BikeMomma
07-03-2006, 07:01 PM
I glanced quickly in the "other sports" thread here and only saw one other person that has jumped (I didn't read past page three, admittedly). Skydiving is an awesome sport. It's been on my list of "Things To Do Before I Croak" for literally years now. (Yes, Jobob....I really AM insane....aak!!) :D :p
Well, I took the - er - plunge and went for my first jump Saturday (pun intended :p ). Actually, it was a birthday present from my husband, a surprise one! And may I with all honesty, that was THE BEST present he or anyone has ever given me for my birthday, other than my actual day of birth (which of course, I don't remember! :D ).
It was a tandem jump out of the Madera Parachute Center in California's Central Valley, and may I say, it's a first-class operation. Dave, the owner, is professional and very knowledgeable with the experience of approximately 9000 jumps under his belt, and the staff is WAY friendly. An awesome group, even the pilot, who's hat I reached over and rescued from blowing out the door upon takeoff. ;) If anyone is thinking of jumping and is looking for a good place in California, PM me for contact info.
My husband had enlisted the help of my best friend Joni, with whom we've been saying ALL these years that we wanted to do this. So getting me there was easy for her -- all she had to do was call me up and invite me to a "scouting trip", to check out the center, prices, and "see a jump", which turned out to be MY OWN, scheduled at noon. Little did I know there was a clan of family members awaiting us at the hangar...my mother (you shoulda seen the look on her face when I landed!!), my husband's mother, and my three children, whom I made sure I kissed before I got into the plane.
First of all, I love flying....I discovered that last year on my trip to Maine. So the plane ride in that itsy bitsy little Cessna was sooooo fun, and the view from above at 10,000 feet elevation was truly awesome. My ears kept popping from the high altitude, as we circled and circled the airfield, up, up, up....
My only moment of what I guess was fear came after I was completely strapped and clipped in to the instructor's harness and we were waiting for the right altitude to jump. Upon the instructor's comment "It'll be any moment now" my stomach tightened and I thought to myself something to the effect of "What the fxxx am I doing???!".....but thankfully that was quickly replaced by "Ok, you're here, you said you want to do this, now just go for it!"...so that's what I did. It also helped to think that I no longer had a choice in the matter, as I was already attached to the guy who was gonna jump out whether I liked it or not! hehe :p
Freefalling....they stressed that I needed to concentrate on breathing. Sounds easy, but it wasn't. The air rushing by your face at that speed (we opened the chute at approximately 120mph) made breathing out a chore, and I found I really had to concentrate on an even in and out pattern (stick your head out the window of a car doing 80mph down the freeway and you'll see what I mean). But, I was rescued by the tap on my shoulder from Dave that meant I was supposed to hold on to my harness in preparation for the chute opening.
Wow....floating down to earth was sooooooo awesome....and the turns were even more so. My family down on the ground could hear me whooping with glee each time we made a hard swoop. It's sortof like a rollercoaster on a corkscrew turn. You've got forward momentum, but you're dipping down and swinging out at the same time. So fun....I loved it. He even let me make my own turn or two.
Midway down, we practiced a braking maneuver that we'd use upon landing so that I'd know what to expect. Pulling down on both lines almost literally halts the downward movement, and it was a neat sensation to feel us hovering in the completely quiet air. It was a perfect landing (in my book), although I think we probably could have slowed a bit more.
And the whole thing was videotaped!!! I have proof! :p
All in all, a wonderful, exciting, adrenaline-filled experience that I'd recommend to all adrenaline junkies and those looking for a one-of-a-kind, insane thrill. Way cool. :cool: :D
On solid ground...but maybe not for long....:D
~BikeMomma
Well, I took the - er - plunge and went for my first jump Saturday (pun intended :p ). Actually, it was a birthday present from my husband, a surprise one! And may I with all honesty, that was THE BEST present he or anyone has ever given me for my birthday, other than my actual day of birth (which of course, I don't remember! :D ).
It was a tandem jump out of the Madera Parachute Center in California's Central Valley, and may I say, it's a first-class operation. Dave, the owner, is professional and very knowledgeable with the experience of approximately 9000 jumps under his belt, and the staff is WAY friendly. An awesome group, even the pilot, who's hat I reached over and rescued from blowing out the door upon takeoff. ;) If anyone is thinking of jumping and is looking for a good place in California, PM me for contact info.
My husband had enlisted the help of my best friend Joni, with whom we've been saying ALL these years that we wanted to do this. So getting me there was easy for her -- all she had to do was call me up and invite me to a "scouting trip", to check out the center, prices, and "see a jump", which turned out to be MY OWN, scheduled at noon. Little did I know there was a clan of family members awaiting us at the hangar...my mother (you shoulda seen the look on her face when I landed!!), my husband's mother, and my three children, whom I made sure I kissed before I got into the plane.
First of all, I love flying....I discovered that last year on my trip to Maine. So the plane ride in that itsy bitsy little Cessna was sooooo fun, and the view from above at 10,000 feet elevation was truly awesome. My ears kept popping from the high altitude, as we circled and circled the airfield, up, up, up....
My only moment of what I guess was fear came after I was completely strapped and clipped in to the instructor's harness and we were waiting for the right altitude to jump. Upon the instructor's comment "It'll be any moment now" my stomach tightened and I thought to myself something to the effect of "What the fxxx am I doing???!".....but thankfully that was quickly replaced by "Ok, you're here, you said you want to do this, now just go for it!"...so that's what I did. It also helped to think that I no longer had a choice in the matter, as I was already attached to the guy who was gonna jump out whether I liked it or not! hehe :p
Freefalling....they stressed that I needed to concentrate on breathing. Sounds easy, but it wasn't. The air rushing by your face at that speed (we opened the chute at approximately 120mph) made breathing out a chore, and I found I really had to concentrate on an even in and out pattern (stick your head out the window of a car doing 80mph down the freeway and you'll see what I mean). But, I was rescued by the tap on my shoulder from Dave that meant I was supposed to hold on to my harness in preparation for the chute opening.
Wow....floating down to earth was sooooooo awesome....and the turns were even more so. My family down on the ground could hear me whooping with glee each time we made a hard swoop. It's sortof like a rollercoaster on a corkscrew turn. You've got forward momentum, but you're dipping down and swinging out at the same time. So fun....I loved it. He even let me make my own turn or two.
Midway down, we practiced a braking maneuver that we'd use upon landing so that I'd know what to expect. Pulling down on both lines almost literally halts the downward movement, and it was a neat sensation to feel us hovering in the completely quiet air. It was a perfect landing (in my book), although I think we probably could have slowed a bit more.
And the whole thing was videotaped!!! I have proof! :p
All in all, a wonderful, exciting, adrenaline-filled experience that I'd recommend to all adrenaline junkies and those looking for a one-of-a-kind, insane thrill. Way cool. :cool: :D
On solid ground...but maybe not for long....:D
~BikeMomma