carter. It all depends on
	only ten seconds to right himself. A		how long you are up there. If you jump
20	bleep warns him that he must activate		fairly quickly, your brain recovers
	his parachute - now! Desperately he	70	quickly.’ Most sky board jumps start at
	stretches up to grab hold of the board,		around 14,000ft.
	halting the spin, then he tugs on the		The BPA has the strictest safety
	cord of his Icarus Extreme parachute.		regulations in the world. From 1996 to
25	He is jolted upwards and slowed from		2000, there was an injury rate of only
	120 mph to about ten. Then he touches	75	1.5 per thousand jumps in the UK,
	down, his heart beating wildly against		mostly minor to medium injuries, such
	his chest. ‘Well, I needed another story		as sprained ankles.
	to tell in the pub,’ he says ironically.		And residents of Cambridgeshire
30	No extreme sport promises as great		can rest easy that they are safe from
	a thrill - or as much danger - as	80	high-flying cars - the practice is very
	skysurfing. A cross between skydiving		tightly controlled in this country.

NIGHT&DAY