So I spent a day in ground school and Rich had a brief refresh, then hired some kit and did a couple of jumps to see how much he remembered after several years absence. Any thoughts of 'let's just see how it goes before I get back into it' went straight out of the window as soon as I saw his face after his first jump, lol. He was hooked all over again.
It was a bit disappointing that I couldn't jump that day but I was exhausted and crashed out in our tent quite early, so it was probably just as well.
Except that I didn't get to jump the next day either. Too windy in the morning for students, then it poured with rain all afternoon. Rich had managed 1 jump but the day was pretty much finished so we went back to bed and slept most of the afternoon away :-)
Similar story the next day - glorious day, bright sunshine, not very windy but just enough to keep students on the ground whilst everyone else jumped :-( We met some new friends and Rich went off to play whilst I carried on revising my jump routine and practising EP drills. My instructor had started off by teasing me each time he saw me but by the end of Day 3, all the staff were gutted for me. Even the other students who had turned up to try and jump had given up and gone home, but Rich was so happy to be jumping again that I couldn't be mean enough to drag him away. Everyone was convinced that the winds would die down once the sun dropped a bit but it was not to be - roll on next weekend then.......
Update: In the meantime, I decided it might be a good idea to learn how to get stable by myself in free fall so booked some tunnel time with the lovely Tarn Hollis at Airkix Basingstoke to have some coaching
Video here ---> Learning to fly :-)
Thursday, 29 August 2013
Ground School - 16 Aug 2013
D-Day - Ground school training. Guess picking mid August wasn't such a great idea as I ended up being the only student, so no-one else to bounce ideas off, or to ask the stupid questions, lol. But at least it meant we rattled through the basics and focused on my weaker areas. Though having started at 8:30, by 11:30 my brain was pretty fried... I had no idea how I was going to remember everything, and I was only halfway through! Time for a break....
The next session didn't really lessen the pace, but at least some of it was going over the first part of the day. Luckily I have very good memory skills so it was starting to get fixed into my brain. And once we got to early afternoon, the plane had come back from its service and tandems were going up. My instructor went off to take some passengers and I had a proper break to review and revise what I'd spent the previous 5 hours learning. We still had a couple of final things to go over to finish the course but the key stuff was there. So I spent most of my afternoon sitting on a bench in the sun, watching jumpers landing and working out landing patterns and orientations. I also must have looked like something of a looney to the friends and families of tandem jumpers as I sat muttering to myself, and moving my hands to mimic the various steps of my first jump, rofl.
The winds were too high for students to jump so it seemed likely that I would need to wait until the following day to actually go up, which allowed me to relax a bit and let all the new information try to sink in. Towards the end of the afternoon, the wind did drop a little and then I wavered - would I or wouldn't I get the opportunity do my first jump today? Did I want to or did I want to sleep on it? Back and forth I went, first one way, then the other. I will jump, I won't jump, better to get it over with, better to rest and be fresh in the morning - arrghh! In the end, I didn't get the option. The winds picked up again and that was it for the day.
The next session didn't really lessen the pace, but at least some of it was going over the first part of the day. Luckily I have very good memory skills so it was starting to get fixed into my brain. And once we got to early afternoon, the plane had come back from its service and tandems were going up. My instructor went off to take some passengers and I had a proper break to review and revise what I'd spent the previous 5 hours learning. We still had a couple of final things to go over to finish the course but the key stuff was there. So I spent most of my afternoon sitting on a bench in the sun, watching jumpers landing and working out landing patterns and orientations. I also must have looked like something of a looney to the friends and families of tandem jumpers as I sat muttering to myself, and moving my hands to mimic the various steps of my first jump, rofl.
The winds were too high for students to jump so it seemed likely that I would need to wait until the following day to actually go up, which allowed me to relax a bit and let all the new information try to sink in. Towards the end of the afternoon, the wind did drop a little and then I wavered - would I or wouldn't I get the opportunity do my first jump today? Did I want to or did I want to sleep on it? Back and forth I went, first one way, then the other. I will jump, I won't jump, better to get it over with, better to rest and be fresh in the morning - arrghh! In the end, I didn't get the option. The winds picked up again and that was it for the day.
So what next?
