I had a sensation in my stomach driving from RubyConf to Zephyrhills. The next day it was all about to happen. Six hours of ground theory and training and at the end of the day the first jump.
AFF is seven levels of training. In every level you must perform certain moves during freefall. If you pass you can proceed to the next level. There is of course a lot of theory in level one. The other levels have short introductions about the moves you have to do and then you go up to jump.
This is about malfunctions as well and they are certainly not pretty. But you have to see them in case they happen to you. Line twists, slider problems, unopened cells. The worst one is a parachute that's not opening and you sure as hell don't want one on your first jump.
There is a test at the end of the day about the material that is covered. Everyone passes and it's time to jump. Holy shit. The Twin Otter is ready because you can smell the kerosine and hear her engine. That will be an experience on its own.
We walk over the grass to the plane. Here is another mockup where we go over the exit one more time. Time to load. Heart rate goes up, hands are getting sweaty as we enter the plane. We take off and the plane will climb to 13.500 feet.
Fear is normal in those situations. The moment the brain knows what you are going to do it wants to be prepared. The amygdala is sending signals that will release dopamine and everything is fired up so you will be ready. You are at maximum level of awareness.
For me the anxiety is gone when the door opens and we are ready to jump. A lot of skydivers I talked to are getting there shivers now. One is afraid of ledges, another doesn't like the parachute ride. The two women in my group, Lisa and Cyndee, are worried of landing on the target area.
This is how you exit the plane with your two instructors. Check in with the instructor on the right and wait for the thumbs up, and then check out with the instructor that is outside the airplane. Body in the right position, chin up and then a graceful exit.
Such a thrill. But you got to be alert. That's why there is this COA. Circle Of Awareness. Checking left and right and the altimeter. Three practice pulls. Lock on to your altimeter at 6000 feet. Pull at 5000 feet.
Phew. It's open and I am playing in my holding area. Beautiful clear blue sky and I can see Tampa Bay in the distance. Wow. I check my altimeter and I flare the parachute to 100% brakes for 2 seconds and then raise toggles to full flight. Yep, it is working.
I got some time to play around because I am at 4000 feet. This is so cool. I am making some right and left turns and everything is working the way it should. We are going to make the final approach. Everything is going smooth and I land perfectly on both feet standing up. Then the adrenaline kicks in. Oh yeah!!
I passed the test and the details are entered in the logbook. Next stop. Level 2.
Dit is de weblog van Peter Dierx. Gevuld met artikelen en berichten over Ruby on Rails, Mac OS X en hier en daar een Apple nieuwtje.
