Wow, words simply cannot describe that experience.
Today, Kaci (redheadednurse) and I went to Skydive Dallas and took the AFF (Accelerated Free Fall) Course. We went on our first ever sky dive!
Nothing I have ever done comes close to describing how it felt today, that was the most amazing thing I've ever done (and I've done plenty).
We were not attached to our jump masters, rather they simply left the airplane with us, and stayed with us until we opened our chutes. At 13,500 feet above the ground, we get into position by moving to the door on the jump plane (a Cessna Caravan), our first jump master got outside the airplane and held on to the plane while we got in position.
To get into position, you place your right hand on the inside of the front of the door frame, your left hand on the outside of the front of the door frame. You put your right foot along the edge of the frame with your toe touching the front of the frame, your left foot goes behind it, also along the edge. You put your knees and head outside into the slipstream and arch your back, putting your right shoulder against the top edge of the door frame.
You then look inside the plane to the second jump master and say "check inside", and wait for a thumbs up, you then turn your head back to the first jumpmaster outside the airplane and say, "check outside", and wait for a thumbs up. Then you do a quick three count, you lean up (1), then lean down (2), then step out of the plane sideways into the slipstream (3).
There is something unreal about sticking half your body out of the door of an airplane, while still holding on, seeing the ground 13,500 feet below you, the propeller turning in front of you, and having to trust that parachutes do indeed work.
Stepping out of the plane required a leap of faith, and it was harder than I expected. I'm deathly afraid of heights, I refuse to climb towers or even walk to the edge of tall buildings. Somehow, I simply decided that my fear of heights was not going to get in the way, so on the count of three, out the door I went.
I'm totally glad I did, because the fear only lasted about 2 seconds, then the fun began!
You arch your back, spread your arms and legs out at about 45 degree angles, keep your head up, and do your basic checks. Check your altitude (you have a gauge on your hand), you check the first jumpmaster on your left, the second jumpmaster on your right (both will give hand signals if you need to do anything like spread your arms out more, or bring your legs in).
Then you practice three times deploying the main chute by reaching back and touching the handle for the pilot chute. You don't actually pull it, just touch it. Then you check your altitude again (about 8,500 feet at this point), you look back at both jumpmasters again, and then enjoy the ride for another 20 seconds or so, checking your altitude every 3 to 4 seconds. When you reach 5,000 feet, you wave off the jumpmasters by waving your arms over your head, reach back and pull the pilot chute out and toss it into the airstream.
It is picked up by the airstream and the drag then pulls the main chute and you rapidly slow down from 132 feet per second to 16 feet per second, while the jumpmasters continue to fall another thousand feet before they pull their own chutes.
You're now on your own for about 5 minutes while you drift down to the ground by yourself, but your job isn't over yet. You first have to look up to check the three S's. Shape, is the chute deployed to the correct shape? (is it a rectangle) Stability, is the chute stable? Steering, can you control the chute?
You pull down on the pair of brakes (toggles) that control your speed and direction, you check to make sure they work by pulling both, then one, then the other, making sure they work as they should. If all that works, you're good to go for the rest of the ride down, until you reach 1,000 feet, when you should be ready to enter the pattern to land back near the hanger.
The touchdown is amazingly easy, you just wait until you're 15 to 20 feet off the ground, then slowly pull both brakes (toggles) until you've fully extended them as you reach 2 feet off the ground, then you step onto the ground as if stepping off a chair.
Here are some pics of us on the ground. We did the video/picture thing in the air, but those have to be developed. The video itself is on VHS tape and I don't have a way to get it into the computer. We'll post the still pictures when we get them developed.
Kaci and the Twin Otter 1
Kaci and the Twin Otter 2
Kaci and the Twin Otter 3
Me and the Twin Otter 1
Me and the Twin Otter 2
Me and the Twin Otter 3
Kaci practicing her airplane exit technique 1
Kaci practicing her airplane exit technique 2
Kaci walking to the airplane
Other skydivers in the drop zone 1
Other skydivers in the drop zone 2
If any of you have any interest whatsoever in doing this, I highly recommend it. The experience is unlike anything else, and the thrill from it goes beyond anything you can imagine. I can't wait to go up again!
