Newbie - A LONG intro.

[Pele2048 0]

Cliff notes: This is a repost of my writeup in the Off Topic section of the Mazda RX-7 club, a sports car forum I frequent. I've also put the same thing up on my Facebook page. My first skydive was this past Saturday. This is a recount of the entire experience. It's long.


Without further ado:

9.81 m/s^2... The rate of gravity on Earth, neglecting wind resistance; However, I don't think humans don't offer much in the way of aerodynamic drag... The thinner of us, that is... That's the acceleration of 1G.

So, start the stop watch as soon as you begin to fall.
After 1 sec, You're doing 9.81 meters/sec. (21.94 MPH)
After 2 sec, you're doing double that... 19.62m/s. (43.89 MPH)
After 3 sec, triple it. 29.43 m/s (65.83 MPH)
4 sec, 87.77 MPH
5 sec, just shy of 110 MPH.

At that rate, you have a 0-60 MPH time of approximately 2.73 Sec
Slightly slower than a Bugatti Veyron.
Faster than a Koenigsegg CCX, McLaren F1, and Ferrari Enzo.

At that rate, you achieve top speed of 120 MPH in approximately 5.47 sec

120 MPH is the approximate terminal velocity of an average human being with proper parachute gear falling through the lower atmosphere. You can't get going much faster since the wind resistance drag is equal to the gravity pulling you down.



Let me back up a little and start over at the beginning. I was actually slated to go Skydiving at Wast Point Skydive Adventures in Mattaponi, Virginia with my friend Matt last weekend. I had been pumped ever since he suggested it weeks ago. We had gotten behind because Google maps and the GPS didn't have the right directions. (I live in Woodbridge, VA approximately 2 hours away.) I had to make up time, so I did about 110-120 MPH down I-95. We had gotten almost to Richmond before they called and said that even though the rain was getting lighter, the cloud cover was just too thick and visibility was poor.

Anyhow, this past weekend was beautiful. Sunny and 60 deg. So Matt and I set out. Arriving at the small uncontrolled KFYJ - Middle Peninsula Regional Airport, we were welcomed by a little old gentleman in loose clothing. He sorta looked like an aged hippie. He was starting a small bonfire. It occurs to me at the time of this writing that it was about 75 ft from the tanks that supply the airport with "Jet-A' Kerosene Jet Fuel and 100 Octane Low Lead Aviation Gasoline...

We were shown to a small hangar. It reminded me of an old basement. Old ratty couches lined the walls. Gear was hung from the rafters and on hooks along the walls. There was old furniture around to sit on and relax.

After filling out a myriad of paperwork including a covenant not to file lawsuit, acknowledging that they do not carry personal injury or wrongful death insurance, and advising me that I am about to partake in a potentially dangerous sport I took a look back in the waiting area before my ground instruction was to begin.

There was a living room area with more ratty old couches and recliners.Various TVs were here for entertainment viewing. It kinda reminded me of a college frat house. The kitchen had essential appliances such as the two tap kegerator and a chilled Jagermeister dispenser with two empty Jager bottles on top of it. There was a beer bong on the counter and several fridges either saved from the trash or from the free section of CraigsList. The fridges were stocked with mandatory supplies like Pizza and Red Bull.

One employee was obviously nursing a hangover, as he poured a little "hair of the dog" from a liquor flask into his coffee. These were the videographers and instructors of this fine establishment.

I suppose these are the kind of people that are best suited for skydiving though. Thrill seeking, fun loving people. And where best for an after party but here. The airport has lots of space and there's nobody around to complain about noise.

Ground instruction was short, consisting of about a 20 minute lesson regarding body positioning for mid-air control and to avoid smashing your dome into your instructor's face, rendering them unconscious. I asked numerous questions regarding advanced HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jumps, the minimum altitude where you can safely open the parachute, and the safety features on the parachute. I'm pretty sure I made some of the instructors and many of the first time students nervous...

