To some extent, Ylen13 is correct. I have control in a helicopter (or an airplane), I can make it go up, down, left, right, etc.
I know that if the engine quits, I won't fall out of the sky, I have options for where and how I want to land it, and I know I can walk away from the landing, and even more, if I do it right, the helicopter will be undamaged.
With a tower or building, if I fall off, I have no way to save my life, just a long drop to my death. I get vertgo, my head starts spinning, I get dizzy, and I'll break into a panic if I stay near the edge for more than a few seconds.
What helped me in the airplane is that we got to 13,500 feet pretty quickly, there were two other jumpers who left quickly, then it was my turn. I moved to the door with the jump masters, one got out and took my hand, guiding it to the door, the other was behind me, his hand on my shoulder. I got in the door way, felt an incrediable surge of panic, checked in with both jumpmasters, putting on my best "brave" face, arched up (count of 1), arched down (count of 2), and stepped out (count of 3).
I knew sitting there wouldn't help, and might not even be safe to just stand in the door with my head and knees outside. I knew that I had come this far, so backing out now wasn't an option, so out I went. For about two seconds, I thought "ok, that was a really bad idea", but after that, I enjoyed every minute of it!
Well, there was one other brief panic moment. When the chute opened up and pulled me away from the jumpmasters, for a second I realized I was now all alone, and any problems I had were mine to deal with, by myself. If the chute didn't work, or if something else went wrong, only my 7 or so hours of training were going to help.
Once I checked the chute, tested the steering, etc. then I settled in and enjoyed the ride down. After touching down, I fell foward onto my knees because I didn't quite get all my foward motion stopped. Then I stood up and let out a whoop of joy!!!
Before wrapping up my chute and walking back to the hanger, I looked up into the sky from where I had come. I marveled that I had just stepped out of an airplane at 13,500 feet and was now here on the ground, safe and sound. What an amazing experience.
Now, almost 24 hours later, I'm still hyped up on it, the rush is just beyond belief or description.
: ) Hopper
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