I am alive ....
I did my first skydiving today in Phoenix, Arizona. My friends were busy with many other things so I drove alone and went to the place and got into the mood. I was pretty excited to do it, who doesn't ! Some one I met on the plane asked "Why does a man jump from a perfectly normal plane ?". I answered beacause he can ! This experience turned out to be just that.
I was expecting some fear, some adventure ! I went up on the plane which was not so great in shape, one would really want to be jumping off that plane if he wants to be safe :D. Went to a height of 10000 ft. I was hoping I would go even higher of 13000 which was the number said, but then the clause of conditions permitting always washes away the requirement ! At this height I could see the ground with buildings as toys. I have seen this before when I did my glider experiments as a part of my undergraduate program at Kanpur Aerospace Lab. The instructor asked me to put my legs off the plane and leave them in the air and we jump ! I dont even remember if I had some sense of hesitation. I didnt feel scared at all ! If you are not scared what is the fun !!! I was falling, real real fast but no fear ! I see the ground closing in but then it was way too far away for me to have a fear ! I was spinning, yet no fear. Then this free fall lasted only about 30 sec may be! I want to fall for like 15 minutes ! I guess they would have to drop me from a satellite for such a thing !
For all first time jumpers, guys if you are scared a bit about jumping off planes then do skydiving, if you have never been in air before in a small plane, you should try it once. In my opinion skydiving with the instructor is no fun. May be at some point in time I will get certified and do jumps alone and then may be I will find some adventure. I feel I had more adrenalin rush and adventurous feeling when I had my pictures taken with the Boa, than skydiving ! What a boring and dissapointing end to a over publicized and over thought act !
I hope Bunjee Jump might be better, but then this has to wait till I get lot more important things taken care of here in life ...
May be I was expecting something like the video of Afro Celt Sound System, where the guy keeps falling and falling. It just wasnt so !
I was expecting some fear, some adventure ! I went up on the plane which was not so great in shape, one would really want to be jumping off that plane if he wants to be safe :D. Went to a height of 10000 ft. I was hoping I would go even higher of 13000 which was the number said, but then the clause of conditions permitting always washes away the requirement ! At this height I could see the ground with buildings as toys. I have seen this before when I did my glider experiments as a part of my undergraduate program at Kanpur Aerospace Lab. The instructor asked me to put my legs off the plane and leave them in the air and we jump ! I dont even remember if I had some sense of hesitation. I didnt feel scared at all ! If you are not scared what is the fun !!! I was falling, real real fast but no fear ! I see the ground closing in but then it was way too far away for me to have a fear ! I was spinning, yet no fear. Then this free fall lasted only about 30 sec may be! I want to fall for like 15 minutes ! I guess they would have to drop me from a satellite for such a thing !
For all first time jumpers, guys if you are scared a bit about jumping off planes then do skydiving, if you have never been in air before in a small plane, you should try it once. In my opinion skydiving with the instructor is no fun. May be at some point in time I will get certified and do jumps alone and then may be I will find some adventure. I feel I had more adrenalin rush and adventurous feeling when I had my pictures taken with the Boa, than skydiving ! What a boring and dissapointing end to a over publicized and over thought act !
I hope Bunjee Jump might be better, but then this has to wait till I get lot more important things taken care of here in life ...
May be I was expecting something like the video of Afro Celt Sound System, where the guy keeps falling and falling. It just wasnt so !
I saw the video I had got taken at the skydiving place and I feel it is soooooo embarrassing. I dont like the way I look with that extra wide angle lens on the camera, and also my actions look soo odd. No style to it.. Or may be I am too much of a perfectionist and hence don't like the ordinary me? What ever it is, I have just put together the video, mixed up some music. I was smiling and giggling on the way down on the jump! I guess it could have been the drag chute which is left so that the jumper and the instructor are stabilized in the fall that would have spoilt the real "free fall". The more I think I about it, I find it very much not gratifying. I have strongly decided, if I ever jump again, I will make sure I have the instructions on how to use and parachute and jump alone, make a couple of spins in the air, some aerobatics and then open the chute. I saw when I was up in the air, some deep circular valley with a water body, looked like the valley of gold from "Mechanas Gold". It would be real fun driving down into that valley :D May be sometime when I visit Arizona again, hopefully not alone.
