Yes I did it! I jumped out of a perfectly good plane in order to fall to the ground a rapid velocity and what a thrill it turned out to be. Don't get me wrong, I was wracked with nerves doing a tandem skydive especially when the side of the plane opened up at 10,000 feet. I'm not ashamed to say that there was nearly a code brown alert when my instructor shoved me towards the open door and we literally fell out of the plane in open air.
When I first arrived there was a couple of groups and I joined a stag-party of four guys, all of us were first timers and had fear etched onto our faces for the length of the briefing\ training. And when I say training, I mean lying on a chair and sticking my legs and arms in the air! After being suited up and harnessed, we were bundled into the plane and flown to the altitude of 10,000 feet. It was a great view, but none of us were enjoying it.
The only way to describe the feeling is when you reach the top of rollercoaster, start tipping over the edge in anticipation of freefall and your heart is in your mouth - multiplied by a thousand. When I pushed out of that plane it was exhilarating and scary all at the same time and the freefall lasted for about 40 seconds. The instructor informed me that we reached maximum velocity after a few seconds and plummeted at a speed of 200 km/hour. Then suddenly the ripcord goes and the parchute opens, the next thing I know the feeling of weightlessness is replaced by immerse pressure around my genitals as the harness yanks us upwards. The next five minutes is all about gliding down to the ground in a very calm, relaxed manner and as you can imagine with a awesome view of the world below. Landing was simple as I just kept my feet up and let the instructor do all the hard work.
The first question family and friends have asked is "would you do it again" and I can confidently reply that I would (but maybe not for a little while).
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4 comments:
Awesome. Way to go Scott! Don't think i could do it. I paraglided in Grenoble 3 years ago and jumping off a 500 m cliff had me hollering, but can't imagine jumping out of a perfectly good plane from 10000 ft. Especially in that outfit! I think they put the Brit in the funny costume and said everyone wears these when they skydive! :)
Aren't you supposed to do it on your own?
Where was the Elvis costume?
CONGRATULATIONS SCOTT, very impressive, you couldnt have paid me to do that! I bet it was an amazing feeling when you hit that ground. See you in a couple of weeks in vegas baby!!! Em
Good for you mate. As competitive as I am I definitely wouldn't have the guts for it. You can now say in response to any wise crack I say "Arghh but have you jumped out of a plane".
I am pretty sure I would have cried like a baby. I might get one of those suits though!!
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