Me falling away from a Cessna
Standing in the doorway of the plane you still feel grounded. The equipment weighs heavily on your back, the floor presses against your feet, and the straps pull on your legs and shoulders. Longing for the freedom of flight, you leap. Ten seconds after leaving the plane the wind supports you, fighting against gravity, holding you at a constant speed.
Baja, Micheal Jernigan, Tracy George, Renaté Di Noia, and Jerry Hoekstra diving from a helicopter
Touching nothing but air you feel the exhilarating rush of adrenaline as you soar through the sky at 120 miles per hour. You are in control; with the slightest movements of your body you alter heading, speed, and position. You and the invisible element seem perfectly in tune yet the thrill of danger sharpens your focus, slows time, and heightens your senses. Your every nerve tingles with excitement. That smooth collage of color miles below may be where you live but this is where you are most alive! For sixty seconds of eternity you are completely free of all worldly concerns; it is just you and the sky.
Santa and his reindeer in freefall
Photo courtesy of
Skydreams Freefall Photography
With only one mile left to fall the land has started moving toward you. You now have a glimmer of the immense speed at which you are traveling. As you fall below four thousand feet the Earth begins to quickly expand, rushing to meet you. Five short seconds later, a scant three thousand feet left, you open that life saving piece of cloth. The mad rush of wind suddenly transforms into the peaceful calm of a parachute ride. Slowly your ears adjust to the new volume and you hear the flapping of that beautiful fabric above your head. Eventually gravity reasserts itself; you are now below two hundred feet and the Earth is charging up, ready to swallow you. At a mere twelve feet, with a pull on the toggles, you slow your descent and gently set your feet on the ground. You have dared to defy gravity and again you have emerged victorious.
Skydive!
Skydiving is one of the most incredible experiences you can have! This section covers everything you need to know in order to start learning to skydive. It also has many stories and photos from experienced divers and students. Go ahead and surf around, you won’t regret it.
If you would like to share your experience, we’d love to hear about it.
Melody’s first tandem skydive
Learning to skydive
– methods, costs, fear, etc.
AFF training stories
Tandem skydive stories
My first solo dive
Jet Jumps
Night Jumps
Skydiving photos
Interesting Data
Quotes
Links to other skydiving sites
To find a drop zone near you, visit the USPA Drop Zone List or check your local Yellow Pages.
Q. What’s the difference between Golf & Skydiving?
A. In Golf , they go WHACK…”Uh-oh!” , in Skydiving, they go “Uh-oh!”…WHACK!
Charles Leeuwenburg and two friends skydiving over the Mexico/USA border south of San Diego
Photo taken by Harvey Tucker
