Un saut de parachute: Les 60 minutes avant 60 secondes d’éternité! – Partie 2

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

Have you read the first part? Start by reading about preparing for a parachute jump !

“ At that moment, 50,000 things were going through my head. My heart started beating very fast. I felt a mixture of fear and excitement. I was eager and not eager at the same time. My thoughts were tugging at each other!” 

To calm myself down a bit , I look out the window; the scenery is magnificent! At 2,500 feet, I hear the clinking of seatbelts being unbuckled. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the instructors attaching the first part of their tandem client’s parachute harness. Meanwhile, I’m locating the drop zone and trying not to lose sight of it…

During the ascent, I practice relaxation techniques (yeah, right!) and visualize my jump again. Every now and then, I check my altimeter to see how high we’ve reached. Around 8,000 feet, a certified instructor checks my parachute for a third time… I, meanwhile, double-check my handles in order.

Stress begins to build on the plane , and to release it, people let out shouts of joy… The instructors chat with their passengers; I can hear them reassuring them and going over the procedure for their jump. They finish fastening and tightening the harnesses securely. I always have a special affection for tandem jumpers, those about to experience their first parachute jump … I like to exchange a few words with them during this suspended moment in time.

The nervousness of the final seconds before the jump

Between 11,000 and 12,000 feet, it’s time for the ritual… The handshake exchanged between the skydivers to wish each other a good jump! I feel a great sense of pride to be « part » of the group!

Then comes (finally? Hmmm…) the fateful moment! The pilot shouts “  2 minutes! ”… Oh dear. This is the point of no return! Everything is happening very fast and very slow at the same time. The red light comes on, meaning “Open the door”… I hear the sound of the wind and the engines taking up all the space, the plane is rocking slightly from side to side, I feel the cold and I can’t sit still. My turn is coming and I’ll have to get out of the plane: I’m tempted and I’m not anymore… Damn, what am I doing here? Why am I doing this?

Then the green light comes on… This is where it’s happening, time to get out! I see the first skydiver leap out of the gate. My heart is pounding in my chest ! Today, we have to jump with 7 seconds between each person (or group). No more messing around! No turning back.

After them, it’s MY turn! I stand up, still crouching, my legs all weak, and settle myself in front of the door. Strangely, I’m afraid of falling out of the plane … Well, yes! Apparently that’s normal for a baby bird!

I glance knowingly at the tandem passenger next to me. I grin from ear to ear and try to give her a little boost of courage! I look down, searching for the landing strip, which is now the size of an ant, all while counting (one thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three… one thousand and seven)… READY… SET… GO!!!!!!!

Freefall: Finally free from fear!

That’s it! It’s at this precise moment that I launch myself! I am in the void between the sky and the earth! I watch the plane slowly disappear into the distance.

It creates a mountain of wind in its wake, and I position myself in it (« Arch, arch, arch! » I repeat to myself). Then? I relax. Yes, I swear! The fear stayed on the plane. It’s really (and I mean really) everything written above that’s the worst part… Once airborne, I float and I’m having a blast. Indeed, at that point, it’s the adrenaline that controls everything! I’m having fun: I’m making turns, I’m watching the clouds on the horizon… It’s an incredible feeling!

After each maneuver, I check my altimeter, because I’m falling at nearly 230 km/h. Then, after about a minute, it’s time to open my parachute… Another adrenaline rush. I can’t wait to see that everything is okay… The deployment takes a few seconds.

Once the parachute is fully open , it’s pure bliss in a disorienting silence. I’m still having fun in the sky, but in a different way than freefall: turns, spins. I keep my bearings on the landing field where I’ll begin my circuit and on the other parachutes enjoying themselves in the sky. Somewhere above my head, the tandem passengers are also floating: on the wind and their emotions!

I start my circuit and land gently on the grass, with a big smile on my face and letting out a loud shout of joy!!!

WHAT PRIDE!!!!!

I gather my parachute and, walking across the field, I see the woman I was smiling at on the plane jump into her boyfriend’s arms. Other passengers land gently on their bottoms around them (as planned for tandem jumps). I leave my canopy with the packers, fill out and get my logbook signed… Then I go back to make my presence known!

It’s hard to describe what’s happening inside me… It’s the perfect balance where I feel in harmony with my inner self. A moment where the sensations I experience are a perfect sample of the entire range of emotions a human being can experience !

After thinking about it carefully, and to answer my friend Lizanne’s question, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the adrenaline that does all the work. Once you learn to overcome fear , you discover inner resources you never knew you had. Once you’ve succeeded, once you’ve landed… you just want to experience that feeling of being in the sky again and again…