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jimhofer

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"Hey Chris, I did my student training at SSC too...it was under different management though."
Well you're still alive, so that's a good sign. Seriously, who was your instructor and are any of the same people there?
"I am a victim of my environment."
Chris

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First jump was May 6th 2000. Slept about 3 hours the night before, if even that. The drive to the dropzone was hell. Got there early, didn't see anyone at the hanger so I drove on past, wandered about a bit then forced myself back to the DZ.
Got in, went through the program and was cool until they showed a video of former students leaving the plane.
This was a SL jump, the plane was a C182, and I was afraid of heights.
Seeing that video hammered the above home. The training went long, I was starving and guzzling down liquids while watching the experienced jumpers swooping in for these amazing landings. I'd never see skydiving before and it just looked so totally cool. They made it seem effortless, I was so jelous.
My turn was about up, I had eaten a little and used the bathroom about 1000 times(don't drink a lot if you're nervous), and was as about as ready as I'd ever get.
I geared up, looked at the plane and wondered if I'd be able to jump out of it. I was really scared I'd chicken out and ride back down. I was the smallest guy there, so joy of joy, I got to sit right next to the door.
Boarded the plane, buckled myself in and we taxi'd a bit with the door up(it was hot out). Wasn't scared yet, maybe I'd go white-knuckled zombie-boy when we took off.
The door closed(didn't seem like much of a door to me), we took off and I still seemed pretty cool. We got to 2k, I got linked up to the plane, the JM yelled "Door!" and he popped the sucker open to let some air in.
Zombie-fying white-knuckle terror didn't set in yet, this wasn't so bad!
The plane circled around a bit while I stared out over a few thousand feet of air and then I put my hand out the door into the airstream. Felt pretty damn good. A more experienced student in the back gave me a thumbs up. I'm sure I grinned back like an idiot.
We climbed while I looked at the ground. It didn't look real, it looked like I was staring down at some poor quality photograph.
I was feeling good, saw the DZ, checked my alt, the JM yells "Get out and stop!". So I scoot over a bit and swing my feet out onto the step above the wheel. Had to really fight against the air.
"Get all the way out!"
I stand up, swing my right arm out onto the wing strut and shimmy up it until I'm past the red tape that says I'm where I'm supposed to be and look to the JM who's back in the plane.
He gave me the thumbs up, I looked up at the wing and let go.
Thoughts:
"OMG I just did it-OMG I just did it-OMG I just did it"
(chute opens)
"Ommmf. Fuck that hurt!"
Then I bitched myself out for forgetting to count to 5 when I let go of the plane. I did my control checks and waited for radio instructions.
I heard static and someone that sounded like a trucker. I looked to my right and peered down at the nearby interstate. I doubted that trucker was going to be much help getting me down.
So as per ground school I turned and headed towards the DZ and just sort of sat there checking out the surroundings. The air up there was the sweetest and cleanest I'd ever tasted.
After a bit the radio kicked in and the DZO brought me down for a decent landing. 2 months later I was back in a plane at another dropzone committed to getting my license.

