Phew... finally, something worth writing for. Its been so long i had posted something on my blog, feels like it was a decade back. But, this time its really something that needs to be posted.
The story begins in 2011, when i went to the US of A** for the first time. I was there for 3 months and during the last month i came across a Skydiving facility operated fairly close to where i was staying, but it didn't happen then. Then came June 2012, i went to Texas this time, had decided to Skydive this time, did all my research but came back without doing it. Now came Oct 2012, back to Texas... this time i just couldn't come back without doing it. I had planned it well in advance. This is the story of that adventure. The story of 5-10 min of my life, but these 10 mins gave me something for all the years to come...a crazy ass memoir, an experience of a lifetime.
So it was probably 2nd week of Nov, i had booked my dive on Sat. I had to reach the facility by 7.30 am. So I get up at 5, get ready to go, get out of my hotel room, hop inside my car, type in the GPS address... and FCUK... these Skydiving facilities are usually private airports in very remote areas, so GPS probably cant find these, and drving without a GPS in an unknown country is like driving blind. What the hell, i now write down the driving directions (literally, like take left on blah blah street then go 5 miles then take right at T section). I miss one instruction and i go to Neverland... Anywez, like a good old technology unfriendly way, i am now reading a paper for directions while driving on free way looking out for signs and exits. I am now on a gravel road cruising at 50-60 MPH and suddenly a cargo truck is behind me honking hysterically. Its a single lane road so i cant give him a way either, and in all that i see a sign "SkyDiveDallas" pointing right, i take a sharp right and there i go... off the road slamming hard on the breaks... Finally, i reach the place, Sky Dive Dallas, a yellow sign and a red hanger.
Now i go in and register for AFF Level 1 (AFF is when you have your own parachute on your back, the instructors are with you till the time you open the chute, once you open it you are basically on your own. Unlike a Tandem where you are attached to an instructor whole time.). There were 4 other crazy ppl who wanted to do AFF. # of us (including me) were 1st time jumpers. The next few hours are classroom sessions on body position, understanding the gear, EPs, Exit Procs and Hand Signals. I don't know how i still remember all that, but i guess when its your life that's depending on these things your brain makes sure you never forget it (probably its like learning to swim, once you learn it you will never forget).
Its lunch time, winds are blowing at 25 MPH, clouds all over the sky, possibility of a thunderstorm... guess what, no jumps today. I reschedule for next sat.
6.30 am, pen paper driving directions, an hour later i am at the familiar red hanger and i see a plane taking off. Sight of relief, atleast today i m jumping off... i said jumping off, i am not sure about landing back yet (when i had told my plan to a colleague, he had advised me to get an insurance first, and yes that had made me to rethink about what i wanted to do, though only for a moment).
Now, i am all geared up, with a dive suit, a parachute on my back, a helmet and an altimeter on my wrist. And then comes Jeff, my instructor with some kinda heavy belt and straps it to my waist and i get extra 10 lbs around my waist now (some ppl told me that they were surprised that i landed back on earth, they were expecting me to just float up or come back to india after i jumped. Now you know the secret guys).
My videographer then interviews me and we are all set. We do our Exit Procedure one last time and we head to the plane. We get on board ready to roll. We are now climbing up high, really high... we reach 13500 ft and its time....
Jeff and Jackie ask me "Sushant, are you ready to skydive?" "Oh ya" i reply. We now move to the door, the videographer is already out hanging on to the plane from outside. Now i start my Exit Procedure, I am right beside the door, i can hear nothing but the wind gushing... whoooshhhhhh, and then i start
CHECK IN - clear - CHECK OUT - clear
A pause now, i breathe...
