Tandem jump
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A tandem jump or tandem jump is a joint jump for two in the area of parachuting or bungee jumping .
In skydiving, anyone who has no parachute training or does not want to jump alone is given a simple and inexpensive way to experience a parachute jump by jumping together with a trained jumper. In bungee jumping, however, there are no educational restrictions on who can jump together.
In the military, the tandem jump method is used to set down particularly large loads, equipment or service dogs with the jumpers or to be able to take specialists who are not trained in jumping with them. This can u. a. Heeresbergführer, doctors, interpreters or EOD specialists.
Tandem parachute
During the tandem jump with a parachute, the passenger is taken along by a specially licensed jumper, a so-called "tandem master". He hangs in a passenger harness in front of the tandem master, facing forward and a little lower than it. The connection consists of two load-bearing, secured hooks in the shoulder area and two stabilizing straps on the hips. The passenger harness basically corresponds to a normal parachute harness , only without the containers for the main and reserve parachute, which are located on the harness of the tandem master. All operating elements are also located there. In addition, the system is always equipped with an automatic opening device which automatically opens the reserve parachute at a specified height in the event of failure to open or a serious malfunction of the main canopy. Shortly after jumping out of the dropping plane, a small drogue is opened, which slows down the speed to around 200 km / h. At the same time, it acts as a stabilizer, since from a physical point of view it brings the point of application of the air resistance further behind the center of gravity of the two jumpers.
requirements
Only a relatively short briefing of the passenger is required before the jump. There are no special physical requirements; average fitness is sufficient. In principle, disabled people, such as paraplegics, can also be taken along. Due to the resilience of the systems, being overweight is an obstacle. The providers often set a weight limit of 90 or 100 kg.
history
Tandem systems were developed in the USA in the early 1980s by Ted Strong (1983) and a year later by Bill Booth (1984). At the beginning they were not equipped with a drogue chute, which only allowed short free fall times. It was only with the development of drogue systems that today's common freefall times in tandem jumping became possible.
marketing
Tandem jumps can generally be booked directly via the jump centers and clubs or are available as gift vouchers and are then carried out there on site. Extreme sports are now a lucrative market. Many commercial companies have understood this and market the lucrative business areas of parachuting, such as tandem jumping, as intermediaries via tour operators, event agencies and even supermarket chains. The problem in these cases is that you do not have a tandem master or a skydiving club as a contact person right from the start, but only the respective mediating body. At the same time, they skim off funds and profits that can no longer benefit the individual association. However, through the advertising of these agencies, the tandem jump became more present and better known in the target group.
Related sports
When paragliding , joint flights with an experienced pilot are also possible. In contrast to the tandem jump , however, this is called a tandem flight , see main article → Biplace .
