A big way is a type of

formation skydiving Formation skydiving is a skydiving event where multiple skydivers attach themselves to one another by grabbing each other's limbs or by the use of "grippers" on their jumpsuit while free falling through the sky. The goal of this skydiving prog ...

involving a large group of skydivers coming together while in

freefall In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on i ...

to form a specific and predetermined formation. All the skydivers involved aim to connect with each other and hold the complete formation for a designated period (a number of seconds). A sequential skydive would involve multiple formations. Grips between individual skydivers can be on any part of the hand/arm or legs. The jumpsuits worn are specifically designed with handle-like grips to assist. There is a lot of behind the scenes work prior to organization of any big way event. This includes not only the invitation of individual skydivers, but also the coordination of aircraft, pilots, freefall and ground cameras as well as all support and ground staff.

Size

The number of skydivers needed for a formation skydive to be considered a "big way" is often a contentious issue. It often depends on what is considered normal at each dropzone. For a small dropzone operating only a small Cessna aircraft that seats 5 people, anything over 5 may be considered "big". However, for dropzones with aircraft that take more people, 6 would be considered small. There are courses available for skydivers to train to jump on formations of 100 or greater. The largest formation ever built was the 400-way created and held over

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Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

on February 8, 2006.G-2 Parachuting, Performance Records. Large freefall formation
". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Accessed: 21 September 2014.

Locations

Big-way formation skydiving takes place all over the world, at many dropzones. For a large formation (fifty plus) the skydivers can be a group gathered from around the country, or in many cases the world, bringing together their expertise, extreme effort and drive to meet a challenge. Team Awesome is an example of an international big-way skydiving club with members from many countries, traveling around the world to participate in big-way skydiving.

References

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