Are You Ready To Skydive?

Saturday 31 May 2003

You're over two miles up in the air. The plane door is open, the light is green and you're braced against the door frame, hips forward, face out of the door, both hands on the frame, ready to make The Jump. Above the roar of the aircraft engine and the buffeting wind that threatens to blow you away, you hear your instructor begin the countdown by asking "ARE YOU READY TO SKYDIVE?"

This is it. You turn towards your primary instructor inside the plane and shout "YES!". There's no turning back now as you start the exit drill. You face your primary instructor again and bellow "CHECK IN!". He nods. You turn to your secondary instructor hanging on outside the plane and yell "CHECK OUT!". He nods. A hundred things go through your mind as you first straighten, crouch and then jump out of the plane at over 12,000 ft ...

Early Morning

My day began at 7am one fine Saturday morning after 5 hours of sleep. I tend to hit the sack quite late most days (chronic insomnia, root cause childhood paper round) so whilst 5 hours wasn't ideal, I sprang out of bed with a skip in my step. Quite a few people say they feel anxious or nervous as the day for their first jump draws nearer, however, I'd really been looking forward to this and was raring to go.

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A quick pit stop for food and I was stepping out into the lovely morning sunshine. Out came the shades, down came the hood of the car and off I drove through beautiful Richmond Park towards the M40 with the ICE blasting out.

The roads were empty and once on the motorway, I put my foot down and raced up towards the airfield at Weston-on-the-Green. Although it was only 8.30am, the airfield was already filling up with cars and there were quite a few people milling about, some in jumpsuits with various skydiving rig being unpacked and prepared.

Parking up, I headed for the meeting area. After a few minutes, the instructors decided to make a start and divided us up into groups of three. Our instructor was a laid back guy called Tex, a member of the Red Devils with over three and a half thousand jumps under his belt. Like new pupils at their first day of school, we duly followed him to the hangar area to fill out a few forms and dump our bags in the holding area.

Instruction

Tex dived right in and started off with the basics of a parachute, pointing out what all the various bits were called and what they did along with a rundown of the hand signals that must be learnt. This was followed by us all practising our relaxed arch position that involves lying face down and then lifting our chest, legs and thighs off the floor so that your back is arched and you can rock to and fro on your hips. The arms are held out at 45-degree angles and the head needs to look forward, not down, at the horizon. This hard arch position would become one of the key aspects of the course that would be mentioned time and time again.

Tex moved onto the the basic drill for both exiting the plane and when in freefall. The latter drill would be the other key aspect of the course along with the emergency drills and arched stance that we'd practise both mentally and physically. The first procedure when you jump out of the plane is known as HASP from the letters that make up the acronym:

1. Horizon - check your horizon
2. Altitude - check your altitude
3. Secondary Instructor - confirm your altitude with your secondary instructor and respond to any hand signals he gives you
4. Primary Instructor - confirm your altitude with your primary instructor and respond to any hand signals he gives you

The next part of the drill involved three practice pulls to deploy the canopy. For this, you need to reach behind with your right hand whilst moving your left hand in front of your head to counter balance the change in stance. Once you've located the release for the chute, you move your hand back to the relaxed arched position. This "reach - locate - recover" procedure is repeated two more times and needs to be done smoothly.

Sound easy? You'd be surprised at how difficult even the simplest of tasks can be when dropping 1000 ft every five seconds!

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Another HASP then takes place to check your altitude which is followed by freefall. During this time, you must check your altitude every few seconds and then "lock on" at 6,000 ft so you don't drop below this without deploying the chute.

Once you hit 6,000ft, you give a signal called "five-five" where you bring both hands to your chest almost like a wave and then return to the relaxed arch position once more before deploying your chute and carrying out your canopy checks. This involves counting to five and ensuring your canopy has opened, can be controlled and that there are no problems.

Arch

Up until now, the course had been quite light hearted and relaxed. However, things became far more serious when Tex moved onto the emergency drills and four "nuisance-factors" that could potentially occur. The procedure for dealing with a malfunction was covered and Tex made sure we knew the risks involved and that the consequences for not following procedure could be fatal.

We were shown pictures of what various nuisance factors looked like and how to deal with them. At all times though, Tex made it clear that we would have to deal with any malfunction or nuisance factors ourselves so making a decision was key. Once you deploy the main chute, the instructors let go of you to deploy their own chute so you're on your own. And when you're descending at 120mph, you have to make a decision and make it quick.

