Falling from 12,000 Feet —- Sweet!
Last Saturday was a day that I thought might never arrive. It was a day that I had thought about, desired, tried to arrange while in the Army, and hoped for for a long time, but wasn’t sure it would ever happen. It was the day I went skydiving. I know there are lots of people who think that one day they’d like to go skydiving, but somehow, that day never comes. I didn’t want to be one of those people. I tried very hard to get a slot in jump school while I was in the Army, but could never get the slot. Since my Army days, the opportunity just hasn’t presented itself….until now. Here’s a recap:
- Arrived at the church @ 6:50 to connect with everyone else going. We had a total of nine people making the trip.
- Enjoyed the conversations questioning our sanity on the way up to Skydive Chicago
- Pulled into the facility in Ottawa and was surprised at the size of the operation
- Agreed to sign my life away before jumping
- Finally got the “get ready” signal and started suiting up into our jump suits
- Hooked up with my instructor who explained all that I would need to do and all that would happen during the jump.
- Boarded the jump plane for the ride to our jump elevation. This was actually the most difficult time of the whole process…. it was very uncomfortable… so I guess it’s good this part didn’t last very long.
- Watched a group of professional sky-diving gals jump out at 10,000 ft. They had been working on a jump routine in the hanger before. They were fascinating to watch. Sort of like watching a dance…just that it would be in the air instead of on the ground.
- Reached jump elevation…. I was last out of the plane… not sure why that worked out that way.
- The free fall lasts until 5500 ft in elevation. So we fell for over 6000 ft at a speed of 120 mph. It’s so loud you can’t even hear yourself hollering as the wind blows by your ears at 120 mph.
- At 5500 we pulled the chord and everything went immediately and completely silent. That is an amazing experience in and of itself. The fall is pure adrenaline, and the glide down once under the chute is pure relaxation and enjoyment.
- There was a real sense that we should probably make this an annual trip…. as Van Halen once said… “Go ahead and jump”.
Here are a few pics to go with it. To see more click on the flickr boxes.

























1 Comment
WinsomeONE
Tuesday, 7th October 2008 at 12:12 pm
Very cool!
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