skydiving article and video

“Oh my god what did I get myself into?” that’s all that was going through my mind when the doors to the plane shut. “I really am going to have to jump out of an airplane.” I thought.
I almost felt like I was being locked into a prison cell. “There’s no more time to back out.” I thought. “Why did I ever say that I wanted to do this?”
A couple weeks ago, I saw a bumper sticker advertising a place called Vermont Skydiving. Skydiving seemed like it would be something fun to try out so I called the number on the bumper sticker.
After doing some research and finding that this particular skydiving business had a good safety record, I made an appointment for a tandem jump on Saturday October 17. A tandem is when you have a skydiving instructor strapped onto your back during the jump.
While I was driving down there with my family, the butterflies in my stomach got worse and worse. When we got close enough to see people literally falling out of the sky, I was about ready to turn around.
When we got there, I found out my family had a surprise for me waiting there. A professional skydiving videographer was going to be jumping with me to videotape the jump and take photographs of me in the air.
Before we I was allowed to fly up in the airplane, I had to sign a waiver saying that if I was seriously injured or killed, Vermont Skydiving is not responsible. This of course was no help to my nerves.
After the waivers, my skydiving instructor Steve helped me get into the flight suit and harness and put me through a 20-minute tandem jump training program. He showed me the position to put myself in so I would flatten out on my stomach after I left the airplane. You are supposed to tilt your head back cross your arms around your chest and bend your legs back so your heels and on the back of your knees.
Steve was the only one to help me get my nerves under control. “When we open the door, the noise of the wind, the plane and seeing the ground might be intimidating, but remember it’s only noise and you’ll be back on the ground real soon,” Steve said. “I’ve done close to 1,000 jumps before so there’s no way your going to give me anything I haven’t seen before.”
Finally, I was getting on the plane. At 8,000 feet, my instructor tied his harness onto mine, and at 12,000 feet, we opened the door. The videographer went outside first, and hung onto a hook on the wing to film my exit. When I stuck my leg outside, it was thrown back against the side of the plane by the wind. The wind was so strong it took some real work to get my feet back in front of me. My instructor gave me a nudge on the back to let me know it was time. I leaned forward and rolled out of the plane.
Rolling forward out of the plane cause me to go through two summersaults before I leveled out on my stomach. Freefall is the strangest and most exhilarating feeling I have ever had. I could feel a 130 mile an hour wind rushing past my face, making your lips and cheeks flap uncontrollably. It is impossible to completely control your arms and legs while you are falling. Moving at 130 miles an hour with nothing in front of you to break the wind is like the fastest and most dangerous roller coaster you will ever experience.
Free fall lasts 30 seconds before you reach 5,000 feet and pull the rip cord for the parachute. The parachute slowed me down so much so fast that I could have sworn I was actually moving upward. Floating the rest of the way down with the parachute lasted about two minutes. Our landing could have gone smoother, we ended up flat on our backs, but skydiving was still one of the best experiences of my life.
After the jump, my instructor went into an office to edit the video and load the still shots while I came down off my adrenaline high. Skydiving is well worth every cent you spend on it. The experience will last a lifetime, and give you a new confidence. If you are brave enough to jump out of an airplane, imagine what else you can do.


To watch the video of this jump click here