UP - DOWN - ARCHHHHH
and i step outside, its funny, in a Sky dive u dont actually dive or jump out of a plane, u step out of a plane, just step out
Me, Jeff and Jackie, we are now in a free fall, i am all arched chin up looking at the sky, i have no idea how its looking down there, i neither have time nor the senses to think about how the world might be looking from that high, i am now doing my procedures,like a programmed robot
I start my Circle of Awareness, i look left first AND.... what the heck, i dont see anyone by my side, Jackie was supposed to be there giving me a thumbs up, oh no, bit this is not the time to panic, i now check my right, thankfully Jeff gives me a thumbs up there, now i check the horizon then my altimeter. Then i do my practice touches. And now suddenly, Jackie is circling us, there she comes and catches me from left. 2nd circle of awareness. And now its time for some fun, i can now look around, wave for the camera.
(People ask me, dont you get scared looking at the ground from that high?, well ppl, you dont have time to look around when you jump, you are so busy trying to save your life that u dont think about looking around. Skydiving for the 1st time is not as cool as a picnic trip. The whole time you are only thinking about executing your procedures in a free fall and u are all arched up, so you dont get to see much till the time you get stable.
Anywez, now i m doing short circles, checking my altimeter constantly, i reach 6000 ft, thats the time to lock on, hold on guys, here i wave, SIGN OFF and PULL
I see a small pilot chute shooting up, a jerk and Jackie and Jeff let me go. I go on to my S checks now. I see a good canopy overhead, i release the breaks go into full flight, i check to see if i can steer the canopy. Good to go, but still at this point i can't say i have survived a Sky dive. They say, you survive a skydive when you land. You might survive a free fall and get a smooth canopy over your head, but if you land on a power cable, all those efforts can go for a roast.
I am now trying to identify the red hanger and my landing point. By the time i locate it, i am already half way down. I am damn sure by now that i cant reach there for landing. So i decide to land mid way. I thought i would get some time during the parachute ride to have a look around, but all of it happens so quick. Never underestimate the gravitational force i say. I am heading right for the power cables now... i dont want to go home as if i just came out of a toaster, luckily i land midway of a fenced area, i roll and thats it. I can now say that i have survived it, and i see a dog cart coming my way to pick me up.
As they say, a long walk is better than a short ambulance ride.
The story begins in 2011, when i went to the US of A** for the first time. I was there for 3 months and during the last month i came across a Skydiving facility operated fairly close to where i was staying, but it didn't happen then. Then came June 2012, i went to Texas this time, had decided to Skydive this time, did all my research but came back without doing it. Now came Oct 2012, back to Texas... this time i just couldn't come back without doing it. I had planned it well in advance. This is the story of that adventure. The story of 5-10 min of my life, but these 10 mins gave me something for all the years to come...a crazy ass memoir, an experience of a lifetime.
So it was probably 2nd week of Nov, i had booked my dive on Sat. I had to reach the facility by 7.30 am. So I get up at 5, get ready to go, get out of my hotel room, hop inside my car, type in the GPS address... and FCUK... these Skydiving facilities are usually private airports in very remote areas, so GPS probably cant find these, and drving without a GPS in an unknown country is like driving blind. What the hell, i now write down the driving directions (literally, like take left on blah blah street then go 5 miles then take right at T section). I miss one instruction and i go to Neverland... Anywez, like a good old technology unfriendly way, i am now reading a paper for directions while driving on free way looking out for signs and exits. I am now on a gravel road cruising at 50-60 MPH and suddenly a cargo truck is behind me honking hysterically. Its a single lane road so i cant give him a way either, and in all that i see a sign "SkyDiveDallas" pointing right, i take a sharp right and there i go... off the road slamming hard on the breaks... Finally, i reach the place, Sky Dive Dallas, a yellow sign and a red hanger.
Now i go in and register for AFF Level 1 (AFF is when you have your own parachute on your back, the instructors are with you till the time you open the chute, once you open it you are basically on your own. Unlike a Tandem where you are attached to an instructor whole time.). There were 4 other crazy ppl who wanted to do AFF. # of us (including me) were 1st time jumpers. The next few hours are classroom sessions on body position, understanding the gear, EPs, Exit Procs and Hand Signals. I don't know how i still remember all that, but i guess when its your life that's depending on these things your brain makes sure you never forget it (probably its like learning to swim, once you learn it you will never forget).
