Learning To Fly

So this was a year overdue, but we finally got around to doing it. Last spring break Fia, Cait, and I tried to skydive in Santa Barbara, but the weather had other plans for us. We ended up cutting our losses and hanging out in downtown SB instead.

This year, after everyone else bailed, Fia, Ravi, and I couldn't get a reservation for San Diego...we were starting to think that maybe it was a sign...

Then we got a reservation at Lake Elsinore for 7:30 AM. I crashed at Fia's apratment and Ravi met us in the morning. There was definetely nervous tension on the drive over. I guess the reality that we were actually going to do it was sinking in.

The most nervewracking part of the experience, believe it or not, was not the plane ride up or even the jumping out of the plane bit--it was all the paperwork. I never knew there were that many ways in the English language to express "you cannot sue us," but in this sue-happy state we live in, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. There were about 30 places for us to initial. Then we had to read a statement, state our full name and the date while they filmed us. After that, they sent us to a small room to watch a "safety video," but it was really more of a "if you die, we are not responsible" video. The spokeman kept emphasizing that there was no perfect parachute, no perfect instructor, and no perfect student. The image of the ambulance was a little unsettling.

It's great to go with friends who have a really good sense of humor because we were able to turn all of the nervous energy into fun. We laughed a lot and joked around. We used my digital camera to record a "last words" video.

We paid a little extra to have a cameraman jump with us to take digital photos and film the experience on a DVD. We even got to pick the soundtrack. After 30 minutes of indecisiveness, all three of us ended up selecting tracks one and two--both U2 songs, "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation." Good stuff.

We had to wait around awhile for the clouds to clear, but it really was turning out to be a beautiful day. We met our instructors, did a brief practice run through for what was going to happen at 12,500 ft in the air. Then jumpers, instructors, and camera people all piled into the small plane.

I watched the odometer slowly climb as we made our acsent. When it was finally time for me to make the jump, it was like time slowed down. Leaning out of the edge of the plane looking out at the world below, I could actually see the curvature of the earth. Then diving out into the direction of the wind, there was a split second where my mind realized that my feet were no longer in contact with the ground. The whole experience was surreal.

We floated for awhile, until my instructor moved my arm with the odometer to the front of my face, which was my signal to deploy the parachute. But I couldn't find the round orange knob to pull the cord! It was different than practice because the wind was hitting us at 120 mph. I knew we had all the reserve chutes and because I was jumping with someone who had logged 1000s of jumps, I was oddly calm. Eventually I found the knob and our parachute deployed.

I got to steer the parachute and we got to spin and turn and do cool stuff in the air. The view was phenomenal! I watched as a cloud came at us and we floated right under it. I was actually surprised at how much control we had over the parachute. The landing was easy, and it was kind of a let down that it was over so quickly.

Fia, Ravi, and I agreed that we'll have to do it again. Maybe at the grand canyon...
We talked about how fun it would be to get certified and jump on our own. But with all the jumps and hours of training you have to log in, I can see how this could be a very expensive hobby. But that feeling is so addicting--there's nothing else like it!