~*~ Jumping
Out of a Perfectly Good Plane ~*~
Date:
Location:
Pocono Skydiving in Hazleton, PA
Jumpers:
Matt, Anthony & Kim
Elevation
Loss: 10,000’ in about 3 minutes
There
comes a time when you have to stop daydreaming about what you want to do and
just get off your duff and do it! Nike is right, “just do it”.
After a Friday night Christmas party in Harrisburg, PA, I was not
sure I would be ready to jump on Saturday morning. When I woke up at 9am and
looked out the window, I was almost saddened to see the weather was
cooperating. Matt and I had talked about jumping but I really did not think
that we would get up there this time, as we had not had any luck to date.
Needless to say, I picked up the phone and called him. He asked “do you still
want to go?” and without so much as a hesitation, I said “absolutely”. So I
jumped in the shower, packed up my stuff and headed over to Matt’s house. On
the way over, I called Anthony to see if he was up for it. Since he had to be
back in Harrisburg by 5pm and I wasn’t sure what time Matt & I would be
leaving, we left it as a maybe until I had a better idea of departure. When I
reached Matt’s place, he was still wandering around in shorts and a tee-shirt
(obviously just as excited as I was to be up so early after the prior night).
Anthony called back to ask what time we were leaving and we decided as soon as
possible ~ but he didn’t think we’d be able to get up there, jump, and get back
by 5pm. After a half and hour or so of hemming and hawing on everyone’s part,
Matt and I finally jumped in the car and Anthony said he would meet us up
there.
It’s about an hours drive from Harrisburg to Hazleton which gave
me plenty of time to think about what I was about to do. I still managed to
stay sane and clearheaded. At one point, Matt rolled down the window, stuck his
hand out and announced that it was really cold out. So I followed suit with my
window and did the same thing with my hand. Wasn’t too bad, I thought. Until
Matt said I should at least double or triple the speed we were going and
imagine how cold it would be then.
Super. The first time I jump out of a plane and I’m going to be freezing my ass
off instead of enjoying the jump. As soon as we reached Hazleton and were
getting off I-81, I could see jumpers in the distance. Three parachutes against
the 
cloudy sky
falling faster than I think they should have been. But that’s just me…
I called Anthony for a progress check to see where he was at,
seemingly about 20 minutes behind us but almost here as well! My excitement
grew as we drove up to the airport. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself or
where to go. My head was definitely not clear and as I watched the other
jumpers coming down, I got more and more anxious to get up in the plane. Matt ended
up taking off to gear up and jump as I sat in the hanger waiting for Anthony.
When he finally arrived, we signed in and were told we would have to watch a
video and go through training. No problem. We were handed two pieces of paper
to sign after watching the video. Now…this video started off rather smoothly
with nice music and pretty scenery. The next thing I know, there is a lawyer in
front of me telling me about how I’m about to literally sign my life away.
Oh…and if anything were to go wrong, they will use that little piece of paper
and signature against me in court. Or against my family or whoever. I had to
sign a waiver saying I would not hold anyone responsible…not the company, the
trainer, the instructor, the pilot or the guy sitting next to me on the bench.
Nope – if I die, it’s all on me. Yea, I signed it and I initialed it and I
dated it. No question, no hesitation.
Anthony and I then had to sit through a quick 10 minute training
where we sat on the ground and simulated the movements we would be making in
the place (which, for the record, are much easier on carpet than they are in
the plane). Thank God for yoga because the form that you have to hold when you
jump is a bitch to do when you are lying on the 
floor of an
airplane hanger. The girl that was training us couldn’t have been more than 16
and I found out later that she has never jumped. So I had an inexperienced
person telling me how to do everything safely and she has no clue what it’s
really like up there. It could be hell!
I also discovered that jumping wasn’t up to me. All I had to do was hang
my knees over the edge of the plane, at which point the pilot banks right and
dumps my ass out. At 10,000 feet. Great. No choice in the matter once I’m up
there.
After training, I was taken to be suited up by my new 16 year old
friend. I got a sexy black jumpsuit, a neon green neck warmer, gloves and
plastic goggles. But the piece de resistance had to be the black and blue
beanie looking cone head hat that I had to wear. OH SO SEXY. I tried to keep it…but they wouldn’t let me.
Anyway, once suited up I smiled for a picture and made my way out to the hangar
to meet Matt. I wish Anthony and I could have gone up together but no such
luck. The plane was packed with John, my tandem instructor, and I, Matt, the
camera woman, the pilot and two other guys going up to jump as well. I was
being filmed and captured on film for the whole experience. As I harnessed up
and got in the plane for a dry run, I got more and more excited. I could tell
by the look on Matt’s face that he loves getting people up there (at least he
was going to be in the plane with me).
I knew that I was going to 10,500 feet before jumping. Let me tell
you 
how small this
plane is. We were literally crammed in there like sardines. There is one seat
in the plane and the damn pilot gets that (like he’s special or something). I
felt so bad for the guy in the corner – he looked immensely uncomfortable with
the situation. After the dry run, we loaded up headed out. I had a nice view of
the back of the pilot and the camera woman. Matt was in front so I could see
and talk to him as well. At 3000 feet, I hear someone yell “DOOR” and then the
door of the plane shot open. Matt wasn’t even going the whole way up with me!
Because it was too cold! AHHH. So I sat in the back of the Cessna and watched
Matt jump out of a semi-decent plane. He turned around and looked at me…said
“have fun!” and then POOF…he jumped out of the plane. Then the next guy….then
the next one. And then they were gone and I was sitting there thinking how
absolutely wrong it is to watch someone jump out of a plane. Anthony said it
best when he said that it doesn’t look right. It doesn’t look like they are
jumping – it looks like suicide and the rest of us just sat there and watched.