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My first jump was an AFF L1 from 14,500 out of a king air in Byron. I kept getting more nervous as our day long ground school went on. Finally we all (6 of us) started jumping late in the afternoon. I was last. The first one to jump did, landed pretty well, and came over to talk about it. She said she was so nervous that when she pulled her ripcord she let go of it. I said to myself that I would remember to keep it. The plane ride up was nerve racking. I had way more moisture coming off my palms than was in my mouth, and could barely talk to the jumpmasters. When the time came to climb out on the edge of the King Air, I though my heart was going to beat it self to death against my rib cage. I backed out of the plane, and yelled check in and check out to the two jumpmasters, turned into the wind and off we went. COMPLETE sensory overload. The wind whistling by my ears, trying to practice my ripcord pulls, and checking my altitude and direction. Every time I started getting my arch down correctly, I would try to practice the pull or check the altimeter, and then would forget to arch which would result in "potato chipping" like crazy. The 1 minute of free fall passed in just a few seconds, and then the jumpmaster, who decided we we were too far out from the landing zone to wait any longer, pointed his finger at me indicating it I was to pull NOW. I immediately thought something had gone wrong, and tried to ask what the problem was, which was of course useless at that particular time. He pointed again, and I pulled. The chute opened perfectly and I was so happy that I was going to live that I completely forgot that I had thrown away the ripcord. I didn't scream in relief, although I may have yelled in a manly fashion. I ran through my tests for control, and then relaxed a bit and enjoyed the rest of the parachute ride down. I was on radio, but could not hear everything being said, but I managed to land somewhat upright, well more on my knees than not. I got up and gathered in my parachute, and then walked back to the hangar. I stopped everyone I could to tell them I had just jumped and how incredible it was. I was flying on so much adrenaline at that point that I was still feeling the rush during the debriefing by my jumpmaster. He asked me to tell him what happened, and then he said he would tell me what really happened. I told him how I had checked in with both jumpmasters on the outside of the plane, and then turned into the wind and let go. He said, with a completely straight face, "no you wouldn't let go of the plane so we pulled you off". We finished the debriefing, I immediately signed up for the rest of the AFF, and then I drove home. After explaining what had happened to my wife, I had a beer, and as the adrenaline wore off, I feel sound asleep on the couch.

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My first time was a SL from 4k at Eagle Flight Skydiving in Granbury, TX on May 21, 2000. Flying Ferret and myself did our first jump together, along with 4 other friends who have since stopped jumping. The night before we decided to celebrate our adventure to laugh at death in its face and partied very hard till about 4am. Watching Drop Zone and Terminal Velocity all the while (Cutaway hadn't been made yet). We were supposed to be at the DZ at 0800, we woke up at 0730 still half drunk, mostly hungover and running late, so we grabbed our stuff, jumped in our cars and hit McDonalds for some food fuel. We had energy drinks, breakfast burritos, water and a ton of advil on the 30 minute drive to the DZ. Our first jump course we were fighting our hangover, sucking it up really. Atleast, by after lunch we were back to normal, mostly. So we did our jump, the only thing odd was the very bad gas in the plane that day, well, I guess that's not *too* odd. :)Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.-General George Patton-

