riddler 0 #1 September 16, 2002 I just did my first Cessna jump yesterday. Jump #77. Every other jump has been out of a twin engine turbine of some sort. Can you believe that? Fortunately it was Sunday, so I don't have to buy beer until next time. I think the sport's changing a lot if a new jumper can go through all the training, jump at five different DZs and not jump a Cessna until #77. I slept in my car - 40 feet from the runway. I was having a dream that Tinkerbell was shouting at me and trying to wake me up ("C'mon - it's time to jump!! Don't you want to jump? Let's go skydiving!!"). LOL. I guess Peter Pan's not the only kid that can fly and doesn't want to grow up. Just then, I woke up to the Cessna starting it's engine 30 feet from me. You know you're a skydiver when you wake up in your car smelling like beer and jet fuel and you have a pull-up cord in your back pocket. Anyway, my new friends at Brush were all geared up and they let me grab my gear and get on with them for the 6:30 am load. The Cessna was cool! Went up to 5,000 and hung from the bar by one hand until I couldn't hold on anymore (all of 2 seconds). I was in shorts and a t-shirt at 5,000 feet, 7 am. Brrrr. The acceleration when I let go was awesome - I'm used to jumping out of much faster planes, and I really felt like I was falling. Can't wait to do a balloon jump!Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dterrick 0 #2 September 16, 2002 Welcome to my world. At Gimli Manitoba (C182-A, the narrow one) that's what we get. We don't get to play in the big planes unless we're wearing Army Green ...so how cold is cold? this weekend it was 26 deg F at 9000 here! Turtleneck, shorts, jumpsuit. Gotta be tough to play this game in Canada, eh? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jraf 0 #3 September 16, 2002 I hear you. Funny thing - a Cessna with me, cameraman, TM and tandem passanger was roomier than out fully loaded Twin Otter. MUCH slower too. Still cool - hurray Skydive Pittsburgh!jraf Me Jungleman! Me have large Babalui. Muff #3275 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petur 0 #4 September 16, 2002 QuoteCan't wait to do a balloon jump! Yeah! Balloon jumps are a totally different experience. The fact that they're usually performed at the break of dawn and you don't hear/feel any wind since the balloon travels with it makes this a unique experience. I recommend falling backwards and just letting go of it, feel the acceleration... it's the "fun / tingling / butterflies in your stomach" feeling you used to get when swinging as a kid, multiplied by 10 [URL "http://vitleysa.online.is/?content=pictorials/deland2002.html"]Some ballon-photos from Lake Wales in this gallery[/URL]--- P. "It Hurts to Admit When You Make Mistakes - But When They're Big Enough, the Pain Only Lasts a Second." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
