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We went skydiving this week at Freefall Adventures (http://www.freefalladventures.com/) skydiving school in Cross Keys, New Jersey. It's a great place with fun and professional staff. Your first jump will be a tandem jump with a professional skydiver. After signing waivers you head to the briefing room and watch a short film. Then they take you back in the hanger to strap you up, give you an altitude gauge for your wrist so you know when to pull the chord, give you goggles, and then teach you how to jump and land in tandem. We also opted for one video that featured my wife. They interviewed us before going up then the twin turbine aircraft arrived and they took us on board one at a time and we sat on the floor of the plane in front of our individual trainers. The video people are pretty entertaining with the questions as you climb to 13,500 feet (2.5 Miles) with the side door open looking down below. Everyone in the plane high fives each other as the plane starts to level out and the green light goes on. It's time to jump ! ! ! The first diver is a solo and goes right out the door and then a second one who is a first time solo jumper. Then my wife goes out the door with the video man right with them. Next it's my turn and I follow what they taught me on the ground after a quick look below. Knees bent and chin up stepping out to the side leaving the airplane. As soon as we are in the air I push my hips forward and bring my legs back for the free fall position. Within seconds we are falling at 120 miles an hour which is like being in a category 3 hurricane. After taking in the views for about 1 minute of freefall my trainer signals for me to check my altitude which is 5,000 feet which means it's time to pull the orange chord. Suddenly the you hear a bit of flapping and suddenly you feel like you going up in the air instead of down as the parachute opens. The sounds of the 120 mph air pressure stops and everything is silent. Sailing to the earth we approach an oncoming eagle soaring high and then the airfield just below. With feet together and knees slightly bent and hands on the harness about shoulder level we come in for a standing landing. Somehow we made it down before my wife and then my daughter who jumped after me landed to applause. Then we all gathered for some exhilating group photos.

I live in RI and theres a place up the road that does this and I may just partake in it.  Sounds like you had fun. 

When I was in the army, I was think of being in airborn.  Just jumping out of of airplanes and everything.  Now that I'm out, I don't know, maybe when I have a midlife crisis or :drink:

One of the oddest sights I've ever seen was a group of sea gulls flying around about 1000 feet below my boots.
Skydiving is a unique sport.

I'm a wanting to go skydiving, but just haven't had time.  It's something, though, that I've been hoping to do for the last two years or so, so hopefully sooner rather than later.

Scott,  I'm sure glad you enjoyed your experience, it looks like fun. But all I can say is if I ever partake in this experience there had better not be anyone below me, because as Bill Cosby said, "first you say it and then you do it".  :buggedout:

Sounds like Dennis has been skydiving. It's an experience that stays with you all day on a number of levels. It really does penetrate your whole being. As they say after your first jump "Welcome to our world".

Been there, done there, got these ...

(http://military.usptgear.com/Share/utils/view.asp?ProdID=HOOVER14806)

I took my kids on a trip to visit my Ma in NY a couple years back...by plane...my first time. My youngest Eddie puked in my lap,and I about did too! I was a nervous wreck...and drank little bottles of booze all the way there. By the time we got to LaGuardia,I was pretty tight. Me and airplanes don't mix!

You still in it, Cheeze?

Jumping at 13,500 feet and freefalling for 8,000 feet is pretty extreme. Remember when the military use to use a zip line parachute down? Now with this sporting edition you go to the surface at 120 miles mph for 60 seconds. Without a parachute at 13,500 feet you would hit the ground in less than 2 minutes. Most of the training guys are former military types.

The whole thing reminded me of sledriding on ice down rattlesnake hill as a kid.

Sounds really fun seeing seagulls underneath your feet and all that, something you'd never forget.   Not for me though, I nearly barf going down the barrel flume. 

Nope been out ... hmmmm about 15 years now? Got a bother who's a LIFER going on 30 or over 30 ... hell I don't know, he's a command SgtMaj over on the the rock.

I went skydiving last Christmas with my brothers.  It was fun.

I wasn't really trepidacious, other than some minor hesitation while positioning myself at the door of the plane (there was a trained guy strapped to my back).  The free fall was a barrage of wind that barely left room for thought, while the parachute ride down was fairly peaceful.  I felt rather refreshed after the jump, although my little brother seemed shaken up for the rest of the day.

I'd do it again, no problem, but it's a bit pricey for me, even with the fairly cheap outfit we went with.

There is an element of real danger here, but no more than driving down the street. When something goes wrong its much more dramatic if it's an air-distaster of some kind.

There's nothing quite like going out the door of an aircraft that way.

Or hitting the ground like a lawn dart ...


 I have many, many jumps and only had to use the reserve shoot once ... additionally the underwear had to be thrown away upon landing. :buggedout:

What is unique about jumping from a airplane is that once you leave the airplane you can't get back into the airplane. Passing through a threshold from which you can't return. Most things that are done on the ground you can usually turn around and go back.

Theres something special about this whole thing. That moment when you leave the aircraft and just being in the air with no obstructions. It just blows your mind away on your first jump.

Soon I'm going back up to make a video and if my wife will let me I'll do more ground training which also involves the 3rd jump. Then a solo jump which is the 4th jump. After 10 jumps you can be a licensed skydiver. For now my wife said I can only do one more jump since I didn't get a video.  :lookingup:

The trainers lead interesting lives and usually have around 5,000 or more jumps. They do this everyday.