The Wait

By now, it was midday and Tex informed us that the first of the jumps would begin at around 2pm that afternoon. We had ample time until then to practise our exit drills, HASP's, practise pulls, emergency drills, canopy deployment, canopy control and ensure we knew how to respond to hand signals. The weather had been superb all day with clear blue skies and temperatures in the high 20's. We'd watched other people jump and land in the airfield and had already been told earlier in the day to keep an eye on the windsocks to check which way the wind was blowing. The airfield was huge and we'd been briefed as to where we would jump and where the holding area for us would be. All that remained now was for us to put into practise all that we'd learnt.

I was the last to jump out of our group of three and there was roughly an hour's wait between jumps. Looking back, I would have preferred to have gone first so that I could just go for it without having spoken to others who'd already made the jump. Plus, being last meant a lot of time just waiting around although it did mean extra practise time for the drills and being able to watch other students doing their first jump.

Clear Blue Skies

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By 4pm, the time drew near and I climbed into my jumpsuit. The quality of instruction throughout the day had been excellent and Tex and the rest of the instructors were fantastic. I applaud them hugely for the professional, yet friendly approach they brought to the proceedings as well as the fact that they were always approachable and willing to help.

I didn't feel nervous or apprehensive and was just mentally going through all my drills over and over again. On came the altimeter, parachute, helmet and goggles along with a radio link so Tex could provide instruction once he'd landed. Straps were tightened, kit was checked and the drills were gone over once again by Tex and Chris, the secondary instructor.

Up, Up & Away

It was time. We were the last ones to be jumping from the plane so were the first to get in. Our ride up to the clouds was a rickety old affair that looked like something from World War 2 and had an engine that made the mother of all rackets. Basically, the plane just spent all day landing and taking off to circle the airfield and the cabin, which had a strong smell of fuel, comprised nothing more than a few rows of benches to perch on.

Sitting at the back between Tex and Chris, I watched the ground become smaller and smaller until wispy strands of cloud permeated the view in a sea of white. Tex ran through some last minute hand signals and gave me a reassuring thumbs up to which I smiled and responded in kind. There was absolutely no way I was going back down on the plane, I was determined to jump.

The aircraft climbed higher and Tex gave my parachute one last check. The light inside the aircraft turned green and the experienced skydivers all piled out. This was it. All the training and instruction during the day was leading to this moment. We'd already been told earlier that we'd be jumping at 12,000 ft and that it'd take around 5 mins for the plane to reach this height. I checked my altimeter once more and noted we were at 11,500 ft and ascending rapidly. Chris got up and went to the door to hang outside the plane James Bond style ready for the exit drill.

We reached 12,000 ft and Tex led me to the door so I could get into position to brace myself against the frame. Two and a quarter miles below me lay the airfield. The wind was icy cold and the aircraft noise was deafening. Tex began the countdown by asking "ARE YOU READY TO SKYDIVE?". Without any hesitation I shouted "YES!" and started the exit drill.

"CHECK IN!" (Tex nodded)

"CHECK OUT!" (Chris nodded)

I braced myself, straightened up, crouched and then jumped.

Terminal Velocity

The plane instantly melted away, the world turned upside down and everything went mad for the first few seconds as if I was inside the spin cycle of a washing machine. The instructors were doggedly hanging onto my jumpsuit and I frantically span around trying to find the horizon and maintain a hard arch stance. By the time I was level and plummeting towards the ground, I hadn't even started my first HASP. I looked at the altimeter strapped to my left wrist and noticed with alarm that although we'd jumped out at 12,000 ft we were already at 9,000 ft and descending rapidly. It'd only been a couple of seconds and I'd already lost 3,000 ft! Time to start those drills.

I began the first HASP and turned towards Chris on my left to give my altitude. He gave me a hand signal indicating I should straighten my legs and I tried to respond. I was aware that my legs were too high so that my head was pointing down slightly and as I turned to Tex on my right, he gave a hand signal indicating I needed to arch and then relax. Again, I tried to do so and all the time, we were dropping towards the ground and reaching the critical height at which to deploy. The practise drills carried out on the safety of the ground seemed a world away as I struggled to maintain the correct stance and arch my back correctly.

Deploy Canopy Immediately

I began my three practice pulls and managed to complete them before going into my second HASP. However, at this stage, Tex immediately gave me a signal that I should deploy. I checked my altimeter, noted that we were already at 6,000 ft, gave my "five-five" clearance and deployed the chute.

