Tuesday, July 29, 2014

We had a great time

Vlad and Terry in the airplane
On Sunday, the skydive that Terry had scheduled at Skydive Snohomish was finally accomplished! Last Sunday, when she first scheduled, was canceled due to weather, but the skies this past weekend were blue both days! Since Terry works five days a week, it had to be on the weekend, and I decided to just make the one jump and drive down with her. We headed off for Snohomish an hour earlier than we had to, because we were both a little on the anxious side. Me more than her, it seemed.
Terry signing her life away
She breezed through the long waiver she had to sign and watched the 30-minute video. Then the entire class of twenty lay down on the floor to practice the arch position while an instructor watched. We were in the first airplane out of three scheduled for the class. While she did all that, I got my gear ready, so I could jump out with her under my own parachute.
Vlad dressing Terry with the jumpsuit and harness
And off we went in the airplane. There were five people getting out in front of us, so Terry watched them as they seemed to just disappear when they leapt out of the plane. (I remember how scary that was for me the first time.) And then she was moved to the door by Vlad, her instructor, and THEN she got scared. But by that time, there was nothing to do but just jump. They went, and I left a fraction of a second before them, having climbed outside the plane.
Vlad took this picture with a camera on his left wrist
That is me flying in to take a grip on Terry's hand. She was so overwhelmed by the experience (naturally) that I took Vlad's hand instead and moved it over to Terry's. As you can see from the expression on her face, she was otherwise occupied looking at the ground. We are in freefall, and that is the drogue chute's line above the tandem parachute. It slows down the two of them to normal freefall speed. Tandems also need to open a couple thousand feet higher than individual skydivers, so they got under a parachute while I continued to fall for a few seconds longer. That meant I would land before them and get a picture of their landing.
Here they come!
I was able to grab my camera out of my jumpsuit and get this picture of them as they came in to land. They are only a few seconds from landing, and that was a piece of cake, with Vlad as the instructor. (He only has around 9,000 tandem skydives under his belt.)
Touchdown!
Terry simply sat down when she landed. You can see that Vlad actually stood up as they came in. You can also see the drogue chute and the parachute are still inflated. I was just a hair behind on capturing the actual landing. After all this, we walked back to the staging area and Terry was given a certificate of accomplishment, as well as taking off the harness and jumpsuit. I had to get my own parachute packed up before we could leave for home, but we were done with the "bucket list" experience that Terry wanted to rack up. She did great, but she said she doesn't think she would do it again. The freefall part was way more overwhelming than she expected. I know all about that feeling; it was what made me go again and again.

With that behind us, we drove north for the 75-mile trip back home, and me in the car with a fellow skydiver! We really had fun, and I hope maybe sometime this year I'll get a chance to do this with another friend who turns from a whuffo (someone who has never jumped) to a skydiver!
:-)

23 comments:

  1. ha. good on her...smiling at the overhwelming feel of freefall...think i might fall into that feel as well...when (if) i do it...ha...err...whew...ok, if she can i can right? oy...ha

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  2. So glad that everything went well and Terry was able to check that off her bucket list. And the weather looks like it was perfect for sky diving... so clear!

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  3. this is something I've wanted to do all my life but no longer have the guts. Plus, with both hips replaced & my knee replaced I don't think my docs would recommend. It does sound heavenly and scary at the same time.

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  4. Glad you had such a wonderful time!

    Blessings and Bear hugs!

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  5. that's just awesome! good for her! i plan to be a whuffo for the rest of my life. :)

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  6. Way to go gals! IF skydiving were on my bucket list I would want it to be with you! However getting on a step ladder is about as high as I go. You got some great shots:)

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  7. Wow my heart is beating faster just looking at the pictures !
    What daredevils you are :)
    I can only imagine the exhilaration.
    Congratulations Terry !
    ~Jo

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  8. Wow, exciting! One question: Why do you wear a helmet when you're skydiving. I mean, what good would it do?

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  9. What a good friend to not only go with her for support but to take pictures of the event.
    That had to take a bunch of nerve on her part.
    I've checked my bucket list and that is no where on it. My bonnet is off to you both.

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  10. Nope, still not adding it to my bucket list...

    But YAY for Terry! And, give her my best wishes for her birthday & my congrats for crossing that off her bucket list.

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  11. Good on her - and you.
    Not something I plan for but the freedom of the skies would be exhilerating.

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  12. Oh my.. good for Terry. I can feel the anxiety creeping in just reading about it and looking at the photos. I am glad for her and thrilled for you that you enjoy jumping so much, and that you captured some fine images. But I'll be joining TexWisWuffo in keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground. I. Do. Not. Like. Heights!

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  13. Oh, my goodness...you are the bravest woman I know. Heights are not me. But I certainly glad you are enjoying yourself.

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  14. This must have been really cool to jump with a friend doing a celebration. More people should jump. I think the experience would give people much more confidence in many ways.

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  15. You are a good friend to make the day about her and her experience. I suspect you would like to get back up there and get in a couple of jumps next time. this coming weekend just might give you the opportunity.
    I don't have a bucket list. Should I?

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  16. That was a lot of fun to read. I don't think I will attempt such a thing, though. Lol.

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  17. Looks like fantastic weather!! I especially enjoyed the photo taken from his wrist. What a great one.

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  18. You and Terry could be sisters! And now you have one more thing in common. Good for both of you.

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  19. She was only sitting? I would have been flat our kissing the ground! LOL!
    Glad it went so well and you had perfect weather. :)

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  20. Wow, great photos! As a sadge, I can see how the freefall would appeal to you!

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  21. Hi DJan, This is just a great story and the pictures are awesome. I sure admire you guys for doing this but I just don't think I can do it. Ha ha. Anyway, I sure want to thank you for your kind comment on John's Island. That is interested that we both started blogging about the same time. I have been watching your other blog but not this one, will have to follow both now! Take care and have a great day. John

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  22. Congratulations to Terry.
    For some reason (fear of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane) that is not on my bucket list.

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