Apparel consists of a jumpsuit that fits over your existing clothes and a safety harness. The safety harness is similar to hazardous location rescue harnesses and rock climbing harnesses. If you've ever participated in Enclosed Hazardous Space training or gone climbing with any sort of belay or lowering device, you know what I'm talking about. Gentlemen, be forewarned that they will ride up your crotch and hurt your boys if you don't adjust the harness properly on the ground. Sit the leg straps in the crease where your thighs are so that the straps are outside your where your sack is. Tighten your legs together so that you don't smash your balls. Then make sure the straps are snug. Hat and goggles were straight forward and you get an altimeter on your wrist. Then it's onto the plane.



The world looks so different at 13,500 ft. I've taken a few flying lessons in small aircraft. (Cessna 172 Skyhawk airplanes and Robinson R22 helicopters)

At 1000 ft, you can still see individual people walking around. You can still tell what they're wearing, or what kind of cars are driving around.

We dropped a few people off at 5000 ft in the plane I took. That's just shy of one mile up. At that height, you can make out the color of various cars and trucks driving around. Houses look like Monopoly pieces.

At 13,500 ft, (That's a little more than Two and a Half miles up.) Houses look like grains of sand. Dense forest looks like grass. You can not see large trucks let alone standard passenger cars or individual people. You can see the curvature of the Earth clearly.



There are policies that the military has regarding the closeness of men; Don't ask, don't tell... I'm telling: I feel I'm owed a dinner... At least if I puckered harder, I'd hang on tighter.

Still, the benefits of doing a tandem jump with an instructor strapped tightly to you has benefits:
-Ground instruction is short.
-If you're so caught up in the moment, there's someone else to pull the rip cord... This was a good thing in my case. You're supposed to pull the rip cord at 6000-5000 ft. At the rate I was traveling at, I descended from 13,500 ft to 5,000 ft in approximately 45 sec. It felt much shorter.



My house is 2 floors. When I go up on the roof to clean the gutters, I sometimes look out over the edge. I look down and see the driveway and get a little scared. I might fall and break my leg. At the very least, I'll dent the hood of my truck. It's my nature to back away from the edge. It feels unsafe and I don't want to be there. And this is only 20 ft up. A far cry from the 13,500 ft up where I was now.

With the instructor strapped to your back, looking down at the Earth is when I had the only sensation of nervousness. I had already committed myself to this, the time for second thoughts was before I got on the plane. Honestly, I hadn't had a second thought about Skydiving at all when my buddy called up and said, "Hey, you know what I wanna try..." I was pumped and psyched up about it for weeks before.

Still, it's kinda unsettling looking at something that's natural to back away from. You look down and go, "What if I fall out... Oh wait.. That's the point." But like I said, the time for second thoughts was on the ground. Long before I suited up. Long before I got on the plane. Long before I gave these people good hard earned money to jump out of their (questionably) perfect airplane.

Once you're strapped to your instructor tightly, it's more difficult to walk around in a small airplane. Already, I had to stoop down. This was more like a crouched potato sack race. Get up and approach the exit door of the plane. Get down on one knee, grab the bar above the door and kneel.

-Ready? Lean out the plane and look down. Rock back into the plane.
-Set? Lean out again and check for other jumpers, make sure they're away. Rock back into the plane.
-GoooooooOOOOHHHHHH SSHHHHIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At first, you do feel the falling sensation. It's further enhanced by the fact that you're doing a somersault out the door. It takes about half a second and then you don't feel like you're falling at all.

When traveling at 120 MPH in a car, you see the surroundings going by you. You feel the vibration of the tires against the road. You hear the engine and drivetrain propelling you. You are aware of your speed.

With no surroundings, no tires for traction, and no drivetrain, along with a hat that covers your ears to protect form the wind chill (Static air temperature drops about 4deg F per every 1000 ft up you go. Couple with the wind chill of 120 MPH.) You actually feel like you're floating. There is no reference to speed. You have no clue how fast you're going.