: ) Hopper
Today, Kaci (redheadednurse) and I went to Skydive Dallas and took the AFF (Accelerated Free Fall) Course. We went on our first ever sky dive!
Nothing I have ever done comes close to describing how it felt today, that was the most amazing thing I've ever done (and I've done plenty).
We were not attached to our jump masters, rather they simply left the airplane with us, and stayed with us until we opened our chutes. At 13,500 feet above the ground, we get into position by moving to the door on the jump plane (a Cessna Caravan), our first jump master got outside the airplane and held on to the plane while we got in position.
To get into position, you place your right hand on the inside of the front of the door frame, your left hand on the outside of the front of the door frame. You put your right foot along the edge of the frame with your toe touching the front of the frame, your left foot goes behind it, also along the edge. You put your knees and head outside into the slipstream and arch your back, putting your right shoulder against the top edge of the door frame.
You then look inside the plane to the second jump master and say "check inside", and wait for a thumbs up, you then turn your head back to the first jumpmaster outside the airplane and say, "check outside", and wait for a thumbs up. Then you do a quick three count, you lean up (1), then lean down (2), then step out of the plane sideways into the slipstream (3).
There is something unreal about sticking half your body out of the door of an airplane, while still holding on, seeing the ground 13,500 feet below you, the propeller turning in front of you, and having to trust that parachutes do indeed work.
Stepping out of the plane required a leap of faith, and it was harder than I expected. I'm deathly afraid of heights, I refuse to climb towers or even walk to the edge of tall buildings. Somehow, I simply decided that my fear of heights was not going to get in the way, so on the count of three, out the door I went.
I'm totally glad I did, because the fear only lasted about 2 seconds, then the fun began!
You arch your back, spread your arms and legs out at about 45 degree angles, keep your head up, and do your basic checks. Check your altitude (you have a gauge on your hand), you check the first jumpmaster on your left, the second jumpmaster on your right (both will give hand signals if you need to do anything like spread your arms out more, or bring your legs in).
Then you practice three times deploying the main chute by reaching back and touching the handle for the pilot chute. You don't actually pull it, just touch it. Then you check your altitude again (about 8,500 feet at this point), you look back at both jumpmasters again, and then enjoy the ride for another 20 seconds or so, checking your altitude every 3 to 4 seconds. When you reach 5,000 feet, you wave off the jumpmasters by waving your arms over your head, reach back and pull the pilot chute out and toss it into the airstream.
It is picked up by the airstream and the drag then pulls the main chute and you rapidly slow down from 132 feet per second to 16 feet per second, while the jumpmasters continue to fall another thousand feet before they pull their own chutes.
You're now on your own for about 5 minutes while you drift down to the ground by yourself, but your job isn't over yet. You first have to look up to check the three S's. Shape, is the chute deployed to the correct shape? (is it a rectangle) Stability, is the chute stable? Steering, can you control the chute?
You pull down on the pair of brakes (toggles) that control your speed and direction, you check to make sure they work by pulling both, then one, then the other, making sure they work as they should. If all that works, you're good to go for the rest of the ride down, until you reach 1,000 feet, when you should be ready to enter the pattern to land back near the hanger.
The touchdown is amazingly easy, you just wait until you're 15 to 20 feet off the ground, then slowly pull both brakes (toggles) until you've fully extended them as you reach 2 feet off the ground, then you step onto the ground as if stepping off a chair.
Here are some pics of us on the ground. We did the video/picture thing in the air, but those have to be developed. The video itself is on VHS tape and I don't have a way to get it into the computer. We'll post the still pictures when we get them developed.
Kaci and the Twin Otter 1
Kaci and the Twin Otter 2
Kaci and the Twin Otter 3
Me and the Twin Otter 1
Me and the Twin Otter 2
Me and the Twin Otter 3
Kaci practicing her airplane exit technique 1
Kaci practicing her airplane exit technique 2
Kaci walking to the airplane
Other skydivers in the drop zone 1
Other skydivers in the drop zone 2
If any of you have any interest whatsoever in doing this, I highly recommend it. The experience is unlike anything else, and the thrill from it goes beyond anything you can imagine. I can't wait to go up again!
: ) Hopper
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