The ancient Chinese and Leonardo da Vinci are both credited with conceiving the idea of a parachute but it was in France in the 18th century that the first parachutes were made and used.

In 1797 the Frenchman, Andre Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute drop from an aircraft (a gas filled balloon) using a basket under an open parachute which was made of silk and stiffened with supporting poles. The next development was the invention of the limp parachute which had no stiffening to hold it open and a trapeze bar instead of a basket; the first limp parachute descent was made in 1897 by an American, Tom Baldwin.

Another American, Leslie Irvin, made the first ever international free-fall parachute jump near Dayton, Ohio in 1919 using his own hand operated chute, a design which revolutionized parachuting and gave birth to a new sport.

Parachutists from the earliest days, along with the balloonists and early aviators, formed part of aerial circuses. The development of aviation and parachuting between the wars still carried a ‘barnstorming’ image and despite attempts in the 1930s parachuting was not accepted by the Federation Aeronautique as an aeronautical sport until the 1950s.

These early sport parachutists used ex-military parachute equipment, experimenting with the aerodynamics of the parachutes by cutting holes in them to improve the steering and flight. Gradually, as competition became fiercer parachutes were developed for sport use.
Today, whether a first time student or a top competitor the parachute you use has been designed for that use within the sport.

The first World Championships were held in Bled, Yugoslavia in 1951; the 20th World Parachuting Championships were held there in 1990; Nearly 50 years after the acceptance, Parachuting forms the largest internationally represented aeronautical sport within the FAI