site.btaBulgarian Skydiver Krasimir Ilev: Human Possibilities Are Limitless

"Human possibilities are limitless. We define our own limits ", Bulgarian parachutist Krasimir Ilev told BTA in an interview. A few days ago, Ilev jumped from a helicopter near Mount Everest with a parachute with very small canopy from a height of more than 7,000 metres.

In April 2022, Ilev became the first Bulgarian to jump from the same place in the Himalayas. The skydiver is a graduate of the Aeroclub in Stara Zagora.

Ilev explained that the jumps take place near Mount Everest above Syangboche Airport in Nepal, which is among the highest airports in the world. "Regrettably, due to erosion Syangboche Airport is now unusable for planes but is used by helicopters. Actually, it is a take-off and landing site. The jumps are performed at a height of 23,000 feet (7,010 meters) and the landing is at 12,400 feet (3,779 meters)," the skydiver said.

"This year, I decided I was going to skydive with probably one of the smallest canopies ever used here and at this altitude. Last time, like everybody else, I used a 113-square-foot (10.5-square-meter) parachute, and this time I decided to do it with my LEIA-75 canopy, which is 75 square feet (approximately 7-square-meter) canopy and which I am jumping with under normal conditions," Ilev said. He explained that beginners jump with parachute canopies measuring between 240 (22.3 square meters) and 280 feet (26 square meters). Intermediate level skydivers use ones between 135 square feet (12.5 square meters) and 170 square feet (15.8 square meters), and experts, depending on their weight, can end up using ones under 90 square feet (8.4 square meters). "It depends on their training and experience, these canopies are more special, elliptical in shape and are very fast, these are the so-called high-performance canopies," Ilev told BTA.

Ilev added that his first jump was in 1979. For some 44 years of skydiving, he has over 17,800 jumps.