So having established that I wasn't exactly blown away by my tandem skydive, I couldn't decide what to do next. Rich was fairly keen to get back into jumping but claimed he could take it or leave it. I was not at all sure that jumping out of a plane by myself would be that great an idea..... hmm, funny that!
And the pain in my ear hadn't gone away when we landed, or even within a couple of hours. It was still bad enough the following morning that I finally took a painkiller. I was pretty confident it wasn't to do with pressure as only one ear had been affected, so presumably it was down to the cold air getting inside. Maybe I could wear ear plugs to prevent it happening again.
So I posted on forums and sought other opinions. I made contact with other newbies and discussed options and pros and cons of different methods of learning to skydive. And eventually decided to do my AFF Level 1 jump and take it from there. I was offered a big discount having already done a tandem, and I would be able to pay for each jump as I did it, rather than having to pay out up front for the whole course.
And in the meantime, I got the DVDs of my photos and video :-)
Watching the video was something of an eye-opener. I had no idea that we'd turned a somersault on exiting the plane and my adrenaline levels were a lot higher watching, than they had been actually doing it! The video also confirmed quite a hard opening of the canopy and the bumpy landing, complete with catchers to deflate our parachute!
And the pain in my ear hadn't gone away when we landed, or even within a couple of hours. It was still bad enough the following morning that I finally took a painkiller. I was pretty confident it wasn't to do with pressure as only one ear had been affected, so presumably it was down to the cold air getting inside. Maybe I could wear ear plugs to prevent it happening again.
So I posted on forums and sought other opinions. I made contact with other newbies and discussed options and pros and cons of different methods of learning to skydive. And eventually decided to do my AFF Level 1 jump and take it from there. I was offered a big discount having already done a tandem, and I would be able to pay for each jump as I did it, rather than having to pay out up front for the whole course.
And in the meantime, I got the DVDs of my photos and video :-)
Watching the video was something of an eye-opener. I had no idea that we'd turned a somersault on exiting the plane and my adrenaline levels were a lot higher watching, than they had been actually doing it! The video also confirmed quite a hard opening of the canopy and the bumpy landing, complete with catchers to deflate our parachute!
To tandem or not to tandem....
Ok, where do I begin? Like the vast majority of people I know, I have always subscribed to the theory that if the pilot is landing in the plane, I see no good reason why I shouldn't too. Despite knowing that my partner had been passionate about skydiving, I was never tempted to give it a try.
That started to change about 3 years ago. I was fascinated why any healthy intelligent individual would voluntarily throw themselves out of a moving aircraft about 2 miles above the ground. After lots of discussions and some gentle investigation, I considered doing a tandem jump. I went for the obligatory medical and was given the option of being signed off either just for tandems, or for solo-jumping. The medical form lasted for 3 years, cost the same either way and hey, you just never know, right? So I opted for the solo jump version. And then stuck it in a drawer for a couple of years......
Fast forward to July this year and somehow I ended up at a drop zone waiting to do a tandem jump (our second attempt - the first was cancelled due to bad weather). Absolutely petrified. There were multiple shocks in store:
1. A Caravan plane is tiny! It only has one engine and looks like something I should be flying with a remote control, not sitting in and actually leaving the ground!
2. Two miles is a very long way up. Aforementioned aeroplane looks smaller than an ant at that height and the skydivers are practically invisible until they deploy their parachutes.
3. I will have no control over the process whatsoever. I am to be securely attached to an instructor who will tip us both out of the aircraft at the appropriate moment and I am supposed to smile for the camera at this point. Am I insane???
and so on and so forth....
By the time we were kitted out and ready to walk to the plane, I was pretty much convinced I had lost my mind. Even though my partner was also doing a tandem (ironically, his first) so he could be in the plane with me, I was not at all convinced that I could actually go through with it, though I was still prepared to give it a go. So it was something of a relief that high winds meant our lift was stood down and after further gusts, jumping was suspended for the rest of the day. We went and rebooked for the following weekend and decided to go for a morning slot instead of an afternoon slot to increase our chances of actually going up.
Over the course of that week, I assuaged much of my initial apprehension by asking dozens of questions and surfing the web for more information. It seems skydiving is a pretty safe sport for the most part - as with any activity, it is generally the people who push the extreme edge who get hurt or killed, though obviously accidents can and do happen. Statistically, I am far more likely to have something horrendous happen to me on the motorway in a car crash than from following the strict safety procedures on a tandem skydive.
