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 Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk |
Finally the time has come, given words of instruction,
mixed with jokes and humor, trying to ease the nervousness. We head out the door, the plane cometh! |
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 All Aboard!!!.... |
I climb the steps, feeling the wash from the prop playing in my hair. It's so loud, the cabin hot, lined with bench seats down each side. Someone jokes about the flight worthiness of the plane, another jokes back, "What are you worried about, your not going to be in it when it lands!" |
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 Up Up and Away.... |
14,000 ft. Doesn't sound so high. Just short of 3 miles! Straight up! It seems to take forever. The air cools quickly as we gain altitude, drying the nervous sweat on my forehead. 14 brave, eccentric souls, joking, yelling, giving thumbs up. Getting antsy as the moment draws near. But there looms one incredible difference in us. They've been there. They know what to expect. I smile at Mandy, seeing her grinning so nervously. The adrenaline is already pumping. So much so it's almost numbing. Removing all but the tiniest bit of fear yet leaving a high of anticipation. I see Mandy cross herself as I had done mere seconds before. |
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 Moment of Truth #1.... |
Poised at the door. The Earth is a patchwork of greens and browns. Assuming the position, it's all happening so quickly. Mike yells out the timing signals.... Ready.... Set..... Go!!!!! and we leap into the wind howling by at 200 mph, falling........ |
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 I'M FALLING!!!!.... | Mandy kept telling me it didn't feel like you were falling. She had talked to someone who had done this before. I don't particularly like the feeling, and was therefore ready to take her name in vain as I certainly did feel like I was falling..... |
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 IM FLYING (part 1)... | Nevertheless, I spread eagle against all instincts. Fighting the want to ball into a fetal position. Holding my arms out, stretching my legs back and up, arching my back as hard as I could.... |
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 IM FLYING (part 2)... | then magic happened! I was FLYING! The feeling of falling disappeared after a couple of short seconds. |
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 IM FLYING (part 3)... | Except for the loud roar of the wind, with it's cold blast against my face, no other senses reported that I was indeed falling back to earth at 125 mph. |
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 IM FLYING (part 4)... | It felt as if I were laying on a soft bed of wind. Bouyed by the force, rocking with each movement. |
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 Time to "Pull the Ripcord"! | Mike (the TandemMaster) pushes my arms against my chest and puts us in a dive...Pull The RIPCORD! |
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 Moment of Truth #2 (will it open?) | Is it over already? Noooo, it's too soon! But it's time for the ultimate test. Counting seconds as I imagine the chute being drug from the pack by the drogue chute. |
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 Victory and Elation, time to look around... | I hear the chute pop and feel the harness pull tight. Slowing from 125 to 25 mph in a flash. Watching Barry (photographer) fall away at the speed of light. Just then, that chute was the most beautiful sight in the world. I've done it! Wow What a view! |
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 Flying Home... | Now for another kind of fun. Gliding under the chute. Unlike the old days... You actually fly these chutes. Mike spins us around and I feel us dive and then pull up, always gliding closer and closer to terra firma. The view was breathtaking. |
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 Soft Landings are good for the legs!... | "Keep your feet up! or you'll end up on the ground with me on top of you", I hear Mike say as we speed along the ground. Just as we start to touch, Mike speaks apologetically, "We might have to run a few steps..". But his touch was perfect. He pulls down on the toggles and gently drops us to the ground. 2 small steps and were down!!! "Can we go again???" |
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