Another 7000 feet before we were ready to go so I had about 10-15 minutes to
chill out and relax.
The view above the clouds was amazing. I’ve always liked looking
at the world from the seat of a plane. The clouds look so light and fluffy,
like a white ocean of cotton that goes for miles and miles. The sky is so blue
above the clouds and the contrast is just breathtaking. Then John’s voice
breaks my concentration and I hear him say “I’m going to tighten up now”.
TIGHTEN UP??? He couldn’t have gotten any closer to me if he tried. It felt
like we became one person. I couldn’t move without him and he couldn’t move
without me. Thank God for that. I remember crawling up to
the door and I
remember her yelling and then opening the door. And there I sat, 10,500 feet
above the earth, staring out the open door of an airplane. Oh, and the woman
doing the video was hanging on the struts, video taping the entire ordeal.
And then it happened…the plane banked right…I started to slip…and
then we fell. Out of the plane. Above the clouds. The absolute instant rush of
adrenaline is more than I could ever put into words. I was so overtaken by the
reality of what was happening that I couldn’t think, breathe, process or
understand what was going on. I didn’t know what to say, what to do or what to
think. I lost all sense of myself in that instant. I was made instantly stupid
by the situation. Looking out above the clouds, with the roar of the wind
blasting by me as I fell at what was probably about 170mph, everything escaped me.
I don’t remember the last time that I was SO into a moment in my life. The next
thing I knew, John was motioning with his hands which was my signal that I
could let go of the straps. So I did. Prior to getting on the plane, I was told
that at this moment I could wave to the camera, blow kisses and give the thumbs
up sign, I could pretend I was swimming (why the hell would I do that?) all of
which sounded ridiculous at the time. Well, when I freed my hands and looked at
the camera, she was doing all of those things, and in my heightened stupidity,
I aped her every move. I blew kisses, I waved with both hands, I gave her the
two thumbs up and I frantically flapped my arms. On video, I look like a
complete retard. One would be certain that I used to wear a helmet and lick the
windows of the short bus that I rode to school. Yes, I truly resembled a
complete and total moron. Oh…and I swam. I swam like Michael Phelps through the
clouds.
And then it happened….
The chute opened and instantly the camera woman was 1000 feet
below us, the noise stopped completely and I was jerked back to life. Silence
overcame my world and all of a sudden I was drifting 4000 feet above the ground
with John attached to my back. I was able to take my goggles off and John
loosened the harness so I could get more comfortable (I’m guessing that the
initial jerk of the chute opening isn’t pleasant for men?). John was trying to
tell me how we were going to land and I had to ask him to repeat it because I
was still overcome with the rush of the fall and I couldn’t process a thought
to save my life. And quite honestly, processing the thought of landing safely
was a necessity in saving my life, or at least my ass. He handed over the chute
to me (but he kept his grip on it as well) and we floated towards the ground. I
was able to take in the view of Hazleton and the airport and the little green
dot we were to land on. The camerawoman was already on the ground as we drifted
in. John explained that when he said “flare” I was to move my arms down, in
turn opening the chute to more air and slowing us down. As we came in for the
landing, he said “flare” “flare” “FLARE” “FLARE!!!” and on video, you hear
“ugh” as my ass comes in contact with the grass and we skid about 20 feet to a
stop.
Immediately I let out an extremely loud “that was AWESOME”.
Apparently during freefall, I regressed to 8th grade where awesome
was the right word to use. Though in hindsight, awesome is pretty damn accurate.
In the true sense of the word…it was a truly awesome experience. The second
phrase out of my mouth was “OH MY GOD – I WANT TO GO AGAIN” (insert big smile
here). Followed by “I don’t think I can walk right now”. As 
I got onto my
feet and she helped me out of my cone head hat, I was grinning from ear to ear.
She asked if I had any last words for my friends and family and I just stood
there opening and closing my mouth repeatedly. All I could say was that I was
speechless. Truly.
I think I floated back into the hangar to get out of my clothes,
completely unaware that it had been cold when I jumped. I passed Anthony on my
way in and he was suited up and ready to go on his jump. I don’t know if I said
anything to him or if I was just jumping around like a fool. All I know is that
I was high on the rush and completely incapacitated. I saw Matt and thanked him
repeatedly and said “I want to go again”. The folks that were up there were so
kind and congratulated me (and laughed at me as well I’m sure). I went inside
and undressed and tried to watch the video. I felt a little better when Mandy
said that some people actually make up words when they land such as “it was
FLABBERMAGASTIC”. ahhhhhhhahahahahahahaha Indeed it was flabbermagastic. That’s
a great word that I intend to use from now on. Watching the video was painful
being that I looked like such a doofus but it was great! I was supposed to
choose two songs to go with the video and after not being able to think, I
finally just said “Billy Joel and Semisonic” So the first half of my video is
set to “You May Be Right” and the slow motion free fall is set to “Time of Your
Life” which could not be more appropriate.
Did I love it? Well…within 45 minutes, I was suited up and back on
the plane for
Round 2. So yea, I loved every last free-falling, chute opening, goofball,
unbelievable minute of it. And even after the second jump, I couldn’t think
straight and couldn’t believe what I had just done. I jumped out of a plane
from 10,500 feet twice in one day. Two safe landings under my belt and big
plans to take the solo class in the spring.
I managed to get outside in time to see
All in all…it’s only the beginning and I’m looking forward to many
more jumps in the future. Get out there if you get a chance! You’ll never
experience anything else like it and I could never explain the feeling of the
first jump. I could not do it justice.
Blue Skies!
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