On the way up, the skydiving instructor will tell you what you need to do on your skydive. It will go something like this: At around 8,000 feet, the instructor will attach himself to your harness. At 10,000 feet you and he will waddle your way close to the door. (It is not easy to move with a person on your back!) At the door, you will cross your arms over your chest, lift your feet and hang (!) from your instructor, and lay your head back on his shoulder. While you are hanging from your instructor, he may lean out of the open doorway several times to view the ground. tandem-skydiving.jpg When you are over the drop zone, the skydiving instructor will step (or flip!) out of the plane and YOU ARE NOW IN FREE FALL! Remember, you’re falling at 120 mph. Try to catch a glimpse of the plane as you fall away from it. It will be the only thing up there to give you the perspective of falling. It actually feels like flying. You will freefall for 45 to 60 seconds. Try to pay attention to every second of it — it goes quickly! The instructor may do some turns left and right. You probably won’t be able to hear the instructor, but he may try to tell you things by speaking directly into your ear. During free fall, because of your instructor’s body positioning, your body will be in a backbend (or U-shape) position. Keep your knees bent and your feet up between the legs of your instructor. You will receive a tap on your shoulder, meaning that you can open your arms into a “touch down” position. Around 5,500 feet, the skydiving instructor will deploy the parachute. Expect a sudden jerk that will actually stop your fall and lift you up for a couple of seconds. You will be reminded how tight your harness is! I’ve heard this described as the “trap door” effect. It is at this moment your brain will think “Hey, I’m falling!” When the parachute is up (or “under canopy”), your instructor will loosen the 2 links at your hips. This will make you much more comfortable. He will be working on all the gear with the parachute. You will be able to easily talk to each other, and at one point he will say, “Hold out your hands and grab these.” Hold on tightly because these will be the parachute toggles! Yep, you’ll be driving the train! He will need both hands free for a very short time while adjusting more gear. Don’t worry, he’ll take them back. The ride under canopy will be anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes — depending on the weather, your instructor’s personality and your desire to play around. For me, spinning around up there is the highlight of the ride — almost better than freefall. There’s absolutely nothing you can hit! You will soon realize that things on the ground are getting closer, which means it’s time to think about landing. Your job will be to pull your knees up to your chest. Your instructor will tell you when. Right before the landing, it will feel like the ground is rushing up at you — because it is! Keep those knees up until the skydiving instructor’s feet land on the ground and he says, “Now, just stand up. Perfect landing! Time to celebrate!” Yeah, I sort of feel like crying right now. Abby Atwell there should be a limit to my motherly duties.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:29:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015