There was a point in my life after 2020 where I didn’t really care about living or dying. It was an incredibly rough patch, so I figured I’d try skydiving. If I had to go out, why not at least have a cool story and obit pic ready?
This was before I had started flight lessons, so I guess that was another reason? I don’t know. In hindsight, I’m glad I crossed it off my bucket list, I didn’t die, and life has gotten much better. But let me take you on the journey.
You just sign up
There’s nothing crazy about the process. It’s as straight forward as booking a rental car or hotel, just with a more serious waiver involved. To be honest, I didn’t read it. I’m sure it was something like, “if you die or get hurt, that’s not on us”.
With that acceptance, I picked my day and time slot and paid the couple hundred bucks to reserve my spot. It was at this airfield outside of the city so I did a quick map check to see how long the drive was. Not too far, but a nice little ride into the countryside.
Going solo is fine
I asked friends and family if they wanted to join me and of course they said no. Jumping out of a perfectly safe plane makes no sense. So I went anyways and it was honestly for the best. With the nerves leading up to it, I didn’t really want to talk much.
The drive out there was great and it gave me ample time to reflect on my life choices and if this was one I really wanted to make. Since I never stopped or turned around, my resolve was as strong a it was going to be.
If you’ve never been to a general aviation (GA) airport, I highly recommend driving by one at the least. It’s totally different than the commercial airports and it can look off-putting when you’re about to jump out of a plane.
The wait time is long
I found the right hanger building and went in and it was just that. A hanger with a few couches, some partitioned rooms, and a bunch of equipment all over the place. It took me a second to find the check-in because there was actually a good number of people there.
After I check in, the guy says it’ll be about an hour before we got in the plane. That’s a lot of time to let anxiety build up. But these operations aren’t very big and there are a limited number of pilots to fly these planes and skydiving instructors to do tandem jumps.
As the time passes, you’ll see other people come back from their jumps and it’ll ease you a little. You’ll see that everybody comes back in one piece and usually pretty happy.
Finally it’s your turn
Eventually they’ll call your group and you’ll go to a separate waiting area. Here is where they fit you with the appropriate gear and you’ll get paired with your tandem person. They also give you a little “class” on what to do and what to expect.
They tell you the altitude you’ll climb to, about 14,000 ft, and how long that takes. The whole ride up, your tandem buddy is going to hook all of their equipment to you. When it’s time, you’ll waddle to the door, tuck your legs under the side of the plane, give the thumbs up, grab your harness, and roll forward.
After that is your journey to the ground and they tell you to expect to land kind of in your tandem person’s lap, but kind of on the ground too. Then you come back to the hanger and debrief.
Once that’s done and the plane’s ready, you walk out to the plane and realize it’s small.
It’s time
The plane fits maybe 8 people total, including the pilot so it’s packed. They ask who wants to go first because they’ll be the last ones to load in. Of course I wanted to go first or else I might have changed my mind. Then you load in reverse order, alternating as tandem instructor/jumper/tandem instructor/jumper, until everyone’s in.
Then it goes pretty much like they described. The ride up takes about 20 minutes and you can feel the instructor making all of the necessary connections and checks.
At altitude, things happen much faster than it sounded like on the ground. The door is just a heavy flap over a big hole in the side of the plane and they roll it up. Your instructor does the shuffle to the door for you because you’re in their lap.
As soon as you get to the door, the instructor will ask for the thumbs up. You’re out the door as soon as you give the signal. You try to run through the list they gave you on the ground and before you remember to tuck your legs, the plane is already behind you.
The freefall
This was awful. I had to wear the special plastic cone goggles over my glasses and they helped, but I couldn’t see. The wind was moving so fast, I couldn’t breathe to even let out the fear from my soul. The whole time my instructor dude is trying to take pictures and get me to make faces and gestures.
I got 2, maybe 3, good pictures out of that reel of hundreds where I didn’t look terrified. I do not understand the joy that other people feel from that. It was not exhilarating. It felt like I was stuck at a moment in time that wouldn’t pass fast enough.
Then he pulled the parachute.
The drift down
Ok, this part was pretty great. Drifting along thousands of feet in the sky is very peaceful. There’s nothing blocking your view, the air is different, and you can feel how awesome this is. By now the terror is gone and it’s an enjoyable float to the ground.
The landing
You land in a field somewhere and they take you back to the airfield. This goes exactly like they said before. The difference is that the ground comes up fast. The instructor will tell you what to do with your legs and when, thankfully. When you’re sitting there after landing, they’ll start disconnecting the equipment from you.
The debrief
Things happen quickly at this point. When you get back to the hanger, you walk in with the same expression as the others before you and understand. They take you back to the room where you suited up and take all of the gear. You pay for your pictures and they tell you to have a good day.
I’m sure I forgot some of the details here, but that’s about it. Then you’re free to go anywhere else.
The aftermath
What no one tells you is that after skydiving for the first time, there’s a delayed adrenaline rush that comes after you’re on the ground. It’s very intense. I remember when I got back to my car I noticed I hand the little shakies in my hands.
And that drive home was equally intense. There are definitely stretches of that interstate where I hit well over 100 mph.
But what do you actually do after you skydive? You go back to regular life immediately with all of this adrenaline and nothing to do with it. I’d recommend having something you could use that intensity for afterwards. Maybe a fitness goal or something, but anything that could benefit from that kind of focus and physicality.
After I let everyone know I survived with pictures, the crash later on was well welcomed.
Conclusion
I would never do that again. It was great to do once in this lifetime, but I’m good now. I proved to myself that day that I was both ready and not ready to die. I don’t need to prove it again. At least not in that way.
Even though I wouldn’t go back, I encourage you to consider it. It’ll show you another part of who you are as a person because you won’t be able to fake your way through that response. Jumping out of a fully functional plane will strip a lot of pretenses away from you.