My skydiving event for Cardiac Risk in the Young took place on the sunny (and thankfully, windless!) morning of 7th June, after being postponed the week prior. You have to match the weather to your skydive and my skydive was supposed to be on 30th April, however that day the wind in the upper atmosphere was gale force!
Thankfully though, the following week, we really couldn’t have asked for better weather, the sun was beaming down and most importantly, it was calm.
First I will talk about the actual skydive experience, for any brave person who wants to get up in the air and give it a go, then I’ll share a couple of things that really helped me out during the process. It’s super important to note that my experience will not be everyone’s experience! Some skydiving companies do things a little differently.
When you first arrive, they’ll go through all the formalities and payments. You walk in and sign a few documents, this is the boring part! You will probably get trained up on how to position yourself in the air and how to land (usually involving a funny suspended harness and a couple of laughs among the crowd of skydivers!). My training review was done the week before my actual jump, so I may have forgotten one or two things! If anything, take this a sign that you can take the pressure off accidentally forgetting something as a worse case scenario, but if you’re unsure or want to run over the process again, just ask.
Usually, it all happens quite fast but we spent some time waiting around. There was a mix of excitement and nervousness in the crowd, but there was a bunch of people in the same situation as me so chatting to them and my family passed the time!
As you ascend on the small plane, you’ll probably have some time to think about you’re actually about to do, which can lead to some normal nerves. After all, humans weren’t exactly born to fly through the air at however-many-miles-per-hour! This can be really hard if you’re not a natural born adrenaline junkie. But again, my advice to you would just be to breathe deeply and remember you’re in safe hands.
I was cold as we took off on the plane and as we approached the height necessary for the jump, my instructor lead us out to the door. The wind was a bit startling but you get used to it! He made me put my head back on his shoulder (they do this so that the force won’t move your head to collide with theirs!) and I imagine if you’re scared of heights, this will make things easier for you since you’re not looking down.
You’ll be suspended in a banana-like position as you speed through the air. There’s definitely a reason no one will ever tell you they regretted doing a skydive. The freefall was insane in all the best ways. I imagined, as others might, that I would have that slightly uncomfortable feeling of tummy wobbles the whole time (you know the feeling when you’re driving and you go too quickly over a sharp hill? That feeling!) but honestly it passed instantaneously. As soon as we’d left the plane, it was as if my body just got used to falling at those speeds in an instant! Amazing.
A word on looking downwards – I recall wanting to see the fields approach from below, which would have been fine, but keeping my head down completely inhibited my breathing! “Guess I’m doing the whole jump like this” I thought, which in hindsight was quite funny. It wasn’t until the instructor tapped my helmet and I lifted my head that I realized I wouldn’t have to spend the whole 1m 30s freefall holding my breath! So anyway, if that happens, no need to freak out, simply lift your head up so you can see the land and sky together before you.
Depending on your height, you may be in freefall for between 50 seconds to 1m 30s or maybe more. If you’re unsure how long it will be, just ask your instructor! One thing I will point out, they’ll loosen the leg straps a little when the parachute is up and you’re sailing through the air. This is just by a millimeter – nothing to be concerned about at all. But because I’d forgotten this, I didn’t expect it, so I’m reminding everyone here.
Depending on the nature of the instructor, they may even let you fly your own parachute for a while! My instructor seemed really relaxed, so don’t always count on it though. Some may not want to do this, it’s down to the person you get.
Our gentle descent was a completely meditative experience, it’s probably the closest you’ll ever feel to actually floating in mid air. The green fields are below you and you may even see the ocean or mountains – of course it depends on your location! But you can see much further from the air than you’ll see anywhere else, so parachuting comes with some indescribable views.
You may land either standing or sitting, this is again down to the instructor. Both are absolutely easy since the parachute instructor is doing all the work for you, the only thing is if you’re sitting you may have to hold onto your legs and use your core muscles. If the location has a viewing point for spectators, you’ll probably hear cheers (not every day you’ll have flew out of a plane for charity!) but if not, either way just enjoy it and soak in the moment! You’ll have successfully completed your first plane jump!
Amy Vincent