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This was an article I wrote for Compuserve Extreme Sports Forum:
My First Jump
September 5th, 1998 my palms were sweaty and my mind was racing as I made the long 80-mile drive to the regional airport in Wharton Texas. Today, I was going to the First Jump Class required to make my first skydive. My two friends had jumped several months before and were nearly complete with their student training. The nerves quickly changed to fascination as I walked into the Drop Zones hanger and saw multi colored parachutes on the carpeted floor. Outside behind the hanger, skydivers landed seemingly like birds, the aircraft pulled up to the loading area and more skydivers climbed aboard. “Welcome to Our World” was the slogan on a sign in the office, certainly I felt like I had stepped into a different world.
The class began promptly with seven of us eager to make a skydive. Although I would be making my freefall with two Jumpmasters to assists me; I still had to land safely. I learned the basics about how I would get ready to jump, exit the airplane and perform during the skydive. How to deploy the parachute, fly the parachute and most important, land safely.
By the end of the day with a wealth of information in my already racing mind, I got to go first. I would be jumping with the class instructor and another Jumpmaster. We briefed over all we had talked about, and got me a jumpsuit, altimeter (to measure altitude), two way radio (for canopy flying instructions), helmet, goggles and parachute pack. I think we check my gear about 25 times before I got on the plane and another 10 times before I jumped. We talked about the skydive again in the plane. Briefed on the Exit from the plane, keeping a good arch to stay stable in freefall and hand signals they might give me.
My heart pounding was the only sound as the door came open and the Jumpmasters signaled me to take my position in the doorway. The ground 13,000 feet below me looked like a live road map with beautiful colors set against a perfect clear blue sky. The excitement and thrill of sitting in the doorway looking down soon turned to reality as the Jumpmasters got into position. “Check left”; I yelled, “OK” said the left side Jumpmaster. “Check Right”, with a giant lump in my throat and not quit as much enthusiasm, “OK”, yelled the right side Jumpmaster. Then I experienced a sensation I had never consciously felt, Sensory Overload. It took my mind awhile to catch up my body.
There I was in freefall, the wind rushing past me. My body weightless. Check for Jumpmasters, good they are there. Check altitude, WOW, we have only fallen to 10,000. Seemed like eternity already. Practice touching the rip cord, good found it easy. Wave off, pull the ripcord. I sat there under the parachute for a second, rushing and breathing and calmly aware of a great sense of achievement and accomplishment. An open canopy is the most beautiful sight in the world right now.
Then my mind was snatched back as the radio on my chest echoed “Nice Parachute. Let’s release those steering lines and make a turn to the left if you can hear me..” I didn’t have a landing like a bird, but good enough to get my feet on the ground. I was instantly hooked on the sport, and my life changed forever.
June 7th, 2001 I now have 306 jumps with 5 hours, 44 minutes and 7 seconds of freefall. I have jumped from 7 different types of aircraft, in a bikini, in a rubber life raft and through a hoop. I average 5-10 jumps a month and have a lot to learn about the sport I love so much. Most of the people in the sport are just like me. Middle aged, career minded educated and family oriented average people. Why skydive? We have found a sport that gives you a great sense of accomplishment, motivation and mental sharpening. For more information on skydiving and member Drop Zones, please check with the United States Parachute Association.
Blue Skies.

Fly Your Slot !

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My first time was a tandem out of a 182 at my current home DZ. I was kinda nervous but not bad when I got there. My dad is a pilot and I'd gone fliying with him a lot so I figured this shouldnt be to bad. Si we get geared up after the little class go out to the plane and take off!!! Man this is nothing....just like back home with my dad!!!.......THEN the vidoe guy says hes going to tak a peek!!! opens the door about 8 in and then shuts it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:S Extreme panic sets in. A few second s later he yells door and swoosh!!!!!!!! the door pops open, he crawls out and now I'm thinking this is crazy!!!!!! My TM asks if I'm ready and I nod my head and swing my legs out the door. Now when we were on the ground practicing our exit he made it sound as if I would be sitting on the floor during exit,,BUT up at alt he actually pusshed me out so I was just hanging in the air ( you can clearly make out the words OH SHIT from my mouth) which freaked me out......... READY SET GOOOO..........I thought for a split second I went to early without him :S but as second I left that plane it was the coolest thing ever!!!!!!!!!! At the time my wife was 8months pregnat with my little girl and we just got a house so I knew this wasnt going to happen soon but I knew I wanted to do this as a sport!!!!!!! TWo years later and a lot of saving my money I'm a skydiver!!!!!!!
jason

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My first time was in 1993 and was a s/l out of a 1942 Beech 18. I climbed out and put one foot on the wing, arched and let go. My canopy openly perfectly without any line twists. My friend, who I talked into jumping had a much different experience.
Apparently, he climbed out 2nd after me and instead of arching, he immediately went head down, (not recommended on your first s/l). When his canopy opened it tangled around around one leg forcing him into a violent upside down spinning malfunction. Fortunately, he had the presence of mind to cut away his main and out popped a big, white, round reserve.
The place we jumped had virtually no landing hazards except for some power lines 2-3 miles away which he managed to miss by about 20 feet.
The funny thing is when I was under canopy I heard on my radio, instructions from the instructor saying malfunction! malfunction! cutaway! cut-away! I was shocked to hear this and immediately looked up at my canopy to see if anything was wrong, but it looked just like it was supposed to, so I wasn't about to go for the cut-away handle. Instead, I just flew my canopy like I was supposed to and watched his main pass me on the way down.
When we were safely back in the hangar the DZO jokingly threated to charge him for two canopy rides and then proceeded to grill him on what a proper arch was supposed to look like. Yes, he did make another jump, with almost the same consequences. On exit the 2nd time, he again went head down and when his canopy opened the lines ripped off his shoe and watch but his main opened okay with just line twists. He definitely got more than his share of adrenalin for his $$.

