I. Introduction
If you’re anything like me, then skydiving is the last thing that would ever make it onto your bucket list. Running a marathon? Sure. Skydiving? Absolutely not. Yet here I am, a week after completing my first dive and reflecting on an experience that ultimately, I could not be happier to have. So, for those of you who always had it on your bucket list (and those of you who are like me and would never in a million years pay to jump out of a perfectly sound aircraft), here’s what you can expect from your first dive (because hopefully this article convinces you to buy your tickets immediately).
II. Choosing the Location and Buying Your Tickets
Hooray! You’ve bought your tickets and you’re all hyped up to go. On average, tickets cost about $250. However, my friends and I took advantage of a Groupon offer and only paid $160. So, shop around and look for deals in the area.
III. Suiting Up and Signing Your Life Away
Upon arriving you’ll be given a series of waivers to sign that will make you seriously question your sanity. To sum it up, you’re agreeing to not sue or hold the skydiving team responsible in case you die or are harmed in any other way. If there’s anything that will convince you to back out, it’s these forms. However, once you sign the waivers and watch several scary videos demonstrating all the things that can wrong you’re good to go! Prepare to get suited up in a very fashionable (*cough cough* super unattractive) jumpsuit and learn the proper position to assume when exiting the plane and landing back on the ground (cue the “butt slide”).
IV. The Ascent
The trip up can be summed up in two words:
(1) Expectation:
(2) Reality:
(We could squeeze three jumpers in one plane…plenty of time to get cozy with your partner!)
V. The Jump
Up until this point I was surprisingly calm. Most people say the scariest part is the trip up. The planes are tiny, constantly shaking and feeling like they could drop out of the sky at any moment. The majority can’t wait to get out of the plane and take their chances with the jump. However, for me, when the doors opened, my stomach dropped. All I could think was, “Holy. Sh*t.”
Imagine, sitting in a plane when, without warning, the thin sheet of metal between you and 32,808 feet of open air disappears. Suddenly being instructed to swing my legs out and sit on the edge of the opening seemed impossible. With little space to move around, falling out of the plane before my instructor had the parachute ready seemed inevitable.
Next thing I know, Dive Instructor Rob is yelling in my ear, “One, Two, Three, GO!” And with that, I’m doing a front flip (we flipped three times—I do not think this was supposed to happen) out of an airplane and hurtling towards the ground in a free fall.
VI. Pulling the Chute
After the free fall, you get to enjoy the views and suspense of hanging in mid-air. The instructor gives you control of the parachute and allows you to dictate the direction you go in. I highly recommend doing hard, wide turns. It feels like you’re on a rollercoaster.
VII. The Landing
Knees up, legs out, butt first. You’re now safely on the ground and have complete your first “butt slide.” Hooray!
Still not convinced? Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCq88w4SIsk
HCXO,
Paige