 

Who's up for some space diving:

"Sixty miles up, you sit in a chair on the open deck of a small rocket, admiring the stars above, the Earth far, far below. The vacuum beyond your visor is cold, but it would boil your blood if your pressure suit failed. You give your parachute straps a reassuring pat. It’s utterly silent. Just you and your fragile body, hovering alone above the Earth. “Space Diver One, you are go,” crackles a voice in your ear, and you undo your harness and stand up. There’s nothing for it now: You paid a lot of money for this.

You breathe deeply and leap, somersaulting into the void."

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviationspace/3c082d2daa463110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html (http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviationspace/3c082d2daa463110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html)

It would be neat to be buried on Mars or in some other solar system. (or even some other dimension)

Went on my second skydive last evening at about 5 pm.  Was waiting for a clear day with no humidity which is hard to do in New Jersey for some nice video. Tuesday was such a day and after work I drove over and went up again. We went up in a twin engine otter again only this time there where seats and seatbelts this time and a larger group. We were able to see Atlantic City clearly in the distance today.

This time there was much more to remember. Between the Tandem Level 2, Video, and experiencing the jump for a second time I had a lot on my mind. My instructor took me and showed me the below exercises which are practiced on a cable spool in the hanger. It's a lot to take in before this jump, but I don't think they expect you to be able to do it all.

Tandem Level 2

Dive flow:

* Stable Exit and Arch

* Circle of Awareness: heading, altimeter, check jumpmaster for corrections

* 3 Practice Handle Touches

* Check Altimeter, move forward for 5 seconds (positioned with assistance, but I got the idea)

* Check Altimeter, look left, turn left 90 degrees

* Check Altimeter, look right, turn right 90 degrees (after looking back towards the ground from my left turn I got the blast of air which paused my right turn and then the photographer was there and got my attention then 5,500 feet came up quick. Time to pull the chord.)

* Repeat maneuvers until 6000 feet

* At 5,500', begin wave-off and pull sequence. (missed my wave off and pulled chord after my altimeter read 5,500 feet.)

Under Canopy:

* Recognize a good parachute (the 4 "S"s) Square, Straight lines, Slider

(Instructor let me maneuver the paracute left, right, forward acceleration, and slow down which isn't part of Level 2)

* Locate primary and alternate landing areas, and landmarks

* Determine the holding area and landing pattern

They said I did better than average for a 2nd jump and told me next time I come in I can do the 6-Hour AFP Ground School if I wanted to or do the regular Level 3 tandem jump. Pulling the chord is easy. There is a whole lot more than just jumping out of the airplane including freefall maneuvers, guiding the parachute, and locating the landing area. Just getting over the 120 mph air blast and trying to think clearly within 60 seconds of freefall isn't easy and then add to it the video portions. They reviewed the video with me in the hanger and pointed out my errors. Some of which were obvious even to me. I didn't feel I did that well, but I guess it's normal on the 2nd jump.

Next Tandem Level 3 they check to see if they can counter balance your turns to see if your turns are done properly and let you land the parachute.

On your solo jump they give you a radio and they guide you down.

Again they have a great staff and helped me along as I went by myself this time and had a aircraft full of stranger with me and later I got to meet my previous instructors plus a some I haven't worked with.

If I get to do more I'll do the AFP Ground School first then the third tandem jump to do the maneuver sequences better before even trying a solo. It's getting more interesting it's about $1,400 dollars for the 10 jumps and you have to do each withing 30 days to get licensed for your unassisted solo jumps.

I'll see if I can get some video up for you if I can "rip" the video file and upload it on youtube. If not then I'll try to resize my photos and post them somewhere.

Here are a few shots from the past week.

(http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/4460/2565554940101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)
(http://inlinethumb40.webshots.com/3943/2876372940101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)
(http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/4893/2458388230101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)
(http://inlinethumb49.webshots.com/4272/2256566440101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)
(http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/4471/2327163730101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)
(http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/4983/2301821520101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)
(http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/5468/2984460000101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)
(http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/3966/2244050480101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)
(http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/5082/2385672300101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)
(http://inlinethumb13.webshots.com/5836/2877779740101686200S200x200Q85.jpg)

Here's the photo album in the link below. I'll be adding more to the album later.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/559754191JjyonJ (http://good-times.webshots.com/album/559754191JjyonJ)

Gee Scott, I didn't know that skydiving lessons required getting so up close and personal with the instructor.  Kind of a Gary and Ace (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e9/Tv_snl_ambiguously_flying.jpg) situation going on there. Did the instructor happen to ask  "What's everybody looking at?" :bouncegiggle:

All kidding aside, looks like fun, but no way in hell I'm doing it.

Thanks TrekGeezer I never thought I'd get a reply from that last post.

That's what they call tandem jumping. I think they have to do that these days unlike before when they used the zip-line that instantly opened the chute upon leaving the aircraft there is no shock except the initial exit unlike freefall skydiving.

The arching of the body makes you to go face down allowing the parachute to open from the back and the tandem jumping allows you to get use to the 120 mph 60 second freefall from 13,500 ft (2.5 Miles). It takes a while to get your bearings on your first jump. It gets easier on the second jump.

I just want to go back up to perfect the whole thing including landing for a future solo jump.

Thanks for posting TrekGeezer. I thought everyone ran out and went Skydiving.

My instructor is Range from Germany who's been doing this for 27 years and has over 16,500 jumps. The girl doing the video is Ella. Video below.

[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=nqQ4h1YG--0

My wife Myrna skydives below with tandem instructor Dave Pancake (real name and great guy) and the man doing the video is Monkeylips. You see my daughter Mae and me with my first instructor Peter from Slovakia. This is a nice video of my wife and daughter.

[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=uK3eNF4KslQ

Added some new photos pages 6 & 7.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/559754191JjyonJ (http://good-times.webshots.com/album/559754191JjyonJ)