Skydive #3 - March 1, 1998

Perris Valley Skydiving School
Perris Valley, California
www.skydiveperris.com

All of these pictures are frame grabs from video tape by Anne Helliwell.

The purpose of this skydive was to introduce me to turns in the air.

It's amazingly similar to the way I've always imagined myself flying and in fact isn't much different than flying an airplane -- if you want to turn to the left, just bank your wings (arms and shoulders) left. Wanna turn right? Bank right.

Dirtdive Enter the Otter
Before every skydive it's a good idea to go over the details of exactly what everone involved is planning to do. If doing it in the air is a skydive, then doing it on the ground is called a dirtdive. After the dirtdive, we enter the airplane and buckle up for the takeoff. We're going to be the last ones out of the airplane today, so we're the first ones in.

Lori 2,500 feet above the ground
Lori Spurgen, my main side instructor today, has me go through the sequence of events one more time as we take the trip up. This time, I'm supposed to explain the sequence backwards as we go UP through the alitiudes. The decision height for this skydive is 2,500 feet above the ground.

Cutaway Handle Reserve Handle
If for any reason I don't feel that I can safely land the parachute above my head by the time I get to 2,500 feet (or if it isn't up there!), I'm supposed to pull the red cutaway handle. The two small yellow cables release the main parachute, or gets it out of the way so that I can move on to the next step. After pulling the cutaway handle, I can then pull the silver reserve parachute handle.

4,500 feet above the ground Ripcord
4,500 feet is my planned pull height. The orange ripcord handle can be seen just under my right forearm.

6,000 feet above the ground Jump!
6,000 feet is the lowest altitude that we'll be doing maneuvers on this jump. I'll signal that altitude by shaking my head no and looking at the other jumpers to ensure they understand that signal. At 12,500 feet, we've let everyone else out ahead of us and it's our turn.

Freefall Pull!
We're now falling at about 120 miles per hour, Rick Horn, my reserve side instructor, has let go and I've turned myself toward him, dragging Lori along like a rag doll. After the turn, I turn back to the right and then once more to the left. About 50 seconds after leaving the plane and falling 8,000 feet we're now at about 4,500 feet above the surface of the earth. Once I've pulled, Lori lets go and as before, there's nothing more the instructor can really do for the student.

Windsock
This last photo shows the conditions Anne (as well as the rest of us) had to deal with on this landing. No wind.
In parachuting, this is a more difficult situation than a small breeze because you're actually flying a small wing with a fairly good amount of forward airspeed -- about 20 mph. Some wind is desireable because it means your groundspeed is less when you contact the surface, or in my case on this day, impact the surface.
Nothing busted, but a little soreness in the left ankle. Still the best damn feeling in the world.

Onward to Skydive #5 Back to my Skydive Page Back to my Gestalt Page Back to my Main Page


Before every skydive it's a good idea to go over the details of exactly what everone involved is planning to do. If doing it in the air is a skydive, then doing it on the ground is called a dirtdive.	After the dirtdive, we enter the airplane and buckle up for the takeoff. We're going to be the last ones out of the airplane today, so we're the first ones in.


Lori Spurgen, my main side instructor today, has me go through the sequence of events one more time as we take the trip up. This time, I'm supposed to explain the sequence backwards as we go UP through the alitiudes.	The decision height for this skydive is 2,500 feet above the ground.


If for any reason I don't feel that I can safely land the parachute above my head by the time I get to 2,500 feet (or if it isn't up there!), I'm supposed to pull the red cutaway handle. The two small yellow cables release the main parachute, or gets it out of the way so that I can move on to the next step.	After pulling the cutaway handle, I can then pull the silver reserve parachute handle.


4,500 feet is my planned pull height.	The orange ripcord handle can be seen just under my right forearm.


6,000 feet is the lowest altitude that we'll be doing maneuvers on this jump. I'll signal that altitude by shaking my head no and looking at the other jumpers to ensure they understand that signal.	At 12,500 feet, we've let everyone else out ahead of us and it's our turn.


We're now falling at about 120 miles per hour, Rick Horn, my reserve side instructor, has let go and I've turned myself toward him, dragging Lori along like a rag doll. After the turn, I turn back to the right and then once more to the left.	About 50 seconds after leaving the plane and falling 8,000 feet we're now at about 4,500 feet above the surface of the earth. Once I've pulled, Lori lets go and as before, there's nothing more the instructor can really do for the student.