trav012000

I had wanted to skydive for years. Earlier this spring I decided with a friend that this was the year. Well the summer went by without getting any confirmed yes’s from anyone so I finally said, "I'm going on the 18th (it was 3 weeks away), you guys are welcome to come but if you don't, I'm going anyway." Seems to have worked. Money being a big issue we opted for the Static Line first jump. Well, money and we all wanted to jump out ourselves without paying the AFF rates. Oddly enough I never got the butterflies in the stomach that usually happens when I'm nervous. I think it was because the other two that came with me were nervous enough. They didn’t realize that you had to step out and hang off the wing strut in flight. Probably should have told them about that . Everything went great; I was the first out and landed on my feet in the landing zone. Although the landing wasn’t flawless, forgot about holding one of the toggles down to keep the canopy from making entertainment out of me for the experienced guys. It didn’t drag me, but it wanted to (15mph winds). After my glorious defeat of the canopy I gathered up the chute and watched the other 2 come in. My second friend out landed pretty well towards the edge of the zone and kind of stumbled back. Third one...well, he flared a bit high. He thought he was too low and started his flare before told. When he realized what he'd done he brought the toggles back up all the way. Needless to say he landed off the landing zone, ended up on his back...and in some mud. But he had a great time and that's all that counts. All in all, a great day. It seems I'm hooked, when the rest of my friends go in for their first jump, I'll take a few more static trips and start on my way to my A license.