2006 Reports
Last updated: Monday, 28 May, 2007Friends, Parachutes and Hunky Skydivers (A Lack Of!!)
Event: Sponsored Tandem Skydive
Time: 8:15am
Date: Saturday, 24 September 2006
Venue: Hinton Skydiving Centre
I had made up my mind to have a go at Skydiving, well a tandem skydive anyway, for charity. This was a sort of whim and on the spur of the moment decision and also one of those ‘what I’d like to do’ things before I get too old/die etc… So on the morning of the 24th September I was travelling with a friend to Hinton Skydiving Centre. The weather was bad, it was dark, misty and raining, all in all, not good jumping prospects. Not to be put off, we drove to the airfield and parked the car.
I was constantly being asked if 1) was I ok? 2) was I feeling nervous yet? I was actually feeling very excited, not sure why, the thought of jumping out of a perfectly good, working plane, albeit attached to someone, was not bothering me at all. How was I supposed to be feeling? I don’t know. I had to register and pay any monies that were due and then there was a long wait. One thing that I requested as I was registering was that I wanted to ‘vet’ the instructors, coz, I didn’t want to be strapped to just anyone, I wanted a really hunky instructor! I’m not sure why, but they just laughed and said ‘oh well another disappointed girl then’! The only one that looked like a surfing type, therefore good looking, ended up being a smoker, which put me off immediately. Sorry, but it did.
The guys at the centre were reassuring everyone that although the weather was bad, the forecast was that it was gonna clear up and that everyone should be able to jump today. Oh goody, I thought. We had our brief briefing and then it was another long wait. The weather did clear up and the sky was a lovely blue. I was in the last group that was to jump, but the first in that group to jump. My instructor was called Dave (– far too many of them around!), he was brilliant, massive, made me look like a real shrimp. Ok, ok, I am small, I know. We joked and talked all way to the plane.
Things got quite cozy in the plane & I mean cozy, how to get to know a stranger fast, just sit on their lap before exiting a plane!!! The green light went on and before I knew it we were out, free falling at 120 miles an hour!!! It was like nothing I’d experienced before, I know that sounds lame but it was just brilliant, exhilarating just doesn’t cover it.
After a few minutes the main chute was opened and we were floating down, I was given the controls and we went to the left and circled and then straightened up and then we went to the right and circled. When it was time to land I adopted the correct position, legs bent and upto the chest and then as the ground got nearer, our feet touched, perfect landing, no problem.
It was a wonderful day and one I would do again, given the chance. Thank you to everyone who sponsored me. I have received a thank you letter from the Alzheimers Society, saying that that the total sponsorship was £465.
Rosalind Knopp