It is, as we say up here in MA, wicked awesome. The rush (of wind, adrenaline, whatever) when you leave the plane is indescribable. I am afraid of heights, which is partly why I’ve done the rock-climbing and the skydive once each, and exiting the plane is as intense a feeling as I’ve ever had while dressed. The mind goes blank. Or at least mine did. Some would say that that is no change from normal. Some would wish it was no change from normal.
If you have ever thought to yourself that it is something you would like to experience, DO IT! While you’re younger than 40 is much better, but for sure before you hit 50. After that the incidence of mishaps, and their severity, increases. But hey, George H W Bush did a tandem dive over Normandy in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Research local clubs that do training and offer test jumps. Look for their injury history, their pro certifications, their facilities. I went to a place that had their own little airstrip and single engine personal size plane. The airstrip, with all the area power lines buried, offered a relatively safe place to land your jump, which was very convenient.
They squeezed the pilot (in the lone seat), a jump-master, and three newbies into the plane for a static line jump. A static line means your parachute is packed with a line attached to it. You attach the loose end of this line to a bolt on the floor of the plane, so that when you jump out the line automatically pulls your chute. You don’t need to pull a ripcord, though you do have one that will pull your reserve chute in case you need it. We jumped somewhere between 3,000 and 3,500 feet, with almost no free-fall due to the static line. Tandem jumpers went out at about 10,000 feet and did free-fall for a while. The difference is that the tandem experience is one of being along for the ride. You don’t have an active role. In static line, you go alone, which means you pilot the chute yourself.
It is, as we say up here in MA, wicked awesome. The rush (of wind, adrenaline, whatever) when you leave the plane is indescribable. I am afraid of heights, which is partly why I’ve done the rock-climbing and the skydive once each, and exiting the plane is as intense a feeling as I’ve ever had while dressed. The mind goes blank. Or at least mine did. Some would say that that is no change from normal. Some would wish it was no change from normal.
If you have ever thought to yourself that it is something you would like to experience, DO IT! While you’re younger than 40 is much better, but for sure before you hit 50. After that the incidence of mishaps, and their severity, increases. But hey, George H W Bush did a tandem dive over Normandy in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Research local clubs that do training and offer test jumps. Look for their injury history, their pro certifications, their facilities. I went to a place that had their own little airstrip and single engine personal size plane. The airstrip, with all the area power lines buried, offered a relatively safe place to land your jump, which was very convenient.
They squeezed the pilot (in the lone seat), a jump-master, and three newbies into the plane for a static line jump. A static line means your parachute is packed with a line attached to it. You attach the loose end of this line to a bolt on the floor of the plane, so that when you jump out the line automatically pulls your chute. You don’t need to pull a ripcord, though you do have one that will pull your reserve chute in case you need it. We jumped somewhere between 3,000 and 3,500 feet, with almost no free-fall due to the static line. Tandem jumpers went out at about 10,000 feet and did free-fall for a while. The difference is that the tandem experience is one of being along for the ride. You don’t have an active role. In static line, you go alone, which means you pilot the chute yourself.