After arriving at the airfield, we all got checked in, paid and were sent to wait for our call for the safety brief.
In the brief we were made to feel totally at ease, no horror stories like the ones you get informed of at some extreme activities. We were told the positions we should be in when exiting the plane, Head back, arms on chest and feet on the bottom of the plane. When we felt a tap on the shoulder from the instructor, we had to move our hands out to the side so we were in a skydive position. No probs!
After the brief, there was a long wait before the jump. I had no idea what time my jump would be or who I'd be jumping with. I just waited for my name to be called.
My name was called and I had 20 minutes to go and get my jumpsuit and equipment on. This is also the point that we met our instructor who made me feel safe and totally at ease.
After being checked and double checked, we boarded the plane to the long 20 minute assent to 15,000ft. The plane has a large roll top door on the side which is the exit. We reached the jump altitude, a loud horn sounded and a red light came on above the exit door. The door opened to what felt like a raging hurricane outside the plane. The cold and powerful air filled the plane in a split second. Then, the green light came on and the instructor, who I was fully strapped to by this point, informed me we were going to shuffle along the plane floor to the jump door.
All that was going through my mind was everything that we were advised at the safety brief. I got into position and, with no hesitation, we were flying (well that’s what it felt like!)
We fell away from the plane rapidly. A tap on the shoulder signalled me to move my arms and then, I WAS SKYDIVING. Amazing! Everything looked beautiful from up there and the sensation felt surprisingly natural.
45 seconds of freefall and the chute was deployed. I had actually forgotten about the chute opening. The deployment wasn’t as violent as I expected; more of a big swinging feeling. Total silence of the peaceful altitude deafened my ears for the remaining 5 minutes of gliding and performing spins as we floated to earth.
I highly recommend tandem skydiving. I will take part in another skydive again soon for sure. What a rush! Having a skydive instructor strapped to me and in control was extremely reassuring but kind of made the whole thing feel like a big fair ground ride, which is a good thing when you're plummeting to Earth at 120mph but, after completing the jump, it left me wanting to perform it alone. Maybe that’s just the mind of an adrenaline junkie; always wanting more of a rush!
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