The Thrills And Chills Of Skydiving:

Its Better Safe Than Sorry


Many people are inexplicably attracted to flirting with danger and taking unwarranted risks just for the sheer fun and excitement of it. Some walked away unscathed with titillating stories to tell as they recount their adventures to anyone who would care to listen. And sadly, there are some unfortunate few who pushed too far beyond their limits and met a rather gory end. However, some people would claim that even if you live a relatively sedate life, you would not be able to totally evade danger. So true. That is why people who are certified daredevils who have a brass attitude towards life, seek out a head on confrontation with their innermost fears in the hopes of cheating death a number of times.


They say great things are for those who dare. To some extent this is quite true. There are certainly a number of people who are constantly looking out of ways to give full rein of their adventurous spirits. One of the exciting sports introduced to man is skydiving. Nothing could quite live up to the unrivaled thrill of flying ten thousand feet above and summoning up the courage to actually jump off, solely relying on a piece of cloth to cushion your fall. This is certainly a death-defying stunt that is not for the weak of heart.


If you have long been harboring a secret desire to try skydiving, then this article is definitely for you. Read on and find out what is really in store for you when you'll finally have the guts to give skydiving a go. Get a comprehensive and no holds barred view on the thrills, chills and spills of skydiving, everything you need to know before taking the momentous plunge. After all, you're looking for a grand adventure and not a suicidal attempt, right?

A Sneak Peak

A lot of people would want to know a detailed account of a skydiving experience, aside from that fact that an individual will be plummeting down at such a rapid speed. So what is it really like?

The first few jumps can be likened to your very first ride in a bicycle, trying to get the right position and maintain stability. Like an experienced cyclist that started with having difficulties in staying upright, much less move forward without stabilizers, first timers will initially find it hand to get used to the freefalling experience. However, like any other activity you will get better after some time and practice. After a few dives, you will be able to do some simple turns and maneuver in the air more easily.

Naturally, it can be quite nerve-wracking experience to sit on the plane and waiting for the right signal to jump. It's only normal to have some last-minute panic attacks and second thoughts of actually going through the whole activity. This is expected for neophytes and even for some people who already had a couple of skydiving experience.

At this point, it is important to stay focused and get a grip of your scattered wits. The fact that you are already up in the air, the hardest hurdle would have to be humping out of the plane. There is no other effective advise than to dive right in. If you are taking the tandem jump, where you will be physically strapped to the chest of a tandem master, you will not have to worry about constantly checking the altimeter and simply enjoy the whole experience. This is why this method is mostly preferred by people on their very first jumps.

If you opt to have the Accelerated Free Fall (AFF) there will be two skydiving instructors will guide you every step of the way during your freefall by holding you firmly. Since you will not be able to talk, communications will be reduced to hand signals. You have to constantly check your altimeter to know if it is actually the right time for you to deploy your parachute. You will feel a strong jolt once your parachute opens up, and from then you will have a short leisurely ride to the ground. You will of course, try to find the drop zone where you will land and concentrate on landing softly and as uneventfully as possible.


A Cheap Alternative

For those individuals who can't quite summon up the courage to try the real skydiving, there is actually a great new alternative – the vertical wind tunnel. This is the closest thing to skydiving, which realistically simulates the experience during freefall. In the United States, there are actually a number of vertical wind tunnels all over different states that you can choose from such as the ones listed below:

§ Aerodium in McAfee, New Jersey - aerodium@compuserve.com

§ Aerodium Canada Inc., Canada - info@aerodium.ca

§ American Dream Flying Machine - sky@dzn.com
El Paso, Texas

§ Bodyflight Skydive Simulators Ltd. - www.bodyflight.com
Victoria, Canada

§ Flyaway Indoor Skydiving -www.flyawayindoorskydiving.com
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee




Skydiving With a Twist

If you so adamant for really trying the real thing, then by all means enroll on a short skydiving course in the reputable school near you. After a few jumps or so, you would naturally want know the next big thrill after hurling your body ten thousand feet up in the air. There are actually a number of activities that will give a new dimension to your skydiving experience.

