Last weekend, our tangent-coordinator of the year Jeff took a bunch of unsuspecting BYT staff skydiving.
They survived. This is their story.In pictures
Nothing gets you ready to jump out of an airplane from 15,000 ft. like a breakfast at McDonald’s. Actually, not even McDonald’s gets your ready.
I don’t normally sweat, but on Sunday, I suddenly found myself sweating like ‘a whore in church’ is what I overheard someone say at the airplane hangar which houses Skydive Westpoint. Jim Crouch, the owner of Skydive Westpoint, made sure to pack our chutes extra tight, and even threw in a free video so that everyone who reads BYT could see what it’s like to do what God never intended any of us to do.
The remarkable thing about the dive (as you can clearly see on Jason’s face) is that it’s not frightening at all. I was mildly nervous when we were waiting to go up, but by the time we got into the plane and were climbing to 15,000 ft., I was just plain excited. There are some light instructions to follow, mainly what to do with your hands and when to pull the ripcord. At about 10,000 feet, the instructor straps you in and you start preparing to jump. Watching the people in front of you file out the side of the aircraft is quite a trip. When they call your name, you slide over to the open door where you have about five seconds to contemplate what you’re about to do. And then you jump. I could try to explain what it’s like, but I’d never do it justice. All I can say is that it’s probably the most exhilarating fifteen minutes you can possibly have for around $200. I immediately wanted to go again. Next time, though, I think I’ll try going solo.
I take the part back where I said it’s not frightening at all. Seeing all of your friends wearing skin tight, one piece jumpsuits is pretty damn scary. What are those called, monotards? In any case, it was kind of like a Bee gees reunion.
A big thank you to Jim Crouch and the staff at Skydive Westpoint. They are extremely professional and made us all feel quite comfortable.
Skydive Westpoint
http://www.skydivewestpoint.com/
(804) 785-9707
“$10 off if you mention BYT”
I wanted to go, but I didn’t want to mess up my hair by wearing a helmet.
September 25, 2007 at 1:38 pmI’d go again. Let’s organize another trip.
September 25, 2007 at 1:44 pmthe only thing that would be more terrifying is if you had a zombie for a tandem and were landing in the mouth of a shark.
September 25, 2007 at 1:48 pmI wanted to go, but my hair doesn’t fit under a helmet.
September 25, 2007 at 1:55 pmI’d go (the next time, when I don’t have a paycheck wrapped up in new motorcycle parts). Then I’d love to take some people on an Army jump:
Wake up around 10pm at night (you want to sleep from when you got off work at 7pm until then). Eat something. Get dressed, grab your 80lb rucksack, wait in line and get issued your weapon, head outside. Get on trucks to the Airforce Base, draw your chute.
Stand around.
Start putting on your chutes and equipment (by the time you’re done you’ll have about 135-140lbs of stuff hanging off of you).
Lie down and wait for the Airforce to ready the plane.
Enter the plane. It’s crowded. You face each other in two rows. One row sits down then lifts their rucksacks into their faces so the other row can sit down, then you lower them so they rest against each other.
Sleep if you don’t get airsick.
When you finally take off (around 1 am) you will then fly “nap of the earth” which means about tree-top level. In a jet holding 160 people. For an hour.
If you weren’t sick sitting in a hot plane you most likely will be now.
Eventually you’re about 10 minutes out. From now on everything happens quickly. Outboard personnel stand up. Inboard personnel stand up. You hook up your static line, you check your equipment (I should note that by now the two rear doors on either side of the jet are open while you fly and it’s loud as hell.
Eventually you’ll come to the leading edge of the drop zone, the Jumpmaster will give the “Green Light: Go” to the lead jumper and all 160 people will follow him out the door.
800′ above the ground (to minimize the time you’re in the air to get shot at - which also means you have abou 10 seconds to deploy your reserve if your chute doesn’t open - anytime after that you’re a pancake).
Oh, and there are 160 people on up to 10 other planes also jumping out at the same time. It’s now 2 in the morning or so and it’s pitch black.
And it’s 15 degrees outside.
And there are over 1000 people in the air. You’re bumping into other people, your chutes are leapfrogging (where the lower jumper steals your air and your chute collapses until you fall under him and steal his air and then his chute collapses (you want to be the one on top when the ground comes up).
You eventually hit the ground at around 25 miles per hour.
Unhook your chute, turn it in, then hump 100lbs of equipment for 20 or so miles.
Repeat the next day.
Curse the day you decided it would be fun to join the Army and jump out of planes for a living.
It’s slightly better while on Acid but then you need someone to babysit you after you land so you don’t give away the fact you’re on acid.
September 25, 2007 at 1:59 pmDon’t you know that oppressive governments are sending their own people to jump out of airplanes and kill innocent civilians and you innocent civilians are jumping out of airplanes? You all sicken me.
September 25, 2007 at 2:26 pmShit yeah I will go next time. The acrobatic prop-plane was pretty damned exhilarating, but I LOVE falling endlessly…
September 25, 2007 at 3:08 pmwas the last poster trying to make sense or not? i’m confused.
a friend of mine went skydiving on mushrooms. i’ve gone before, and i’m not sure how he managed.
michael, i think that sounds kind of fun, but i’m guessing just on paper.
September 25, 2007 at 3:14 pmThings you don’t want to hear your instructor say when you ask him if everything’s ok: “No. We’re twisted up.”
Another kooky fact: apparently, dumping your hopelessly tangled main chute and deploying the reserve is known to (civilian) skydivers as “skydiving again!” and qualifies as somewhat of an “oh, shit” moment.
September 25, 2007 at 3:32 pmi believe its called a unitard. please, jeff, get it together.
September 25, 2007 at 3:33 pmAlso: I can’t speak for anyone else, but I managed not to shoot anyone the entire way down!
September 25, 2007 at 3:34 pmwow. great pics.
September 25, 2007 at 5:14 pm“It’s slightly better while on Acid but then you need someone to babysit you after you land so you don’t give away the fact you’re on acid.”
awesome
September 25, 2007 at 6:03 pmlet’s do a night jump next time!
September 25, 2007 at 7:46 pmActually that jumpsuit is called a “jumpsuit”. Ironically the term jumpsuit was actually used for skydiving before anything else.
P.S. Absolutely no drugs or alcohol are allowed before jumping.
September 25, 2007 at 8:54 pmbtw, tandem jumping is for pussies. you should’ve hooked up accelerated free fall.
September 26, 2007 at 12:26 amThat’s hot :D
September 26, 2007 at 2:05 pm
DAMMIT JEFF! I woulda gone…
September 25, 2007 at 1:33 pm