I was recently contacted by an old friend on FaceBook. While we were catching up I told him I was about to skydive for the first time. He was very excited because he has been wanting to do it for many years. As we traded messages back and forth I was even more encouraged to dive.
My phone and email have been blowing up with my friends asking me how the dive went. Instead of telling the same story repeatedly I decided to post my letter to Mike. His first jump will be July 11, so he wanted all the details.
"I don't want to influence your experience by giving you too many details. It will be different for everyone. As you know, I fear many things so it was a very big deal for me. I had little sleep the night before and the drive was nerve racking. I went to Skydive Dallas. It is located 1hr north of McKinney. From the first phone call I made to them I could tell they were an organized operation. I highly recommend them to anyone considering doing this.
Upon arrival I checked in and signed many pages of legal documents. They all basically said they would not be held liable if something happened. There were six other first time divers checking in.
We went into a small room and watched a short video showing us how to arch and various ways of landing depending upon the instructor and wind. Then we went to the hanger. Our names were placed on a dry erase board and we were assigned a dive number along with an instructor and photographer. About 30mins prior to take off we put on jumpsuits and our individual instructors gave us instructions and fitted us with the equipment. The photographer interviewed us on camera and took pictures. It was a hot day and the suit was heavy with the equipment. I am only 5'2" and 120lbs so perhaps it was a challenge due to my size. FYI- Skydive Dallas will not let anyone dive over 210lbs.
We waited for another twenty minutes before we boarded the plane. While we waited we got to see other people coming down solo and tandem. It was way cool!
The photographer interviewed me again while on the plane. The instructor gave additional safety tips while the plane was rising to 13,500 ft. At some point the instructor strapped himself to me. My shoulders are a little narrow so the straps were not tight. It was not a big deal because the instructor was attached but it tugged and bruised just a little.
The photographer went out first and held onto the plane like something out of a spy movie. I was the first one to jump! I could hear most of what my instructor was saying but the wind was loud at first.
Once the chute opened it was quieter and it felt like we were flying. Everything was very clear and bright. He let me steer the chute a bit and taught me how to do a couple of tricks.
The landing was perfect! The photographer was already on the ground so he came up to interview me again and take more pics. The instructor took me into a back room to discuss the flight, give me a certificate, sign my flight log and asked me to fill out a survey about him and sign his flight log. He and the whole staff were terrific! They did a great job of calming my fears.
After the jump I was in a dazed state. I couldn't believe I did it. It made me feel completely invincible. Now I know I can and will do anything!!!
I would do it over and over again but it is expensive! I would love to be an instructor but with my small stature I think it is impossible. All the instructors seemed to be taller and stronger than the jumpers they were assigned to.
I hear sunset jumps are the most beautiful. I loved the one I did, however. I arrived at 9am but didn't jump until 12pm. I don't know if you remember but I have brown eyes with just a hint of green. My friends told me my eyes were bright green when I landed. I don't know if it was the lack of oxygen or the excitement. Also, there is a skydiver's hand shake- side ways open handed soft slap then bumping fists with your thumb up.
The video is really cool. It is surreal for me to watch it and my family loves it!
I hope I didn't give too much away. It will be different for you. This was one of my biggest fears so it probably affected me on other levels. You sound like a pro already! I cannot wait to hear about your experience.
Afterward, I had a celebratory beer at a nearby restaurant with friends and family. It was a lot of fun! The moment that sticks with me is when my 14 year old daughter Loren looked at me and said, "Mom, I am very proud of you." Now that is something worth taking a risk for."
I am so glad you posted this! I have been enjoying the build up and then the pictures. You rock!
I am not sure if this is happening with you but I have been so inspired and motivated by my Facebook friends! They are doing things like Habitat builds in Guatamala, training for duathalons, SKYDIVING, etc...I tried mountain biking for the first time the other day and am getting serious about doing many other worthwhile things. Not sure if it is just my friends - some old that I am getting to re-know and some new that are so great- or if it is that my son will be graduating high school next year and am having some sort of crisis...either way, it feels good!
Hi Melody! I am so impressed with the photos and your jump! Congratulations on overcoming fear and just going for it! I am not one to ever jump out of a perfectly good airplane, so I am living vicariously through you on this post! You go girl!
Congrats on job well done! Aren't you glad you did it. I did my first dive last year.
that sounds cool! My son and I were just talking about that over the weekend, he said it is one of the things he would want to do, but he thinks he would have a hard time jumping out of a perfectly good plane and would need to be pushed! (profound for a 14 yr old!)
Congrats!
Cristal, you and my other friends on AR and FB were a big encouragement. I am still a little dazed by the whole experience. It was certainly life changing. You rock too!
Hey Melody, now that was quite an adventure! I don't think I could do it but I love the pics and your commentary. Thanks for skinny on the handshake too :)
Mary, it was even better than I thought it would be. I was ready for a rush and I certainly got one! Granted the plane wasn't on fire or anything but the instructor was cute!
Xinh, Wow! You rock! It really put everything into perspective for me and sounds like it did the same for you. How do we top that???
Robert, tell your son, "No!" sounds a lot like, "Go!" at that altitude. The instructor will think he is very enthusiastic!!!
Cynthia, I love your profile pic! I didn't think I could do it either. Having an awesome instructor and great school helped. Everyone involved was amazing at customer service.
