As Spuds and I hit speeds of over 100 miles per hour, neither of the guys following us seemed able to overtake. It was a perfect day, bright sunshine, warm temperatures and not a cloud in the sky. At just over 10,000 feet we were still lower than parts of the Leadville race course but altitude issues weren’t going to spoil today’s outing!
Had the gentlemen following managed to pass us there would have been a serious problem, as we were intentionally strapped to them to experience the thrill of a tandem sky dive jump!
Casting aside suspicious thoughts as to why our wives had purchased one way plane tickets under the pretence of birthday gifts, we were dressed in trendy jump suits and fitted with harnesses that looked able to perform instant castration if adjusted incorrectly. For some strange reason Spuds, the taller of the two was given a jump suit that reached half way down his calf, while the legs on mine were about 6 inches too long.
The drill for the jump was to stay relaxed about being fixed tightly to a man we’d never met before and when the time came to shuffle (with a smile) towards the plane door. The legs were to be curled out of the door and under the plane, while the hands were clasped to the shoulder straps and the head pushed back (the objective was to quickly get into an efficient areodynamic position once airbourne), the instructor would rock back and forth a couple of times counting down to the moment when we’d both leave the aircraft.
By the time it was our turn to jump, we were at about 10,500 feet and two solo parachutists had already exited. In the few seconds before instructor eases you clear from the plane, you’re literally hanging out of the aircraft held only by the straps connecting you to the person behind. Then you go.
I had made a deliberate decision to keep my eyes open and as we sumasault the plane appeared above briefly before we righted and the ground loomed below. There wasn’t a perception of falling but the wind noise was very loud and once the instructor confirmed his safety checks he signaled to relax the arms into a classic free fall pose. We dropped approximately 6,000 feet in around 30 seconds before the chute was deployed. There was a tug as the chute opened, an obvious closs of speed and the wind noise disappeared; the sensation of being suspended so high above the ground was amazing. We drifted down doing a few cartwheel turns before landing on the grass landing strip.
What an experience!
Tandem sky dives can be experienced via this web site: www.skydivect.com
CRAAAAAAAAAAZY!!!!
Congratulations to Spuds and Mr. Bimble on their safe return to earth!
Congratulations(?) as well to Chipper and Guthrie on the safe return of their husbands. That WAS the objective, right?
Finally, a course that really was downhill all the way. Speaking of which, if Downhill should watch this video, perhaps even she will see the wisdom in sometimes reducing one’s speed when descending!