The descent from 5000 ft to the ground was much longer obviously. It felt like 15 minutes or more. There are two control handles for the parachute. Pull the left one, you go left. Pull the right one, you go right. Pull hard enough and you get to going in a spiral fast enough that you can swing almost a 45 deg angle instead of standing straight up.

Pull both hard, (Called "Flare") and the parachute folds up and slows you WAY down.

On landing, you're supposed to kick your feet way out in front of you. (Essentially in a sitting position.) Putting them under you may result in broken ankles or leg injuries. In a pinch, a fucked up landing can be saved by ending with an ass slide... A perfect landing though, you pull both control handles and you end up in a perfect standing position and hit the ground in a light jogging pace.

Try it. Hold yourself from an overhead bar, then bend at the hips so that you're an "L" shape. It's good abdominal exercise. Now do it with a hard, round, planet shaped object that's rapidly heading towards you.

[The_Don 0]

Dude. You need to get layed.

That is all.

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[Pele2048 0]

^

Actually did that shortly before submitting that post. :p

I like to write. It wasn't that hard to Cut n Paste to here.

Just thought it'd be fun to recount what went through my mind during the entire experience.

[JohnRich 4]

Good story. I like the way you use automotive stuff for reference to your skydiving experience. The description of the drop zone could fit many parachute centers around the country.

Now, come on back out and make an AFF jump wearing your own parachute rig.

[xtravrtsoul 0]

Nice job. Love the written sequence of the story. Keeps you involved for sure. :) Now time for the AFF :)

You create life, life does not create you.

[FallingBliss 0]

I agree. How long did that take you to type?

Hey Muhammad, why don't you wash your mouth out with a revolver!

[Pele2048 0]

Quote

Nice job. Love the written sequence of the story. Keeps you involved for sure. :) Now time for the AFF :)

I originally posted it to Facebook and to a Car Forum that I am frequently on... It was originally aimed at non-skydivers.

I don't think that people who have not been in the sky will ever understand. I wouldn't have prior to this experience and I have been in the sky. (Flown Cessnas and such.)

So I tried to best convey the experience as I could through words.

Leonardo da Vinci was right... "Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been, and there you long to return."


Everyone should try these kinds of things, at least once. Skydive, Scuba in a shark cage, Rent a plane, Drive over 100 MPH around a race track...

People look at me and go WTF are you thinking? You're gonna die! My parents are afraid that I'll end up in a wheelchair, drooling all over myself, crapping in a bag. (In which case, I would ask for cyanide.)

I maintain that everything I do is as safe as I can make it. And if I die, then it's my time... But at least I went out having a good time.

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting 'Holy Sh*t, what a ride!' " -Mavis Leyrer, Seattle WA, Age 83

Quote

I agree. How long did that take you to type?

Couple minutes here, couple minutes there. Note the lack of grammatical mistakes or typos.

Cumulatively, I'd say 15 mins.

[skymama 35]

Welcome to the forums!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Scrumpot 1]

Nice write-up. Welcome to the forums, and to the skies!

BTW, in skydiving circles, just FYI - I can attest for you that actually, WestPoint has got some of the better couches and facilities! - To many on here, you probably described something most of us would consider - just short of paradise!

I'll watch out for you in the AFF program then, next spring. I trust you'll be just as magniloquent on your write-up of the FJC experience, as well. Oh yes, I can only envisage it all now.

I don't know who has a greater anticipation of it at this point - me, or you?

Once again - WELCOME to our world.

Blue Skies,
-Grant

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[Txflier 0]

Just wait for the Solo's.

I'm not the rope totin charlie Bronson wanna be that's getting us fucking lost.

[vortexr1 0]

lmao...haaaaa. love that remark... Ya your thinkin wayyyu to much...

[vortexr1 0]

LMAO...Nice.. Ya i gave up reading it.. Sounds good i guess..lol