Not me in the picture, just wanted something to break-up the text. This is what a level 1 jump should look like:
Since this was my first jump and I was doing it solo (after much instruction a few weeks ago), I had to have two instructors jump with me (only by my side, nothing securing me to them). It takes awhile to free up two instructors, so I ended up waiting around the drop zone for several hours, even though I had been on a 7am train out of London and showed up to the drop zone around 8:30 or so.
Around 1:30pm, my lift number was finally up. We went through some last minute briefing and equipment checks. I'm cool as a cucumber at this point. Just excited. Plane pulls up, about 9 or 10 of us pile in and clip in to the restraint cables (in case the plane experienced an issue below our viable jump altitude of 5k feet). It's a single engine prop plane with all the seats pulled out and a garage door-style jump door behind the left wing. I am closest to the pilot with my two instructors on either side, so we will be last out of the door.
At 13k feet, they open the door and a 4 way jump goes (4 jumpers doing a formation during free fall = pretty neat). Then another level 1 jumper and his two instructors and then its my turn. Again, I am totally calm getting in the door, checking that we are good to go and leaving the door. In my excitement to jump, I was a little aggressive with the actual jump. It was more of a leap than a step out. I guess I wanted to make sure I went and the adrenaline had kicked in.
The first two seconds out the door might be the largest sensory overload I have ever experienced. You go from being stable in a cramped airplane to falling at 120 mph with the world flying at you. You know that feeling at the top of a roller-coaster when you start to accelerate? Triple that and add the wind sounding like a freight train and not having any sense of perspective as to how quickly you are falling. Oh, and you are supposed to be following procedure. So, yeah, its a little much!
Because of my over-zealous leap and not immediately assuming a good arch position, we started an unstable roll (ass over elbows and side to side). The two instructors try to keep a hand on me, but one of them flies off during the tumble. I realize what is happening and remember to arch hard and recover stability. I was surprised by how calm I was in going through my jump sequence after the initial chaos (checking altimeter and reporting altitudes to one instructor and responding to any hand signals to adjust my position).
In something that looked like it was straight out of an action movie, I look to my right and see the previously lost instructor calmly tracking back to us (brings his arms by his side and essentially flies like a cruise missile). He resumes position and I begin my three practice pulls (touch the primary toggle without pulling it out). While doing my practice pull, the secondary instructor loses me again and the primary and I begin spinning. At this point, the primary instructor (both instructors were about 150 pounds, which contributed to some of our problems as I naturally free fall faster than they do) decides she has had enough and on my second practice pull, she has me deploy canopy. We were near the correct altitude anyway at 6k feet. All of this has happened within about 20-30 seconds.
After doing my deployment checks and control checks (remember no instructors near once I have deployed), I locate the in-air holding area and then the drop zone and use the steering toggles to guide my way there for a relatively well controlled landing. All is well, but I am pretty sure I could have lifted a school bus with the adrenaline that was going through me.
It was clear that I wouldn't be able to jump again as the sun goes down at 4pm here this time of year, so I grabbed my stuff and caught a cab to the train station. About 2 hours after jumping out of the plane, I am back in London and crashing hard from the adrenaline wearing off. A few good steaks and a beer with some college football and I fell asleep on the couch.
Sunday was typical: church, gym, errands and video games. Certainly not as exciting as the previous 24 hours.
As unpredictable as the weather is here, it might be more trouble than its worth to pursue full certification for skydiving while I'm here, but it is definitely something I might do once back in warmer climates. I would recommend that anyone and everyone at least try a tandem or static line jump if they don't want to do a true freefall for their first jump. The experience is pretty hard to describe.
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