research links for kids?

[JeffNo 0]

My 9 year old son has to do a research project for school and he chose to do one on skydiving. Does anyone know of a kid friendly web site that has some good information about skydiving/parachuting? I could tell him what I know, which isn't a whole lot, but I would rather him take a shot at exploring the information on his own for a bit to see what aspects of the sport, if any, interest him. Also, he would have something besides me to cite.
Thanks for any help

[SEREJumper 1]

Try this for a start, it has a few ideas in the article to try out.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-does-the-parachute-work.html

We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

[howardwhite 5]

Buzzle is just another of the many web sites where people sign up to become "experts" on a subject, presumably with the intention of somehow getting rewarded for their expertise. Nothing really wrong with the article, but it's clearly written by someone who just browsed the web, assembled bits and pieces of info, and pronounced himself an expert.
Some of these "expert" sites produce really funny (unintentionally) stories.
Check out this page.

A sample from it:

Quote

Part of the price that one has to pay for a good skydiving moment is risk. Fractures, bruises or even a gruesome death could happen. But, who cares? Whether you go on skydiving adventure or not, risk is everywhere. So better take the risk and brave yourself and tell the world that you are ready for your first skydiving escapade. Because mind you, it is one of the safest sports or recreational activities that many thrill-seekers enjoy and will continue to love doing.

HW

[SEREJumper 1]

Howard,

Thats pretty good, I didn't read it all the way, but I did use a few of the "try this" activities and they seemed to understand thing a little better.

We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

[fastphil 0]

A sample from it:

Quote

Part of the price that one has to pay for a good skydiving moment is risk. Fractures, bruises or even a gruesome death could happen. But, who cares? Whether you go on skydiving adventure or not, risk is everywhere. So better take the risk and brave yourself and tell the world that you are ready for your first skydiving escapade. Because mind you, it is one of the safest sports or recreational activities that many thrill-seekers enjoy and will continue to love doing.

HW

[howardwhite 5]

Here's another one I especially like.

Sample advice:

Quote

Among the most important skydiving gears you must have is a parachute. Nobody will ever be that bold to jump out of a plane, thousands high up without a parachute to back him up. No amount of mattresses can save your life with the impact of such a fall.

or

Quote

You do not simply get out of a thousand miles up there jet plane only to jump after doing the sign of the cross. Skydiving is also an extreme sport in the sense that you never know what you’ll likely expect when you are a thousand miles up and floating in the air.

The web is a wondrous place.

HW

[muff528 3]

Quote

Here's another one I especially like.

Sample advice:

Quote

Among the most important skydiving gears you must have is a parachute. Nobody will ever be that bold to jump out of a plane, thousands high up without a parachute to back him up. No amount of mattresses can save your life with the impact of such a fall.

or

Quote

You do not simply get out of a thousand miles up there jet plane only to jump after doing the sign of the cross. Skydiving is also an extreme sport in the sense that you never know what you’ll likely expect when you are a thousand miles up and floating in the air.

The web is a wondrous place.

HW

Wouldn't a big pile of old mattresses be considerably less expensive than eveyrone having to buy their own equipment? Maybe the bugs can be worked out someday.