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My first time was at High Adventure in Chattanooga, TN in 1993. A guy named Leon had a Bungee Tower, Hang Gliding Simulator and also Skydiving. I was in my mid 20`s and my Dad was in his mid 40`s. We decided to both jump together for the first time.
This place was straight out of Fandango. We watch a short Video Tape and then Leon drags out a mattress and has us start jumping off a 4-foot platform and practicing "Banana Rolls". We were going to be using Piglet-23 Rounds and we were told Banana Roll was the only way to land it. A little more instruction and we headed to a nearby airstrip where Leon had a Cessna 152. This plane was a complete POS. It looked like spit and duct tape was the only thing holding it together. The plan was that Leon would fly the plane with me and Dad packed in to the 152, Dad would jump first. He was to hand his pilot chute to Leon who would be flying the plane and the step out on the wing, arch hard and pray!! Leon had an assistant on the ground with a big Arrow that he would guide us in with.
The assistant had only done this once before and had never jumped.
Well we get into the plane and it will not start. Leon finally goes out and spins the prop to get it started and off we go. We climb to 3000 feet and Leon tells my dad to get ready. He cuts the engine on the plane and tells dad to get into position (I am remembering the problem getting the plane started and wandering if maybe I shouldn’t be ready too). Dad hands his PC to Leon and gets in position. He Goes. A few seconds later we see that he is safely under canopy. Leon is radioing the assistant on the ground with the arrow to help guide him in. Everything is fine until dad gets to about 800 feet and the radio quits working. The assistant flips out and spins the arrow 180 degrees. Dad turns hard only to hit dead center of the asphalt runway, Feet straight out in front him, Flat on his ass. Up in the plane all I see is the canopy deflate and no one is moving. Leon is trying to get the radio working. I just know that I have just watched my father die or at least get crippled. We start bringing the plane in but realize that we can’t land with dad still lying on the runway. We have to circle for a few minutes. Finally we see him get up (with assistance) and walk away. We land and he tells me he is fine, just a little shook up. He says I should still jump if I want to.
Back up we go. 3000 ft, Jump run, Ready, Pilot chute to Leon, Out on the wing, In position, GO!! Hard Arch, Chute opens, I look up.. Line Twist. I am thinking Ohhh Shit. A few kicks and it clears. Arrow guy brings me in just fine. I Banana Roll perfectly on the landing.. Get up screaming "Hell Yea!!". I run up to dad, he says did you like it?" "Hell Yes!!" I reply.
Good, Now get me to a Hospital right now. Dad had cracked 3 Vertebrae in his back and cracked his tailbone. He couldn’t walk to the car on his own.
The scariest part of this whole story is that I jumped there again 3 weeks later. That jump was relatively uneventful. I have since done 2 Tandems in Rome (Once when it was Air Ventures and Once now that it is Air Sportz). Great people and a great DZ. A totally different world.

