Do something different
Love at First Flight
On 19th August 2000, I jumped out at 13,000 feet from a perfectly good plane.
‘Why’, you may be asking, would anybody do THAT?’ I can’t comment on other peoples motives, but I did it for a couple of reasons.
The first (and most important) reason was that I was raising money for charity. In order to earn more sponsorship money I had taken a poll where I worked on ‘who would be the person you’d most like to push out of a plane?’ The answer: a traffic warden, which was why I was sat in a car, on my way to Headcorn Aerodrome http://www.headcornaerodrome.co.uk/ dressed up as a Traffic Warden! The gimmick worked, and I was pleased to raise just over £500 in total.
The second reason was from a very childlike, idealistic sense of curiosity. One of my earliest memories is of my first time in a plane at the age of three. My father was in the Royal Air Force, and I (very unofficially, needless to say) had the opportunity to go for a ‘quick spin’ in a small plane: it was love at first flight. I loved everything, from the smell of the engine oil, to the tumbling sensations in my tummy as the plane took off; the amazing views of the ground getting smaller and smaller, the pure blue of the sky once we were above the clouds; the roar of the engines on take off and the hum once airbourne. I can still remember looking out on every flight I took as a child, looking at the white, fluffy clouds and imagining they would be so warm and soft, just like the best bed you could ever imagine.
Of course, as the years rolled by I knew that my notions of soft, fluffy clouds, existed purely in my imagination but every time I flew a part of me still wondered exactly how it would feel to just sink down into one of those clouds. Well 19th August 2000 was the day I found out for real.
After arriving at the airfield, the first thing I had to do was have a change of clothes - they wouldn’t let me jump in my traffic warden’s outfit! I had to jump in the regulation uniform. A very flattering uniform, as you will see from the pictures. I particularly liked the red hat, which I felt had been loaned from the set of the film ‘Coneheads’ just for my jump. The turquoise Teletubbies flying suit made a good match, and I felt confidently stylish as I turned up for my two hour training session.
The training session consisted mainly of safety rules both within the plane and for landing. A tandem parachute jump is safer than a solo one, even though the solo is generally from no more than 3,000 feet whereas the tandem is from approximately 12,000 feet. The main reason for the extra safety is not so much that you have someone else with you, but that there is a bit more thinking time to correct yourself/posture should you need to. Apparently the main risk of a tandem jump, which Headcorn was pleased to say they had never experienced, was a broken leg on landing and that was why it was important for you to pick up your legs and let your tandem instructor land first.
Then I met my instructor and my cameraman, both top blokes. The moment finally came when we were walking out on the airfield to the plane and I was so excited! The plane bounced along the ground towards us, and as it turned I noticed the wide hole for exiting – not a usual feature of the planes I’d been in to date.
As I got onboard, I learnt that we were going to be the first tandem to jump. I sat opposite the open door as we climbed higher and higher. The beauty of the scenery and the wonderful fresh air, couple with the noise of the plane, just added to the excitement of it all and I couldn’t wait for my turn.
But then it was my turn. As I got up and starting walking toward the gaping hole in the side of the plane the fear started to kick in: I truly felt like I needed my head examined. Thoughts ran through my brain at rocket speed: logically I knew that it was a very safe activity and that I was far more likely to be kicked to death by a donkey than by not having a parachute open, but part of me wondered if this was the last thing I’d ever do.
I got to the door, my heart pounding at 200 beats per minute minimum…. I felt totally bewildered, completely spaced out so to speak. Then I walked forward and the next thing I knew we were out of the door.
As we started to fall, all of a sudden I couldn’t feel my tandem partner… luckily it was just the weightless effect of gravity, but I can still remember thinking for a short while that I had come loose – and that he had the parachute! At that instant I distinctly remember thinking ‘if this IS the last thing I’m going to do, I’m going to enjoy every single minute of it’; and from that point on I had a fantastic time.
It was probably only seconds, but felt like minutes, until the small steering parachute opened and I once again had an awareness of being tethered to my tandem partner. The freefall was the most amazing experience I’ve ever had in my life – complete and total freedom, and I also enjoyed the experience when the parachute opened and we went up very rapidly into the blue sky.
Then it happened: we went through the clouds. Even though I knew they would not be warm and fluffy, part of me was definitely disappointed by the reality of a cloud – nothing more than a cold, wet object that obscures your view.
Once through the clouds, we drifted down gently, circling and enjoying the magnificent scenery spread out before us like a Renaissance masterpiece. As usual, I was awestruck by how much the English countryside looked like a perfectly formed patchwork quilt.
Too soon, it was time to land… as the small, beige dot on the ground grew larger and larger, we approached the landing site with a surety that made up for my beating heart as I lifted my legs high and heard my internal voice say ‘legs up, no breaks’.
As soon as I was down on the ground I just wanted to go back up in the plane and do it all over again. I feel sure that had I done so, I would now be a regular parachute jumper (if that’s the right term – certainly parachute cardigan or jacket doesn’t sound right!) However, time elapsed and I am very unlikely to do it again. But would I recommend it? You betcha, by golly, I would.
Overall, what did I get out of it? Well I had enormous satisfaction of raising money for a good cause. I also had achieved something I never thought I could do, which not only increased my overall confidence levels but has also allowed me to take calculated risks that I would never have dared to before. Sadly, though, I no longer look out of planes wistfully, longing to drift down like a feather through warm, soft, fluffy clouds… ah well!!!! I can still believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny!
DID YOU KNOW? A few facts about parachute jumps:
What is the Highest Parachute Jump?
From the very edge of space itself, almost 102, 800 feet above the earth.
What is the most jumps made by one person in a single (24 hour) day ?
500 jumps in 24 hours.
Who is the oldest, and who is the youngest, person to ever perform a Parachute Jump?
Oldest
Tandem Jump: A 99-year-old woman.
Solo Jump: A 92-year-old man with artificial knees!
Youngest
Tandem Jump: A 4-year-old boy.
When was the First Parachute and was it ever Jumped!
DaVinci sketched the design for the first parachute in 1485. On June 26, 2000--over 500 years later , Adrian Nicholas jumped an exact replica of it...and it worked! (SkyXtreme magazine of the skydive world, vol #10, July 2000)
For more amazing parachute facts and stories go to http://www.173rdairborne.com/amazingpara.htm
WANT TO HELP?
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WANT TO HAVE A GO?
Why not book direct with Headcorn Parachute Club – call 01622 890862 or for more information go to http://www.headcornparachuteclub.co.uk
Site last updated: 23rd June 2008