So back we went the following Sunday (04 Aug 2013 for the record, lol) and this time I was very chilled about the whole thing. Our briefing was very different this time - I was very glad I'd had the briefing the previous week, which was full of humour and answered lots of questions and definitely didn't talk about death and dying and pain. Unlike this time! The instructor must have mentioned death at least 6 times, and when explaining that we were not to grab at our tandem instructors' hands, pointed out that he would head-butt, bite, kick, or cause whatever pain was necessary in order to get his hands back again in order to control the canopy. Not exactly confidence-inspiring!!
All that notwithstanding, I was very relaxed as we boarded the plane. I had opted for a video and photographs (I needed proof, as there's no way I'm doing this again!) and the TIs and cameraman had arranged things so that both of us could be in the video and some of the photos which meant Rich would go out first and me second. I was very curious how things would look at different heights when I actually knew what the height was, so my instructor Guy showed me his altimeter as we climbed, and I managed to keep myself oriented so I knew roughly where the landing zone was. I was so relaxed I dozed off for a few minutes whilst waiting to get to final altitude, much to the consternation of Rich and his instructor who thought I might be freaking out.
When it came to it, there was a nervous moment when the door was opened, the cameraman climbed out onto the outside of the plane, then Rich and Chris shuffled to the door and pop! they were gone. Uh oh, me next! I had absolute trust in Guy so was still very calm as we wriggled to the door. I tucked my feet up as I had been instructed, smiled at Andy for the camera (oops, forgot to put my head back on Guy's shoulder, lol), a quick thumbs up, then suddenly the world turned upside down. More than once. Where the hell am I, what is happening, it's so COLD! And NOISY! Yes, it had been mentioned but seriously??? Why would anyone do this for fun??? And my ear hurts! Oh, what's that? - it's Andy, bobbing about in front of me. How did he get there? Smile for the camera, thumbs up, what do I do with my hands now?
Look at the view - I can see for miles. Where am I? Where are we going? I have no sense of which direction is which and can't see the landing zone or even the airfield, despite looking for landmarks on the way up in the plane.
Guy deploys the parachute and with a big jolt, we are suddenly under canopy. So peaceful, so quiet, we can talk now :-) I am still fascinated by the view and can't stop looking around. We do some turns and spirals which feels like a roller-coaster and my stomach lurches but it's great fun. This is more like it! This is the fun bit :-) And now I can see the landing zone, though it seems to be approaching very fast. Surely we're not going to land at this speed?? Umm, legs up, feet flat, ready... and bump, we're down, sliding quite impressively to a halt. Rich is already there with Chris, as is Andy - and I am somewhat bemused by the whole experience. Where is the euphoria? Or conversely, the gut-churning terror? I've never heard of anyone being ambivalent about skydiving before. Isn't this supposed to be one of those "Marmite-moments" - you know, you either love it or you hate it, but no-one is ever just ok about it. I was quite enthusiastic but not really that fussed about doing it again. Cue one confused boyfriend, one confused instructor and one confused photographer, lol.
Click here --> Tandem video
That started to change about 3 years ago. I was fascinated why any healthy intelligent individual would voluntarily throw themselves out of a moving aircraft about 2 miles above the ground. After lots of discussions and some gentle investigation, I considered doing a tandem jump. I went for the obligatory medical and was given the option of being signed off either just for tandems, or for solo-jumping. The medical form lasted for 3 years, cost the same either way and hey, you just never know, right? So I opted for the solo jump version. And then stuck it in a drawer for a couple of years......
Fast forward to July this year and somehow I ended up at a drop zone waiting to do a tandem jump (our second attempt - the first was cancelled due to bad weather). Absolutely petrified. There were multiple shocks in store:
1. A Caravan plane is tiny! It only has one engine and looks like something I should be flying with a remote control, not sitting in and actually leaving the ground!
2. Two miles is a very long way up. Aforementioned aeroplane looks smaller than an ant at that height and the skydivers are practically invisible until they deploy their parachutes.
3. I will have no control over the process whatsoever. I am to be securely attached to an instructor who will tip us both out of the aircraft at the appropriate moment and I am supposed to smile for the camera at this point. Am I insane???
and so on and so forth....