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My first time was a tandem out of a Cessna 182. I stopped sleeping two days prior to my trip to the dz, honestly thinking I was going to die. However, since I told everyone I knew about it, I kind of had to do it.
After signing my life away, and then waiting for two hours for the clouds to clear up, I finally got on the plane. I got a really hot tandem instructor, so that kind of kept my mind off of all the things that can go wrong untill we got to altitude. There was a funjumper on the plane, and I remember him convincing me that it was his first time. I was really impressed. The fear kicked in at about 8 grand. Apparently, that only amused everyone on the plane, because the instructor, the videotographer, the funjumper, and the pilot began convincing me that they were really scared too. At 10 grand the instructor strapped me in and told me to start climbing out. Thats when I decided that i wasn't too sure about this whole skydiving thing. I grabbed on to the pilots chair and refused to let go. I think that it took the instructor a couple of minutes to rip me away from the back of the pilot's chair.
We got out. I remember standing on the step outside the plane, looking down, and being terrified...
We jumped off. The second that my feet left the step all of the fear I had, every single worry, and every single doubt just dissapeared. I felt completely free, and completely happy. I remember waving and blowing kisses to the videotographer, and then there was a sudden jerk, and we were under canopy.
Suddenly all of the noise of freefall stopped, there was this increadible silence, the only thing disturbing it being the rustle of the slider. I was in total awe.
I couldn't stopped smiling for days after my jump. I don't think that I have ever been so hapy before. Needless to say I was back the next week to do my AFF.

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My stomach is twisting just reading these posts! Feels just like it does in the morning when I decide 'Yup, I'm jumping today.'
I did my first jump September 15, last fall. I was the only new student of the day, so the FJC course went quickly, and then I had to wait about 3 hours for my turn. One other guy was making his first jump, so we got nervous together.
The ride up was fine, Kiwi (my JM) kept me smiling, and I enjoyed the ride. I jumped second, and watching the first guy go made my stomach do a backflip. Kinda like it's doing right now just thinking about it. We came around for my jump run, and I went on auto pilot.
Here's what I wrote that night after I got home.
From three thousand feet, all the comfortable elements so familiar on the ground could be children's toys, small and imperminent. The wind from the open door, however, is real and strong and somehow both joyful and terrifying.
I reached out the open door of the Cessna, slowly edging out onto the wheel strut, keeping close eye contact with Kiwi. (He had to tell me to step off the strut twice)The wind pulls at me, wanting company in the wide open sky, so blue it feels endless. For a moment I hang there, holding on easily, until the jumpmaster says 'GO!' (They tell me that I tried to swim back to the plane. I don't rightly remember.)
The carefully learned lesson, finished just a few hours ago, disappeared into the oblivion of fear. For three endless seconds nothing held me; the world deserted me and even gravity signed a betrayal. A tug at my shoulders reclaimed my presence of mind. Look up! The parachute opens, a welcome rectangle of white and yellow penetrating the blue.(totally forgot to count) A voice on the radio prompts me to test the controls, and then welcomes me to the world of skydiving. Tony, standing 3000 feet below, watches and coaches me from the radio. Go left, go right. The world turns below me and I turn above it, we dance.
Too soon the earth wants me back, willing to lend me to the sky, but not relinquish me completely. The target - white tarp stretched across green grass - welcomes me and I wait... wait... flare! and I slow, touch the ground, and whoop for the joy of it all. (I didn't stand it up, but almost)
Other than the heart bursting moment of absolute, positive fear that the canopy wouldn't open, that was the most amazing experience I've ever had. Can't wait for spring, to go again! Just for fun, pictures of my first jump are at
http://members.shaw.ca/kaizen/skydiving.htm

