I got to the airstrip at 9 AM to fill out papers, watch a video and get suited up. Around 10:30 or so, we boarded the plane to climb up to 13,000 ft. The guy I was going tandem with was pretty cool. He had a Fu Manchu style moustache and had made over 6,000 jumps in his life. Before we went up, he already had 4 under his belt for the day!
As the plane kept climbing higher and higher, I was getting more nervous, thinking WHAT AM I DOING!? I got the photo/video package, so the video guys were in the plane with us trying to ease our nerves. My videographer told me that not going to church today was the worst possible day in your life not to haha!
When we finally got up to altitude, I was the first to go. My instructor connected my harness to him and gave me a few instructions. We inched towards the open door and looked down. My legs were a little locked, but on the count of three, we were gone!
The fall lasted 50 seconds, but seemed to go really fast. The wind was so intense that it was hard to realize how high you were. After giving a thumbs up, yawning, and giving some gang signs to the videographer, my instructor pulled the rip cord.
Things calmed down quickly and we floated slowly towards our landing spot. After the parachute deployed, my instructor told me it was twisted. So, he had me put my arms out so the wind would push us around like a swing. It didn't take long and it was untangled. He told me after that happens 1 in about 100 and one time he had to actually cut the parachute away and use the backup because the guy he was with locked up and wasn't able to follow instructions.
The ride down lasted about 4 minutes. My instructor told me what to do for the landing - lift my legs up, point my toes and we'll land on our butts. As we were landing, I gave the videographer a high-five. We made a soft landing and that was that. I had gone skydiving!! My instructor told me, you now have more takeoffs in a plane than landings :)
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