By the time we were kitted out and ready to walk to the plane, I was pretty much convinced I had lost my mind. Even though my partner was also doing a tandem (ironically, his first) so he could be in the plane with me, I was not at all convinced that I could actually go through with it, though I was still prepared to give it a go. So it was something of a relief that high winds meant our lift was stood down and after further gusts, jumping was suspended for the rest of the day. We went and rebooked for the following weekend and decided to go for a morning slot instead of an afternoon slot to increase our chances of actually going up.
Over the course of that week, I assuaged much of my initial apprehension by asking dozens of questions and surfing the web for more information. It seems skydiving is a pretty safe sport for the most part - as with any activity, it is generally the people who push the extreme edge who get hurt or killed, though obviously accidents can and do happen. Statistically, I am far more likely to have something horrendous happen to me on the motorway in a car crash than from following the strict safety procedures on a tandem skydive.
So back we went the following Sunday (04 Aug 2013 for the record, lol) and this time I was very chilled about the whole thing. Our briefing was very different this time - I was very glad I'd had the briefing the previous week, which was full of humour and answered lots of questions and definitely didn't talk about death and dying and pain. Unlike this time! The instructor must have mentioned death at least 6 times, and when explaining that we were not to grab at our tandem instructors' hands, pointed out that he would head-butt, bite, kick, or cause whatever pain was necessary in order to get his hands back again in order to control the canopy. Not exactly confidence-inspiring!!
All that notwithstanding, I was very relaxed as we boarded the plane. I had opted for a video and photographs (I needed proof, as there's no way I'm doing this again!) and the TIs and cameraman had arranged things so that both of us could be in the video and some of the photos which meant Rich would go out first and me second. I was very curious how things would look at different heights when I actually knew what the height was, so my instructor Guy showed me his altimeter as we climbed, and I managed to keep myself oriented so I knew roughly where the landing zone was. I was so relaxed I dozed off for a few minutes whilst waiting to get to final altitude, much to the consternation of Rich and his instructor who thought I might be freaking out.
When it came to it, there was a nervous moment when the door was opened, the cameraman climbed out onto the outside of the plane, then Rich and Chris shuffled to the door and pop! they were gone. Uh oh, me next! I had absolute trust in Guy so was still very calm as we wriggled to the door. I tucked my feet up as I had been instructed, smiled at Andy for the camera (oops, forgot to put my head back on Guy's shoulder, lol), a quick thumbs up, then suddenly the world turned upside down. More than once. Where the hell am I, what is happening, it's so COLD! And NOISY! Yes, it had been mentioned but seriously??? Why would anyone do this for fun??? And my ear hurts! Oh, what's that? - it's Andy, bobbing about in front of me. How did he get there? Smile for the camera, thumbs up, what do I do with my hands now?
Look at the view - I can see for miles. Where am I? Where are we going? I have no sense of which direction is which and can't see the landing zone or even the airfield, despite looking for landmarks on the way up in the plane.
Guy deploys the parachute and with a big jolt, we are suddenly under canopy. So peaceful, so quiet, we can talk now :-) I am still fascinated by the view and can't stop looking around. We do some turns and spirals which feels like a roller-coaster and my stomach lurches but it's great fun. This is more like it! This is the fun bit :-) And now I can see the landing zone, though it seems to be approaching very fast. Surely we're not going to land at this speed?? Umm, legs up, feet flat, ready... and bump, we're down, sliding quite impressively to a halt. Rich is already there with Chris, as is Andy - and I am somewhat bemused by the whole experience. Where is the euphoria? Or conversely, the gut-churning terror? I've never heard of anyone being ambivalent about skydiving before. Isn't this supposed to be one of those "Marmite-moments" - you know, you either love it or you hate it, but no-one is ever just ok about it. I was quite enthusiastic but not really that fussed about doing it again. Cue one confused boyfriend, one confused instructor and one confused photographer, lol.
Click here --> Tandem video
 |
| Me and Guy (and a very small plane!) |
 |
| Rich and Chris |
 |
| Rich and Chris leave first |
 |
| My turn |
 |
| Umm, somersault ! |
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| We're flying :-) |
 |
| Rich and Chris landing with 'catchers' |
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| Safely back down |
 |
| Guy and I approach |
 |
| Skid landing! |
 |
| Catchers deflate the huge canopy |
 | |
| We made it ! |
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