(89) Go Skydiving
(Indoor or Outdoor)Date: Monday, August 6, 2012
www.skyjump.com | (978) 433-9222
Of all my Bucket List items I think that Sky Diving was the
one I was most apprehensive about. The
idea of jumping out of a perfectly good plane at 12,500ft seems well crazy.
Having just completed my first Tandem Jump and am already ready to schedule the
next trip to the clouds.
We arrived at Sky Dive Pepperell at 12:30 for out 1:00
scheduled appointment. We checked in and were told to meet at the Waiver Room
at 1:00 to go through the first part of our training. At 10:00 we signed our
lives away and listened to a video recording of a lawyer basically tell us that
sky diving is an extreme sport and that we could be killed or seriously maimed
by participating.
At about 2:00 we began suiting up for our jump and we meet
the jumpers we would trust our lives with. They were a fun and energetic group
that immediately put us at ease and keep the mood light and playful. One of the
jumpers asked me how many times I planned to jump. With it still and unknown I said probably
once to which he replied jokingly that parachutes are optional then. They were
a great group who clearly know what they are doing.
They explained position of exiting the plan, posture during
free fall, and the specifics of landing. They also gave many tips for ensuring
a good time. While on the plane the continued to keep the mood light and
engaging all the first time jumpers. While our videographers communicated with
us and recorded our last moments before jumping our tandem jumpers were double
checking all the clips that bound us together. Less than 10 minutes after take-off we had
reached our altitude of 12,500 ft and we could see the curvature of the earth.
Suddenly the door opened and the wind grew louder. Two solo
jumpers went first showing us how easy it is. Their effortless exit made it
seem even more exiting. My brother opted to go first and I followed shortly
behind him. Before I knew it he was gone and racing towards the ground. Focused
more on what I learned about how to position myself I had no time for nerves
and I was out the door myself. My gut instinct was to initially close my eyes
and I am glad I didn’t, that first few seconds out the door were best with the
amazing views and hearing the rush of wind whistling by as we accelerated to
terminal velocity.
Caro my camera lady took the next 60 seconds of free fall to
capture video and pictures of my experience.
She was within arms length most the time and Reid my tandem jumper guided
us into several spins to show off on film.
As we approached the clouds it was an incredible to feel the moisture in
the air and the sudden white out conditions. As quickly as the cloud appeared
we were below it and our 60 second freefall was over. With the pull of the cord
out parachute deployed and we slowed down to a comfortable cruising speed.
During our glide Reid pointed out the various landmarks such
as the Atlantic Ocean and the Boston Skyline before handing over control of the
chute to me. He taught me how to turn each direction and how to slow my
decent. This gentle decent was sadly
over after about 4 more minutes and we began our approach to the airfield where
we had begun our journey.
As I looked down I could see the parachutes of those that
went before me on the ground and as instructed I lifted my legs for a butt
first landing. Right before we landed we pulled down on the cords to slow our
landing until we landed with less force then most do when sitting in a chair.
Caro was quick to join us capturing my big smile
and excitement of the jump. After a
quick snap of the clips Reid and I were again two people instead of the 1 it
felt like on the way down. I can’t wait
to go again and I still can’t get over how comfortable I felt from the start to
finish. SkyDive Pepperell has a truly great time of professional jumpers who
made it an unforgettable experience. Even better was being able to immediately
share the video our jump with my parents who has watched from the ground. I
think my mom might join us next time
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