Finally got the pictures off the disc. Seriously, this was probably the coolest, best, most exciting thing I think I've ever done. I started grinning from the second we got to the airport and didn't stop until I fell asleep on the drive back to Denver.
The rest of the group getting ready for the first jump. Dennis and GoGo went up first and the boys rode the bus out to the landing point. I stayed behind to get geared up for when the plane came back to get me. Then we all took the bus back to repack the chutes so the last two guys could jump.
My instructor/owner of the company, Redeye and myself:
We were taken up to the jump point in this little bitty tin can of a Cessna with "Skydive Kansas" painted on the tail.
So we got to about 9,000 feet up, right in the middle of all the haze from the wildfires burning the state to the ground. Redeye flips open the door and that's the point when it really sinks in that you are about to entrust yourself to a piece of nylon in order to not go bouncing.
Challenge accepted.
I'm loud on a normal basis, doubly so when I get really excited about something (my dog and I really are alike) and the amount of adrenaline I had coursing through my veins was enough to power a rocket to the moon. Translation: They could hear me laughing and shrieking on the ground as soon as we rolled out of the plane.
The concept of time disappeared. I have no idea how long we were in free-fall, other than not quite long enough and then the parachute deployed and the world went silent except for the slight rustle of air around the cords and canopy. And me still laughing at the top of my lungs.
The airspeed is slow enough when gliding that you can take off the goggles and I was given the option of taking control of the toggles and whirling us around for a bit:
If you pull hard enough, you can get a spin going with enough centrifugal force to angle you parallel to the ground below. That was my favorite part out of all my favorite parts:
"I am a leaf on the wind..."
Then I gave the toggles back over and started feeling like I was a superhero or something. Spandex and a code name suddenly seemed like a great idea.
*MORE*