HISTORY LESSON:  THE BAD OLD DAYS

(DESCRIPTION OF MY FIRST JUMP IN 1978)

    In the beginning, learning to skydive was a very risky proposition.  The only method of instruction was to place the hapless student in a WW II surplus parachute system comprising of a very large harness and container with a low performance round parachute inside.  The emergency reserve (now affectionately referred to as a BELLY WART) was on the front, while the main canopy was on the jumper's back.

    After many hours of training, consisting primarily of lessons on how to deal with emergencies and problems, the student climbed onto the wheel of a Cessna (which may or may NOT  have been locked) and made that leap of faith.

    A static line attached to the plane opened the container and fed the top of the main parachute into the wind.   Likelihood of a malfunction was great.  On landing, proximity to the target was more luck than anything else, and if a proper parachute landing FALL was not performed.... OUCH!

    Over the years, technology changed, and the resulting  highly engineered and reliable parachute systems of today are wonders to behold.  Tandem parachuting, itself, has been going on for over twenty years.  The evolution of tandem systems  has also come a long way since the beginning.

    During a tandem skydive, the student is connected to the front of the  instructor.  The tandem instructor and student are  each wearing a parachute harness.  The student's harness is attached in four places to the front of the instructor's harness; something that easily takes place in the aircraft shortly before time to exit.  The instructor, therefore, wears the student passenger on the front and the main and reserve canopies on his back.

    After leaving the aircraft, the instructor deploys a small round "drogue" parachute to keep the tandem falling at the average freefall rate of approximately 120 mph. (This allows the camera person to stay with the pair throughout the freefall portion.) 

   Tandems fall in a belly to earth position to an altitude between five and six thousand feet above the ground  where the drogue is released.  The drogue, thus, becomes the "pilot chute" that deploys the main canopy. 

   The 120 mph blast of wind is suddenly gone, and the instructor and student can verbally communicate.  Steering the canopy, adjusting the harness for comfort, practicing landing techniques and learning about canopy control all take place during the four to five minute ride to a soft landing ON THE TARGET.

    The resulting adrenaline rush keeps a smile on the new skydiver's face for quite a while.  One single jump will keep those eyes looking skyward for WEEKS afterward!!!

   I jump a Vector Sigma Tandem manufactured in DeLand, Florida, by United Parachute Technologies, LLC,  makers of the parachute systems I have worn for the last twenty six years for my  regular jumps.

Age:    18 minimum (with PROOF)

Weight:    210 pounds maximum. (for me :)

Health:    Jumper will sign a medical statement and identify any infirmities. 

Legal:    An assumption of risk agreement must be signed by the student before the jump. 

Price:    This depends on the number of people in your group.  A deposit will be required to reserve a time slot. The maximum price is $179.00 for an individual.  A video of your jump, shot by a freefalling camera person, is also available for an extra fee.

Fear: None.

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