Recreational Formation Skydiving

You might have seen highly agile people making some impressive formations in a television show. They are called ‘bellflyers', where they compete with other skydivers from around the world and train rigorously. This type of skydiving discipline is actually slowly evolving to be included in the Olympic Games in the future. If you have top have that competitive edge, then you can work your way into becoming a member of a team.

Skysurfing

If you have the lust for extreme adventure, skysurfing is definitely for you. This sport consists of a team with two members: the skysurfer and the cameraflyer. As you might have seen on TV countless of times, the skysurfer will attempt to do a freefall on a specifically designed skyboard while the cameraflyer would try to record every bit of the action on a helmet-mounted camcorder. Contrary to the popular belief, skysurfing has definitely nothing in common with snowboarding and skateboarding. So don't make the common mistake of assuming that they actually have the same concept.

Para-Ski

Like the aforementioned two disciples, para-skiing is also a competitive sport that first originated in Switzerland. This was initially a form of mountain rescue operation technique by Swiss skiers. The said sport would require a competitor to parachute onto the mountain and racing a ski course. The sky jumps are usually low altitude in comparison to skydiving, with only 3,000 feet. If you are quite proficient with skiing, then why not add a new twist to your newfound adeptness in skydiving and mix the two together? It is certainly a certified adrenaline pumping experience.


Reality Check

Now that you have been adequately entertained with the thrills and excitement of skydiving, it time to have some reality check. We cannot discount the fact that it is in nature an extreme sport, which means you will actually be facing a number of life threatening stunts. Although, like all other daredevils you will probably claim that it's all part of the thrill, with each dive to make you would naturally want to land in one piece. So let's get into the nitty-gritty stuffs.

Skydiving Fatalities

Over the years, there is a significant decrease in the number of fatalities recorded in the skydiving sport. This is mainly due to the stricter implementation of safety measures and the increased reliability in the gears used. Here is a list of the common fatalities by category in the three-year span, from 2004-2006:

§ Collision – (25) 14%

§ Landings – (59) 32%

§ No Pulls – (12) 7%

§ Malfunction – (35) 19%

§ Reserve Problems – (12) 7%

§ Other – (26) 14%

As you might have gathered, most of the fatalities are from the difficulties in landing. However, most of the injuries incurred are nothing serious or severe. This is the most common casualty in skydiving.

Tips That Can Help Keep You Alive

In general, most of the fatalities in skydiving can be directly attributed to human error and not to the malfunctioning of gears. There are some people who get overconfident and overextend their capabilities, which is foolhardy to say the least. Keep in mind that skydiving is a constant learning experience, and the last thing that you would want to do is to be overly cocky up in the there. This could prove to be disastrous and could cost your life. So here are some few very helpful tips that you can use that can potentially help you stay alive.

§ Know your limits – every skydiver have different sets of limits as well as capabilities, although most of the time it is based mainly on the experience, mental and physical fitness and natural abilities. Don't fall into the trap of trying to compete with other fellow divers. Be honest with yourself and focus on knowing all capabilities especially under pressure.

§ Respect your limits – once you have fully gauged your limits, respect it. Meaning do not attempt to do things you are not ready for or if you know you didn't have adequate training for a particular stunt.

§ Learn flat and flare turns – try to concentrate on learning how to do a 180 degrees turns in the air during freefall. This is manly because a number of people die every single year because they turn too low, or what is known as hook turns. Knowing how to flat and flare will increase your chances of surviving a rather bad dive.

§ Lean more about your gear – since you will be placing your life literally in the hands of your gears, it would be best to take time and get to know it with extreme familiarity. Do not just content yourself in merely watching your rigger pack your gear, you can try and learn to do it yourself with supervision of course.

If you follow all precautionary measures and the standard procedures, skydiving can be a totally exhilarating and safe sport. The important thing here is to enjoy every skydiving experience, and at the same time never take for granted every dive or skip any of the preparation process.