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I Jumped Out of a *Plane* Today
I woke up at 6:00 this morning to jump out of an airplane. Nuts, huh? Maybe, but I enjoyed the hell out of my day.
My mom decided to go with me, so we drove out to Skydive Houston to meet my friend Patience, her brother Gabe, and Robin. After getting lost thanks to the crappy directions on MapQuest, we finally got there about 8:30. Since I arrived first, I watched a quick ten minute video about tandem diving (no way was I jumping out of a plane alone) and how it was invented. The rest of the group showed up and then we sat around and watched some other jumpers and everyone getting ready. Since all four of us wanted videos, we ended up having to wait a few hours and being split into two planes.
Finally, the time for Robin and I to jump was upon us. We got suited up, had some instructions from our jumpers, and headed out to the two propeller plane that takes everyone up.
I expected the ride to be pretty bumpy, but it was a really easy take-off. There were about fifteen people in there including me, Robin, our jumpers, and our videographers. All the people who were solo jumping were really nice and you could tell that they were happy for us that we were about to do our first jump. At 7,000 feet we finished suiting up and sat in their laps so we could get attached to their rigs. It was then up to 13,500 feet (just over two and a half miles) and time to jump.
When Eric (my jumper; he's jumped between 4,500 and 5,000 times) and I approached the door, I did the dumbass thing of looking down and my first thought was, "Oh, fuck. This is way too high." Since I was strapped to Eric who was about a foot taller than me and outweighed me by a hundred pounds or so, when he jumped, I went along for the ride.
Honestly, after the first shock of looking down, I wasn't scared at all. I can't really describe the feeling, but it was unlike anything I've ever felt. It wasn't like falling, which I had expected, but probably as close to flying as a person can ever feel, especially at 120 miles per hour.
The freefall was awesome, but the best part was after he pulled the chute. Suddenly, it was the most peaceful, quietest experience of my life. On the ground, there's always ambient sounds - the hum of the refrigerator and other electrical appliances, people talking, etc. Up in the air, though, there was nothing. That alone made it worth everything.
Landing was easy since all I did was tuck my knees up and Eric did the rest. Robin landed after me so I watched her come down. Patience and Gabe were in the next plane so we went in and got out of our suits and came back out to watch them. Patience brought along champagne, so we then toasted ourselves and agreed to make this our first jump anniversary and come out and do this every year around this day. All in all, I'm proud of myself and I am so doing this again.
You can see the video from when I jumped out of the plane until the chute pull by clicking here. Here's some of the pictures from the jump as well. These four are my favorites. To see the rest, click the "Read More" link. Click the thumbnails to embiggen.
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Comments
That was absolutely awesome, wasn't it? I did that same thing last summer (and may very well do it again next weekend). The scare I had was the first 3 seconds off the plane, just as you did. Bunjee jumping? No. Parachutes? Absolutely!
.: ej said on July 17, 2004 07:55 PM :: link it :.looks like a hell of a lot of fun, but I think I'll pass. ;)
.: girl said on July 17, 2004 08:23 PM :: link it :.That is really way too cool!!!
.: Dell said on July 17, 2004 09:04 PM :: link it :.you are insane!!! but that totally ROCKS!!!
.: Darren said on July 17, 2004 09:49 PM :: link it :.That looks amazing! I wish I had the nerve to try it...
.: kristal said on July 17, 2004 10:08 PM :: link it :.You go girl! Looks like a blast! Looks like your jumper, Eric, had fun too! ;-)
.: Michael said on July 17, 2004 11:49 PM :: link it :.cool. so is bungee jumping next?
.: irfan said on July 18, 2004 12:04 AM :: link it :.ROFL! You had better stop smiling, you're going to get bugs stuck in your teeth! :D
I'm glad you had such a great time doing it. I will never join you, EVER, but I'm glad you had fun!
.: Christine said on July 18, 2004 02:22 AM :: link it :.That seems like so much fun. I've seen people jumping when we were flying by them, but I haven't jumped yet, myself. Thanks for the comment at my place, too. I really appreciate it.
.: Crankydragon said on July 18, 2004 08:18 PM :: link it :.ROFL! It looks like he's going to lick your ear in a couple of those!
.: Jennifer said on July 18, 2004 08:48 PM :: link it :.dude, that is so awesome! you're almost ready to go on The Amazing Race!
.: mikey said on July 18, 2004 10:11 PM :: link it :.That looks like so much fun!!!!
Your smile is terrific!!!
Amazing! Gutsy girl, gutsy.
.: dtc said on July 20, 2004 09:05 AM :: link it :.Awesome! It looks like you had an amazing experience. If only Kenny and I can get the guts to do it (we both want to).
.: cybertoad said on July 20, 2004 10:56 AM :: link it :.Nice! I didn't get pictures when I went, but looking at yours makes me want to jump RIGHT NOW! It looks like you were digging the experience too. For those who know, it really is hard to describe with words... AMAZING! doesn't come close.
.: Oktober said on July 20, 2004 08:30 PM :: link it :.I love the 2nd photo, it looks like ya slapped the crap outta the fella behind ya. Heee, just lookit his face!
rock on! i did the same thing at skydive spaceland down south of houston two years ago and it was one of the best experiences of my life. the entire thing is such an adrenaline rush it's hard to really explain to someone that questions "jumping out of a perfectly good airplane" but i would do it over and over again if i could afford it.
good for you!
.: jen said on July 21, 2004 08:29 AM :: link it :.I jumped out of a plane a few months ago and it was AWSOME! I am trying to get my dad to do it with me next time. So much fun!
.: eve said on July 22, 2004 01:00 AM :: link it :.Wow! You are a lot braver than I am. I could never do that!
.: Ash said on July 22, 2004 09:09 AM :: link it :.DUDE I KNOW THE FEELING AND ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW!!!!!
MY 1ST JUMP WAS THE BEST THING I EVER DID AND IVE NOW DONE ONLY 4 JUMOS BUT IT JUST GETS BETTER EVERY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE IT!!
JUMP SAFE
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