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It all started when I made a bet I thought I could never lose ~~ and lost!
The upshot was that I had to leap out of a single-engine Cessna with a large hole in the side where you normally find solid metal. The pilot referred to us as "meat bombs". The cockpit was plastered with signs warning that almost anything you did or failed to do "might result in injury or death". And I was here to jump out of this plane. From a great height. 10,000 feet to be precise. How did I feel? Would you believe me if I said I wasn't scared? I was scared. Really scared. My body was telling my brain that this was probably not a good survival strategy, and my brain believed the message. The ground was a long, long way away. I had hoped the ground would be so far away that I wouldn't recognise it, so I might jump out without a care in the world: no chance. But somehow, nevertheless... |
| Snap on the goggles, tighten the straps, turn into the gap, legs out, a little jump and you're gone. WHOOOOOO WHAT A RUSH! 5,000 feet of free fall, back arched to keep stable and facing down, straight thru a stupendous cloud. The amazing thing is that it wasn't scary at all once I was out of the plane. By the time the canopy popped open, 30 seconds and 5,000 feet from where I left the plane, I was in a state of blissful euphoria. I have never felt anything like those 30 seconds of falling straight thru the air, hurtling towards clouds, thru them, then on down toward the ground. Fantastic! |
| A perfect on-target landing at the edge of Sir Seretse Khama airport, thanks to the training I received and the coaching of the jumpmaster, Telo. |
| Adrenalin plus exultation at being alive and on the ground again. It was a long time before the grin came off my face. The most fun I've had in a long time. Not that I'm in any big hurry to repeat the experience... |
Thanks to The Crafty Dude for taking the footage and digitizing these stills.