Its lunch time, winds are blowing at 25 MPH, clouds all over the sky, possibility of a thunderstorm... guess what, no jumps today. I reschedule for next sat.
6.30 am, pen paper driving directions, an hour later i am at the familiar red hanger and i see a plane taking off. Sight of relief, atleast today i m jumping off... i said jumping off, i am not sure about landing back yet (when i had told my plan to a colleague, he had advised me to get an insurance first, and yes that had made me to rethink about what i wanted to do, though only for a moment).
Now, i am all geared up, with a dive suit, a parachute on my back, a helmet and an altimeter on my wrist. And then comes Jeff, my instructor with some kinda heavy belt and straps it to my waist and i get extra 10 lbs around my waist now (some ppl told me that they were surprised that i landed back on earth, they were expecting me to just float up or come back to india after i jumped. Now you know the secret guys).
My videographer then interviews me and we are all set. We do our Exit Procedure one last time and we head to the plane. We get on board ready to roll. We are now climbing up high, really high... we reach 13500 ft and its time....
Jeff and Jackie ask me "Sushant, are you ready to skydive?" "Oh ya" i reply. We now move to the door, the videographer is already out hanging on to the plane from outside. Now i start my Exit Procedure, I am right beside the door, i can hear nothing but the wind gushing... whoooshhhhhh, and then i start
Right Foot - Left Foot - Right Hand - Left Hand
- Head Out - Knees Out - Back Straight
CHECK IN - clear - CHECK OUT - clear
A pause now, i breathe...
UP - DOWN - ARCHHHHH
and i step outside, its funny, in a Sky dive u dont actually dive or jump out of a plane, u step out of a plane, just step out
Me, Jeff and Jackie, we are now in a free fall, i am all arched chin up looking at the sky, i have no idea how its looking down there, i neither have time nor the senses to think about how the world might be looking from that high, i am now doing my procedures,like a programmed robot
I start my Circle of Awareness, i look left first AND.... what the heck, i dont see anyone by my side, Jackie was supposed to be there giving me a thumbs up, oh no, bit this is not the time to panic, i now check my right, thankfully Jeff gives me a thumbs up there, now i check the horizon then my altimeter. Then i do my practice touches. And now suddenly, Jackie is circling us, there she comes and catches me from left. 2nd circle of awareness. And now its time for some fun, i can now look around, wave for the camera.
(People ask me, dont you get scared looking at the ground from that high?, well ppl, you dont have time to look around when you jump, you are so busy trying to save your life that u dont think about looking around. Skydiving for the 1st time is not as cool as a picnic trip. The whole time you are only thinking about executing your procedures in a free fall and u are all arched up, so you dont get to see much till the time you get stable.
Anywez, now i m doing short circles, checking my altimeter constantly, i reach 6000 ft, thats the time to lock on, hold on guys, here i wave, SIGN OFF and PULL
I see a small pilot chute shooting up, a jerk and Jackie and Jeff let me go. I go on to my S checks now. I see a good canopy overhead, i release the breaks go into full flight, i check to see if i can steer the canopy. Good to go, but still at this point i can't say i have survived a Sky dive. They say, you survive a skydive when you land. You might survive a free fall and get a smooth canopy over your head, but if you land on a power cable, all those efforts can go for a roast.
I am now trying to identify the red hanger and my landing point. By the time i locate it, i am already half way down. I am damn sure by now that i cant reach there for landing. So i decide to land mid way. I thought i would get some time during the parachute ride to have a look around, but all of it happens so quick. Never underestimate the gravitational force i say. I am heading right for the power cables now... i dont want to go home as if i just came out of a toaster, luckily i land midway of a fenced area, i roll and thats it. I can now say that i have survived it, and i see a dog cart coming my way to pick me up.
As they say, a long walk is better than a short ambulance ride.
