The picture you see in my profile has always been my favorite. It was exactly the very first jump I experienced.I weighed just 209 lbs at that time. When I learned that if I weighed under 200 lbs, I would not have paid excess weight fee of $20.
But they would not allow anyone to go if they weighed 210 lbs or more. Boy, I was lucky but it was expensive as I hired a photographer (video and still pictures) to do just this. 2 months later I lost 15 lbs just to get the weight in their normal fee classification. I jumped again. It was a good thing I learned I was really "fat". LOL.
The feel of the this was a little bit scary at first. But I WANTED so bad to jump. In just one second, I was placed in the right position (me on the bottom, my instructor on the top). It was at 13,500 feet above the ground. I felt immediately the flow of my skin (face) shaking upwards. It feels so good. Looking down and about around in the air gave me a really thrill feeling. I was laughing soo hard. I got the biggest smile I ever had. Then I was doing the arm and body movements as instructed. The free fall experience lasted about 2 minutes before the parachute rip cord was pulled. It was at 4000 feet above the ground. While I was in a "sitting" position under a chute, I felt the ease of "gliding". I learned how to "steer". It feels like I am soaring with the eagles. This mode lasted about 10 minutes. At just about 200 or 300 feet above the ground was critical point... I had to know when I must pull down both cords to the bottom to help control the landing in a safe position. I landed just like how the birds would land on a perch. I landed on the X spot.... right on target. Boy.... That feels soooo serene. It was an awesome experience.
I would recommend that everyone go give it a try even if they have "fear" of this. But not all of them can do it due to some circumstances depending on the instructor's instincts and restrictions. I know that with the right instructor (experienced, with thousands of jumps in their books), there is no reason to say that skydiving is a "suicide jump". In all, I can say that the feeling of the thrill of it do outweigh the feeling of fear of "dying". I love it so much I would go again and again!
Deaf Texan
Comment from Kati
You said it so right. It made me remember that I could not stop smiling!
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