Imagine yourself traveling at a speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). It is not too difficult for those who have tried the autobahns in Germany. But the catch is that you are not wearing a seat belt, neither are you sitting comfortably in a car. Did I mention that there is no road… only air bellowing all around you… and you are 9000 feet above earth, a distance shortening by 55 meters every passing second?
For time immemorial, people have been fantasizing about flying like a bird. Although airplanes have crafted one of the success stories in the pages of human innovation, not least to mention elitist space travel or gliders and hot air balloons, what goes for the goatee is the light headedness and exhilaration of a free fall from the sky. For some, it’s the freedom to stretch and soar, albeit briefly; for others it’s to enjoy the “bird’s view”; for most, it’s the sheer adrenaline rush. So we asked, why don’t we try it out for ourselves?
Seven years to the day, an unusually clear blue Fall sky saw Albena, Bob, Harro, Martijn and me falling towards Mother green Earth in yellow flight overalls. We had driven earlier from Amsterdam to Nationaal Paracentrum in a small village called Teuge, near Apeldoorn. We were very upbeat and rearing to go! The first wrinkles in our courageous façade broke as soon as we entered. We had to sign a document to the effect that we were wilfully giving up our lives, if such a mishap were to occur, in the name of adventure. We dazedly walked out of the office into the field on Parachuutistentsraat and looked up expectantly to see people doing their acrobatic manoeuvres in their colourful parachutes. Seems like we watched too many videos about skydiving from the wrong end of the deal. We saw people dropping down like stones, ready to be devoured by the green grass monsters far far below. Needless to say, we went in for a drink.
When it was our time, we put on our yellow outfits and were pretty pleased that they actually looked like spacesuits :) It was a bit uncomfortable to walk, but it was not as if we were going out for a jog. Anyways, we had bigger worries to contend with. We realized that the “training” was a 10 min briefing about how we had to jump and what we needed to do in air and how to prepare ourselves to land, if we finally managed to get that far. We were to jump with a tandem master, a guy who is strapped to your back and who has the parachute strapped on to his back. On our brief walk to the flight, I asked my tandem master if there were occasions when the parachute failed to open. Peter Smit coolly answered that they did not have any such accidents….that day! I am not averse to black humor, but not when it is coming from the guy who has the controls to the thing that would bring us back to safe ground.
The flight took off carrying the 5 of us with our respective tandem masters and an old bloke who was as young as my grandfather. We had also subscribed for video shoots of our jump, mainly to show that we were not fibbing about our little adventure :) We were all discussing excitedly about what was to happen shortly. Everyone was trying to make sure that the harnesses were secure and when I checked with Smit, all I got was that we should move closer to the exit. Albena, Bob and Harro jumped with their respective tandem instructors. It was fun to see the video-jumper cling onto the side of the aircraft and fall sideways, just how we were told not to jump. Henny, my videographer was already in place, ready to drop. After bidding adieu to Martijn, Smit and I edged towards the door and sat there with legs dangling down. It was an amazing sight. The sky was blue and the green pastures far below, inviting as well as very intimidating. While I was enjoying the scenic view, Smit said that I could take as long as I wanted but he would jump within the minute. That got me going Putting my goggles on, forgetting to take a deep breath, with arms outstretched and legs bent, I fell into the gushing mass of air.
Of all the things that I had thought and hoped for, I was never prepared for what followed. I could hardly breathe and my insides seemed to have this irresistible urge to spread themselves over the expanse of the sky. I wanted to shout, but I could produce no sound. As they had come, those terrible 4 seconds passed and surprisingly, all was fine again. It was the free fall! I was going down…and fast. But it was more a feeling of floating than falling. The air resistance induced an upward thrust, reducing the gravitational force. In effect, I was falling at zero acceleration in what is termed terminal velocity, helped partly by increasing my surface area by spreading out the arms. The air was hitting so hard that it hurt and the exposed parts of my face and palms were going through a complete makeover. It later reminded me of Jackie Chan’s antics in Armor of God. I felt Smit’s tap on my shoulder, a signal to wave at Henny’s camera. I did a couple of swimming motions 3 kms above any available water body! It is amazing that the human body could come to terms with such extreme conditions so fast. The next 25 odd seconds were so wonderful that I thought I would not feel so euphoric for quite some time. I was wrong. It happened a couple of seconds later.
But before that, I felt another tap and then a sudden jerk, as if someone was pulling me up back into the skies from where I had fallen. It was Smit. He had opened the chute and the upward motion was brief and apparent. What followed after a mind-numbing 30 second free fall was a soul-searching canopy. All the swooshing of the air was now replaced by silence. The view was perhaps not unlike what you see in areal snaps or from a flight. But it felt different. I was a bird in flight, free from all the chaos below me. It was truly breathtaking and I don't think I can qualify it in any other words. Smit told me that since I was not too heavy, we could last in air for quite some time. he let me handle the ropes and I did a few turns. At the end of 6 mins of canopy, smit took over the reins and moved towards a small cobbled circle where we were to land. He told me that he would loosen the harness so that I could come to a sitting position, ideal for touchdown. After about 15 mins from our take off, Smit and I landed safely. I thanked him for one of the most fulfilling experiences and looked for the others to share our thoughts. We were so excited and high that we wanted to go for a second serving. But unfortunately, the prices were quite high for us to think twice about it. Moreover, we were completely sapped.