Instantly, I was jolted back and watched the two instructors rapidly melt away from me towards the ground. I was now on my own and would have to deal with any emergencies or malfunctions myself. I counted to five as instructed and started my canopy checks.

The first thing I saw when I looked up was the twisted cords of the canopy and for a second thought I'd had it and would have to jettison my main chute to deploy the reserve. Just as instantly though, the canopy straightened and I grabbed both toggles and yanked hard, followed by a left and right pull to check my canopy control. With everything in working order and for the first time, I looked down and began to steer towards the airfield.

The feeling was absolutely amazing. The rushing of the wind during freefall had given way to a gentle breeze and all around everything was perfect with a magnificent view. I thought to myself that this is what it must be like to be a bird gently flying through the skies without the necessary roar of jet engines or wind turbulence. I was really enjoying this and did a few spirals and turns in the air before I heard Tex on the radio who was already on the ground. I knew I had a good few minutes under the canopy before landing and checked my altimeter again. It was at 3,000 ft and we'd been instructed to begin our landing procedure at 1,800 ft.

Touchdown

Check Altimeter

Gently, I drifted down closer and closer to the ground and began to wish I were higher up so I could do this all over again. Tex guided me on the radio once I dropped to 1,800 ft and I headed upwind to prepare for the landing. At 100 ft, I extended both arms and tucked my legs together. The ground got nearer and nearer and a few seconds before I hit the ground, Tex instructed me to flare. I pulled hard on both toggles, landed gently feet first on the ground and then promptly tripped up as the shock of being back on terra firma found my legs unable to accurately gauge the amount of effort required to keep me upright.

Legs Out

A sudden gust of wind tugged at the parachute and I nearly took off again. Pulling hard on one toggle, I let go of the other one to collapse the canopy and took off my helmet and goggles, blinking in the bright sunshine. Looking around, I found that I'd landed pretty much in the centre of the airfield on the edge of the holding area. It was all over and I'd thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and wanted to go again. I gathered up my chute, loosened the jumpsuit and parachute harness and began the long trudge back to the hangar for the debrief by Tex.

Triangular dropzone from 12,000ft (click to enlarge)

No matter how many times you practise your drills and go over all the procedures, nothing can prepare you for the moment when you jump out of the plane for the very first time. It's like everything you've learnt is suddenly wiped from your mind as you struggle to comprehend what's going on in the few seconds you have before deployment. I felt disappointed that my exit from the plane hadn't been great and I knew I could do better as this was actually the one thing you have a lot of control over. However, I'd met the most important objectives for the AFF level 1 course:

1. Exposure to continuous freefall
2. Heading awareness
3. Altitude awareness
4. Practice ripcord pulls
5. Actual ripcord pull by 5,000 ft
6. Controlled landing

The debrief by Tex was constructive yet friendly. My exit from the plane hadn't been the best as I de-arched and had my arms held out forwards that resulted in the confusion of the first few seconds. The three practice pulls were rushed and I needed to slow down. Interestingly, Tex said that I completed my second HASP whereas I was sure that I hadn't. I told Tex that I was somewhat disappointed not to have done better however he said that I'd met the main objective of the AFF level 1 course in deploying my own chute at the correct altitude. My canopy control was ok and he said that I was good to progress to level 2 of the AFF course.

Late Evening

Legs In

It was only back home that it really hit me that I'd just completed an accelerated freefall skydive. For the next few days, I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about the feeling of standing in the plane door getting ready to jump and experiencing actual freefall.

I was planning on going back the next day to do the AFF level 2 course but my back was sore after having practised an arched position all day. Once in freefall, there are so many things to be aware of that your mind is racing. You have to maintain your relaxed arch stance, check your altimeter, do your HASP's and practice pulls, respond to your instructors hand signals, keep your head held high towards the horizon, check your arms and legs, remember your emergency drills and all the time you're dropping towards the ground at 120mph.

I'd love to return and complete the entire course which costs around £1k in total after which you can get your skydiving licence and pretty much jump out of a plane for little more than 30 quid at drop zones around the world. However, the airfield is a 2 hour drive away and the full course is like learning a foreign language in that you have to keep up the training to ensure you know your stuff inside out. Having said that, the quality of teaching is top notch and the instructors are superb. It's probably best to take a week off and do the entire course in a short space of time so you can put into practise what you've learned with minimum disruption.

It's undoubtedly a fantastic course and the experience is well worth the money.