I made the decision at our last work conference to set myself a goal of doing something that was a challenge for me, or at least new. Jumping out of a plane was one such experience. This is how it went.
Sunday morning, Wollongong, 14º, sunny.
I arrived at the jump spot at 8am, I checked in, signed the waiver and then headed outside to get my gear. There was a young couple there, she had jumped, he hadn’t. He was nervous. The rest of the jumpers trickled in, there were nine of us in total. I was waiting for nerves, or fear to kick in but they never did. I was just calm and if I’m honest, a little impatient.
We met our instructors, and they were exactly as you would imagine – confident, ready for a chat and eager to see how we were as a group of jumpers… panicked, scared, stressed. They have a couple of minutes to assess your state so they can plan their dive. Big job. He asked me what the occasion was. I said, “We’re going to be dead soon, so why not!” We did a little five minute safety talk (yep, just five) and then we were off.
We got into the plane and they pulled a plastic roller door down over the gaping hole where the door should have been. See-through plastic. At this time, none of us were strapped to our instructors and when he strapped me in, I felt a whole lot better. One lady was giving her instructor instructions about which side was her good side for the video, what scenery she wanted included…nothing about a safe dive – just the video.
When it was my turn, we scooted to the door, sitting on the floor, legs being sucked out and then we just went. Free fall out of a plane. It is kind of hard to describe because there are a few things going on – you are plummeting to the earth at a great rate of knots, your skin feels like it is trying to wrap itself around your head, you are processing that you have just jumped out of a plane and you are seeing the world from above. My instructor had us spinning left and right and it was unbelievable, the adrenaline rush was insane.
Then he pulled the chute and we jerked up, just a bit. My skin came back to where it should be, I took off the goggles and realised I was literally just hanging there, falling and hanging in the sky. What? Time went from fast forward to slow motion. I could see everything. I was looking at everything. The beach, ocean, buildings, houses and all that I could think of was how it felt to be so far above, so free, so calm. My instructor gave me control of the chute, coached me through making turns and then I did it. What a feeling.
Time sped up one more time as we came in to land. It really does feel like slow motion and then suddenly the ground is rushing up to meet you. An easy landing, sliding on your bum and you are done.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. It was the single most amazing thing I have done to date. I gave myself a challenge and I did it and it feels amazing.
What challenge could you set for yourself? What would get you out of your comfort zone?
Check out other articles Cassie has written here.