It was one hell of an adventure and I am glad that we did it together. It is a once in a life time experience and I would like to keep it that way :) I would definitely recommend for all of you who have the will and the opportunity to go for it. But be careful and check your harness! Happy flight and safe landing.
For time immemorial, people have been fantasizing about flying like a bird. Although airplanes have crafted one of the success stories in the pages of human innovation, not least to mention elitist space travel or gliders and hot air balloons, what goes for the goatee is the light headedness and exhilaration of a free fall from the sky. For some, it’s the freedom to stretch and soar, albeit briefly; for others it’s to enjoy the “bird’s view”; for most, it’s the sheer adrenaline rush. So we asked, why don’t we try it out for ourselves?
Seven years to the day, an unusually clear blue Fall sky saw Albena, Bob, Harro, Martijn and me falling towards Mother green Earth in yellow flight overalls. We had driven earlier from Amsterdam to Nationaal Paracentrum in a small village called Teuge, near Apeldoorn. We were very upbeat and rearing to go! The first wrinkles in our courageous façade broke as soon as we entered. We had to sign a document to the effect that we were wilfully giving up our lives, if such a mishap were to occur, in the name of adventure. We dazedly walked out of the office into the field on Parachuutistentsraat and looked up expectantly to see people doing their acrobatic manoeuvres in their colourful parachutes. Seems like we watched too many videos about skydiving from the wrong end of the deal. We saw people dropping down like stones, ready to be devoured by the green grass monsters far far below. Needless to say, we went in for a drink.
The flight took off carrying the 5 of us with our respective tandem masters and an old bloke who was as young as my grandfather. We had also subscribed for video shoots of our jump, mainly to show that we were not fibbing about our little adventure :) We were all discussing excitedly about what was to happen shortly. Everyone was trying to make sure that the harnesses were secure and when I checked with Smit, all I got was that we should move closer to the exit. Albena, Bob and Harro jumped with their respective tandem instructors. It was fun to see the video-jumper cling onto the side of the aircraft and fall sideways, just how we were told not to jump. Henny, my videographer was already in place, ready to drop. After bidding adieu to Martijn, Smit and I edged towards the door and sat there with legs dangling down. It was an amazing sight. The sky was blue and the green pastures far below, inviting as well as very intimidating. While I was enjoying the scenic view, Smit said that I could take as long as I wanted but he would jump within the minute. That got me going Putting my goggles on, forgetting to take a deep breath, with arms outstretched and legs bent, I fell into the gushing mass of air.
Of all the things that I had thought and hoped for, I was never prepared for what followed. I could hardly breathe and my insides seemed to have this irresistible urge to spread themselves over the expanse of the sky. I wanted to shout, but I could produce no sound. As they had come, those terrible 4 seconds passed and surprisingly, all was fine again. It was the free fall! I was going down…and fast. But it was more a feeling of floating than falling. The air resistance induced an upward thrust, reducing the gravitational force. In effect, I was falling at zero acceleration in what is termed terminal velocity, helped partly by increasing my surface area by spreading out the arms. The air was hitting so hard that it hurt and the exposed parts of my face and palms were going through a complete makeover. It later reminded me of Jackie Chan’s antics in Armor of God. I felt Smit’s tap on my shoulder, a signal to wave at Henny’s camera. I did a couple of swimming motions 3 kms above any available water body! It is amazing that the human body could come to terms with such extreme conditions so fast. The next 25 odd seconds were so wonderful that I thought I would not feel so euphoric for quite some time. I was wrong. It happened a couple of seconds later.
But before that, I felt another tap and then a sudden jerk, as if someone was pulling me up back into the skies from where I had fallen. It was Smit. He had opened the chute and the upward motion was brief and apparent. What followed after a mind-numbing 30 second free fall was a soul-searching canopy. All the swooshing of the air was now replaced by silence. The view was perhaps not unlike what you see in areal snaps or from a flight. But it felt different. I was a bird in flight, free from all the chaos below me. It was truly breathtaking and I don't think I can qualify it in any other words. Smit told me that since I was not too heavy, we could last in air for quite some time. he let me handle the ropes and I did a few turns. At the end of 6 mins of canopy, smit took over the reins and moved towards a small cobbled circle where we were to land. He told me that he would loosen the harness so that I could come to a sitting position, ideal for touchdown. After about 15 mins from our take off, Smit and I landed safely. I thanked him for one of the most fulfilling experiences and looked for the others to share our thoughts. We were so excited and high that we wanted to go for a second serving. But unfortunately, the prices were quite high for us to think twice about it. Moreover, we were completely sapped.It was one hell of an adventure and I am glad that we did it together. It is a once in a life time experience and I would like to keep it that way :) I would definitely recommend for all of you who have the will and the opportunity to go for it. But be careful and check your harness! Happy flight and safe landing.
