Tandem Skydiving; Your First Parachute Jump - Part Four

[Hugo Perry]

A Four Part Series:*1 Arrival & Sign-up*2 Preparation*3 The
Plane*4 Freefall & Landing
Part Four: Tandem Skydive Freefall and Parachute LandingAt this time
you will see skydivers exit the plane and you and your instructor will
be moving towards the door. Once you get to the door, if you can
remember this try to clear your ears again. Sometimes the pressure
gives you a headache once you're on the ground, this will stop that.
So try to remember it. When you leave the airplane for your tandem
skydive you will not feel like you do on a roller coaster. You
probably will not feel anything in your stomach. Remember when you
leave the plane you are going as fast as the plane.
So now you are in the air, you are skydiving, you did it. You actually
jumped from a perfectly good airplane and you are flying towards the
earth at about 120 miles an hour. You are having the time of your
life. Do not forget while you are flying to check out the world - it
is beautiful. Look all around not just down. If you have a
cameraperson do not forget to geek him or her.
During your tandem skydive, you will freefall to about 5000 feet
before your instructor opens the parachute. For a split-second when he
or she opens the parachute you will feel a little bit in your stomach.
This is called the elevator affect. After the parachute is open your
instructor will check everything out to make sure everything is okay.
At this time you can talk to your instructor and ask him or her if you
can fly the parachute. Most likely the instructor will say yes. Flying
the parachute is a lot of fun so do not be afraid to fly. Once you get
to about 1000 feet, your instructor will be getting set up to land.
You will need to listen to what your tandem instructor has to say.
When landing the parachute it is critical to keep your feet raised
above your instructor's. You do not want your feet to touch the ground
before your instructor's. This can be bad. Your instructor will tell
you all this as you approach the ground. Do not let the speed of the
canopy bother you on landing. Just listen to your tandem instructor.
Do what he or she tells you to do and everything will be fine. If you
bought video, your videographer will probably be filming you while you
land.
The more you can relax the better the skydive will go. And what is the
number one most important thing to remember? "Have Fun"!! This is what
it is all about, having fun. I have been jumping for 30 years. I
started back in 1974 when skydiving was crazy and unsafe. The one
thing I always remembered is to "Have Fun". I hope this information
will help you on your first tandem skydive. Blue Skies