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oct 20 1996......
had done my ground school a week earlier(bad weather that weekend). i didnt sleep but two hours that night because of the butterflies. got out there about 9 am and two other students from the week before and my brother was there with me to do his 4th jump.ron walker(space land jumpers might know him)was my jumpmaster. we got suited up for the static line jump.and the buterflies started churning. i was nervous as f@#k. me my brotherand the other students waited for the pilotfo about ten minuets(i found how heavy student rigs were!).finnaly we were ready to go i was to be first out since i was the smallest.(about 120 soaking wet)the plane slowly climbed to alti.and i did every thing i could do to keep my mind off the butterflies.i just kept going through the drill.(feet out ...allthe way out....dot! ...arch ...let go!!!!..check for good canopy) finally got to jump run 3500' ron opens the door...wam!!! that was loud look out and think what am i doing!! then look over at my brother and gained a little mor confidence.ron gives the cut tells me to get my feet out. pull my feet out and realize how fast thw wind is blowing!!!!
ron tells me to get all the way out and like a robot i get all the way out just hanging on the cesna 182s' strut. i look over at ron dont hear anything but read his lips like a pro. pointing at me he says go!!! ilook at the dot,arch,let go all i saw after that was a white flash(sensory overload)then see a BIG parachut above me(manta 288,remeber im 120 pounds). check canopy
ok its good.listen for radio......listen for radio....ut oh no radio.start looking at the ground for paddels. i see somthing but cant make it out. do a few turns to get closer start seeing paddeles but cant rember witch one was what! so i just start rembering about the down wind base and final tried that. got set up on base at 300' slowly decending. i pass the target area and land about 100 yds past flared perfectly! gather my stuff up walk back only thing going through my mind" that was f@#kingCOOL!!!!!!!" brother lands few mins. later.
afte we get our gear off he tells me he didnt thin i would do it. i told him lets go again and i did!!!! been hooked ever since.... that's all i have to say about that......forest gump
its not my fault,my mind was not clear
its all because of the heineken beer......

