Dec. 3, 2004

Sky Diving

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Sunday 21 Nov 2004. A warm sunny afternoon and a fine day to jump out of a perfectly good plane.

It all started with a friend of mine. In August he and his friends were going up to Nagambie Skydive to do their first tandem skydive. Of course they were a bit nervous, but they were keen to do it. I went along to see what it was like, provide some support and encouragement, and help out with the video camera.

The skydive school up there was very professionally run and all the staff were really nice and friendly. They had a plane taking up load after load of tandem and solo sky divers all day long, from early morning to late afternoon. Some of the groups were even doing formations and it was interesting to watch them rehearse on the ground.

All the jumps ran very smoothly and routinely. After watching for a while you start to understand how safe this sport is. I was told that fatalities are rare and only happen with very experienced jumpers who become careless or reckless.

Soon after that day my friend and his friends decided that they would jump again and this time I said I would consider doing it. That 'maybe' gradually became a 'yes book me in'. The thing that made me nervous the most was imagining myself on the plane, crawling up to the big open door, and basically dangling over the edge of the plane door until the instructor pushed us both out.

Eventually the day came. At one point I thought I might have to cancel because I was sick with fever during the days leading up to it. But fortunately on the day I was feeling a lot better.

I drove up with a couple of friends who were jumping for the first time also. It was good to have their company and to make this special journey together. We arrived at the school at 12pm and caught up with the others, registered at the desk, and waited. Later we were called up and after training and gearing up in spiffy bright red jump suits we made our way to the plane. The friends I had driven up with were going up in the plane load with me. As it turned out, I would be the first of the three to leave the plane. Oh my.

Up to this point I did feel some nervousness but overall I felt fine. As the plane took off and as I looked at the fantastic view through the door I started to wonder if I had made a mistake. What on earth was I doing, I thought, and can I get out of this? But that thought soon passed. There was only one way off this plane and it was going to be a very fast drop.

It took ages to ascend to the jump height of 14,000 feet. It took something like 10 to 15 minutes. Next to the door were three lights: red - 5 minutes, orange - 1 minute, and green - go! As you can imagine, I watched these intently. As we got higher and higher I tried sucking in more and more courage and did my best to look good for the video camera. I think I did a pretty decent job.

The red light lit up. Everyone else remained calm. At orange things got busy. I put my goggles on and had another good ol' look at the sky and land below. At the green light the door opened and the surprisingly cold air hit us. A solo skydiver went first. For his exit, he swung side to side from a ceiling pole a few times and then he simply swung out the door and disappeared.

Then it was my turn. My cameraman climbed out onto the outside of the plane. And then I went forward. There was so much wind. Over the edge went my legs. I crossed my arms over my chest, looked at the cameraman, tilted my head back, and waited. And then before I knew it I was falling.

It was a bit disorientating at first. It's a completely different environment up there unlike anything else I've experienced. It was absolutely amazing. I gave the cameraman the thumbs up and focused on trying to absorb as much of the experience as possible. It didn't feel like I was falling. My stomach wasn't jostled around like on a rollercoaster. It was more like being suspended in mid air with a fantastic view of the land far below and there was so much wind blowing against me that I had trouble closing my mouth once it popped open. Strangely enough, the ground didn't appear to get any closer either.

And all too soon the free fall ended and the parachute opened. Compared with the free fall, the descent under parachute was very relaxing. I really enjoyed just hanging there, feet dangling, looking down at the world below. And of course it was good to know that the chute had worked.

The experience was the biggest rush I've ever had. And everyone I know who has done it has absolutely loved it. Would I do it again? Quite possibly. The only down side is the expense. But it is worth doing at least once. And if you do and it is your first time I thoroughly recommend that you pay the extra for the video too. It's worth every cent. And try to convince some friends to come along too.

Comments

June 10, 2011 Paul cool! :-D