Tandem Skydiving; Your First Parachute Jump - Part Three
A Four Part Series:
*1 Arrival & Sign-up
*2 Preparation
*3 The Plane
*4 Freefall & Landing
Part Three: The Skydiving Plane
When it is time to load the plane with skydivers, you will stay
next to your instructor. Do not walk away from your instructor.
The loading area has moving aircraft. The plane's propellers
will be spinning and are difficult to see. The human body will
loose any battle with a spinning airplane propeller.
After you get into the plane your instructor will have you put
on a seat belt. After the plane is in the air your instructor
will tell you when to take off your seat belt. You are now on
your way to making your first skydive! As you are flying to
altitude you may experience some pressure in your ears. If you
do, take your thumb and index finger and squeeze gently on your
nose, closing off the passages in your nose, and then blow out
gently. This should relieve the pressure in your ears.
Oh by the way, the most Important Thing To Remember is "Have
Fun". You are going to make a tandem skydive - this is supposed
to be fun!! You can have fun on the plane - laugh, geek the
cameraperson, whatever, or just sit there quietly and wait for
your instructor to tell you what to do next. Either is cool.
Jump altitude is usually 10,000 feet to 13,500 feet. When it is
time to jump, your instructor will hook up your harness and tell
you what to do. Jump run is when the approaching the point where
you will jump from the airplane. When you are on jump run
someone will open the door, it will get loud and noisy to you.