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I guess it’s about time I got my first-jump story down somewhere…it’s been a year and a half, and every good skydiver should be able to point people to a Web page link where they can learn all about his or her first jump.
Here’s what I remember.
I decided I was gonna do it for my 24th birthday. I was bragging about it to some friends a few weeks before the fact, and my buddy Brad, never to be outdone in the bravado department, said he’d do it too.
The night before, we all stayed up really late, getting drunk and talking about what badasses we were. I crashed at Brad and Kate’s place, getting almost no sleep on the sofa.
We had reservations for 9 a.m., so we left the apartment at 8 a.m. Brad and I (the skydivers!) were in one car, and Kate (good friend of mine and Brad’s girlfriend), Jenny (another friend), and Garth (ex-boyfriend and friend) were in another.
I made Brad stop at McDonalds. I sure as hell wasn’t gonna hop out of an airplane hungover AND on an empty stomach.
At 9 a.m., we were nowhere near the dz. Brad and I started to panic, sure that we’d missed our chance. As it turns out, when we got there, no worries. They were happy to take our money.
We watched an instructional video with a gaggle of nervous college students. We were all on edge, trying to hide it with bad, morbid jokes. The video was horrible (y’all have seen them), so that made things a little better. “The. Most. Important. Thing. To. Do. Is. Arch.” This from a bearded, humorless man in a video the quality of what my brother and I made on our Fischer-Price contraption.
Then it was time to wait. A summer Saturday at a busy DZ…you know how the tandems get backed up. We waited, striking up stilted conversations with other tandem students. We had a lot on our minds, you see.
“Jessica and Brad to the school!” screamed the P.A., and we both jumped a foot.
I was roughly handled as the harness was adjusted, but I barely noticed. I thought I looked so damn cool in that jumpsuit and harness. I tried to inconspicuously check myself out in the full-length mirror. “What are you doing, checking yourself out?!” someone yelled from across the hangar. Busted.
Brad was introduced to his tandem instructor, a thin guy with long hair and a droopy mustache. Ernie. “Where’s MY instructor?” I squeaked.
“I think he’s sleeping off his hangover,” Ernie told me jovially. “But don’t worry, I’ll remind him to take his pills.”
Ha ha.
My instructor turned out to be a person named “Dave,” who was apparently going to get down from one tandem, then run over and do mine. Holy shit. I wanted a nice, calm instructor. A well-rested instructor. An almost-comatose instructor.
Time to go. Brad and Ernie strode to the loading area; I scurried behind, alone. Brad HAD an instructor. I was about to get on a plane with no parachute.
Then, in slow motion, loping across the field: DAVE. He ran over, swung a huge rig onto his back, grinned at me, and said hi. He looked like a fucking superhero.
“Um, hi.” I said with a stupid grin.
So we got on the plane, a big yaller scary-lookin’ super otter. We tandems were all the way in the back. Brad and were facing each other on bench seats. We were packed in tight.
The plane took off. Holy shit fuck fuck fuck.
Dave rested his arm on my shoulders. I felt better.
The plane climbed. I was staring straight ahead. An AFF instructor across and a little diagonal from me noticed me. “What’s the matter with you?” he asked. He grinned at me, then deliberately lifted his feet and dropped them in my lap. I looked at his feet, looked back at him, and, smiling sweetly, gave him the finger. “All right!” he said, looking astonished. I felt better.
Oh God. Everyone was putting on their goggles and helmets and stuff. “Tandem room!” Dave called, and everyone scooted. I presented my back to him and he hooked us up. My head was spinning. Nothing seemed real.
“Door” someone called, and the DOOR FUCKING OPENED OH MY GOD THE DOOR IS OPEN. It’s okay, it’s okay.
Then a bunch of crazy fuckers climbed around on the outside of the plane, hanging there like monkeys. Then, with a deliberate shove, they all fell off! The plane lurched, and I think my mind slipped one groove closer to insanity in that moment.
People kept falling out. Falling people, hee hee hee. I was crazed. Dave made me scoot toward the door. I was trying to convey to him, without having to come out and say it, that the door was the last thing I wanted to be near. He ignored my body language and shoved me along.
Oh my fuck we’re in the door. Oh my fuck I’m crossing my arms across my chest. Oh my fuck he’s rocking forward back and forwa -
I don’t remember the next few seconds. Sorry.
I came to when I started wondering why there was a man with a camera on his head flying around me. I slowly realized where I was and what I was doing. My face suddenly split into the biggest, hardest grin I could muster. I’ve never been so fucking happy.
My goggles rode up and, Dave had to reach down and fix them. I thought this was hilarious and great.
All too soon, I saw a hand wave in front of my face. Dave had asked if I wanted to pull the ripcord, and I’d said sure. I felt a hand guide me to a handle, and I pulled. FOOMP.
And it was the purest quiet I have ever known.
Later, on the ground, I told someone that it was like having the best, most frantic sex of your life, then this beautiful, 5 minute orgasm.
Dave and I drifted for a while. The perspective was so alien, and so beautiful. The air caressed my face, every part of my body. “I don’t ever want to go back down there,” I said over my shoulder to Dave.
“Only skydivers know why the birds sing,” Dave told me.
Then we were quiet. Dave tried to get me to play with the toggles, but I was too stunned. I just held them limply.
The ground came closer and closer, and then we slid in right in front of the hangar.
I was beside myself. I couldn’t move, but I was so worked up I needed to run laps or something. I started fumbling frantically with the harness, trying to get it off me. Dave unhooked me, and I half-ran to the hangar without a backward glance.
I met Brad and Kate and Jenny and Garth and they hopped up and down as I stared dumbly at them.
When I pulled myself together, I tracked Dave down, tipped him, and gave him a hug.
Later, at lunch, I downed three beers in 20 minutes and didn’t feel a thing.
“Why are you so quiet, Jess?” my friends asked. “Are you okay?”
They had no idea.
Pet me! I'm harmless and cute!

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My first jump was in 1972. The students jumped round 28ft military surplus with a double L mod for steering. On the ride up i'm going over my reserve deployment procedures ( student rigs didn't have any means to cutaway, you had to cover the reserve with you left hand, pull the handle, grab the hem and shake it out to inflate before it got to the mess you had over your head ) which was scary enough. Then this guy who was going first gets out and freezes up on the strut. He wouldn't jump so we had to make another pass then he decides to try to climb back in the plane and slips and is hanging on the wheel strut so the jm reaches down and unhooks his hand and lets him fall. ( we were jumping static line ) I'm setting there next to go and wondering what the f**k did I get my self into. But like a true marine I was I did everything perfect. Well I did have skid marks on my underwear but everything else went ok.
Idiocy = Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

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