I bet you had an awesome time! I used to skydive and worked, ate, breathed (is that a word - lol) and slept skydiving. Still miss skydiving but haven't done it for many years. ~Rita
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Nice !
.... very well done MEL-007 !!!!!!
What a rush, and what an accomplishment ... I too am prouda ya !!!!
Cheers !
Sheldon :o)
Rita, it is addictive, eh? I understand why someone would want to do it often. No other sport I have tried felt that good!
I was afraid to ask ... I thought that you might have backed out, but I should have know you better than that! BTW you loo good in your jump suit!
Featured in the Group "Square Pegs!"
Sheldon, thanks a bunch! I don't know how to top it but I am going to try. I am training for a triathlon and want to learn to ride a motorcycle. Why? Because both those things scare the heck out of me!!!
Richard, thanks! I decided blue is really my color! I appreciate the feature. You knew I was just crazy enough to follow through.
My daughter went skydiving and she's a little one too. She's 4'10" and 90 lbs. I would weigh the parachute down and go bump lol!
Gary, there was no dropping feeling. I don't know if it just doesn't happen or if I was focused on other things like 'not dieing'. Thanks!
Celeste, you don't have to be a little one to do it. Your daughter sounds like someone I would like a lot!
Mel...I have always wanted to do that, but now because of medical reasons I have bee advised not to. Thanks for sharing...Glad to see you back on the Rain with this Post!
Way to go girl!!! Whew!!!!!!! You must have been the cutest little thing to fall out of the sky that day and since then!! Very exciting!!
Life changing? Wow, I should definitely try that prior to having children. I saw this on f/b but didn't realize you had done a post about it!!!! WHere have you been over here!? I watched the video of it when my sister did it, scary!
Hey there girlfriend, That looks like it is a load of fun. I will admit tho it is a ling way down. :-0
BTW, welcome back ma'am it is good to see you again.
Hi Melody, I'm still not sure I could do this, but you sure make it sound like a lot of fun. What a rush!
Mel - I am completely and totally enthralled! It's absolutely awesome that you had the cajones to do this. Good for you! I loved the "jumpalogue" complete with pics. And it's so nice to see a post from you. It's been a while.
So incredibly proud of you for doing this Mel. It is something I could never do (I can't even come down a ladder without panic). I will find things that I can do to challenge myself though you inspire me my friend
Mel - It was wonderful wasn't it????? I did it as well 2 years ago for the first time and it was the most amazing experience. Problem is? I am now HOOKED! Hope that you do it again!
Mel, That was fabulous! I don't know if I could do it! Not skydiving....or bungee jumping. I have done a hot air balloon, jetski and para gliding but I believe I've reached my limit. It sounds like an incredible experience!!
Wonderful story Mel and I'm impressed with your courage. There is no way on Gods green earth I'm going to jump out of a plane. I'll stick to my Harley.
Melody, I felt your excitement as you described it! How absolutely fun for you!!!
Melody-I still think you are so amazing for having done that! I don't think I could overcome my fear of heights to do something like that. Kudos to you girl!
Hey Mel, it's been awhile. I saw this and could feel the thrill and excitement in your voice words. Very cool.
Congratulations Mel! I don't think I could do that but if I had that cute instructor, I might rethink it. LOL
Go Mel, thats awesome. Congratulations. I bet the view was incredible and peaceful. You are amazing.
Hey Mel, good to see you writing! You are awesome - a brave soul for sure!!
How cool is that? Congratulations on your first jump, Mel. I'm proud of you too!
Hi Mel-Now that is way cool. I am proud of you for doing this. It must have been such a rush. I hope you have been doing well. :-)
That's very cool- my son wants to sky dive very badly, some of his friends recently went and told him how exciting the experience is. I bungee jumped... that was more than enough for me. I fly, but have no desire to ever jump out of a perfectly good plane!
Is there any chance you are selling airport property in your area? I'm talking about runway access, next to an airport, or waterfront property primarily, but I could be missing something in that short list!
One of my best friends used to skydive for a living. I never went. I would do it - however I get nervous even now reading this post, haha!
Melody, I'm so afraid of getting into an airplane - let alone jump out of one. I don't know how you did it, but good for you.
I did get my motorcycle license a few years ago, and I can tell you that it's not scary at all, compared to this. :) I'm sure you'll do it with flying colours (no pun intended). :)
Congratulations.
Mel-You are one brave lady. No way would I sky dive out of a plane. I really enjoyed the letter to Mike. It must have been very exciting for you. I don't even like planes. LOL.... Congratulations, you are an inspiration to all of us (like me) who will never have the nerve to do this..
HI Mel! What a wonderful experience--I'm SO jealous! My brother was a fighter-pilot in the USAF and had to learn to eject from the cockpit and they practiced these maneuvers routinely. It just sent my heart right into my throat and have been a big weeny about trying it
I think, though, as we finally do face our life-long fears, we become addicted so, I see how you can easily do that with skydiving!
Hopefully one of these days when my arm heals, I'll be ready to make that attempt--and like you, will probably have to make it a routine weekend experience!
Have a great weekend...
Melody - Wow! Great pictures and post. My wife has always wanted to sky dive. I do not! I bought her a hot air balloon ride to go with our our oldest daughter when she turned 18. I would love to give her a sky dive sometime. She would love it.
Wow! I don't think I could ever do that, great pictures!