Wichita Falls Pundit
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Skydiving: It's Bloody Good Fun!
It was 1988, and I was 3,500 feet over the Grandfield, Oklahoma Municipal Airport. It was my third student static-line parachute jump. After checking that my static line was securely attached to the airplane, I climbed out onto the step while holding onto the wing strut. When I was sure I had a good grip on the wing strut, I dropped off the step and dangled from the strut.
At the jumpmaster's signal, I let go. What was a fast opening of my parachute on the first two jumps didn't happen. What happened was an increase in the speed of my fall as I did the mandatory "seven count." At seven, I saw that the bag containing the main ram air parachute had reached the end of the suspension lines but was still in its bag. I saw no main parachute!
As I pulled the reserve parachute ripcord handle, releasing the main parachute and deploying the round reserve parachute in a single action (student rig), I said aloud, "WORK!". I must have lost my stable position because the opening shock gave me quite a jolt. Something - I don't know what - hit me in the face, busting my lip and breaking a front tooth. Maybe it was my hand, still holding the ripcord handle. All I know is it felt like a brick. I could see the tooth fly out into space.
As the ground approached, I noticed that the wind was calm, and I had very little lateral motion. I had learned the "parachute landing fall" or PLF. But, being mad as Hell, I was determined to do a stand-up landing, bloody jumpsuit and all. And I did. The instructor witnessed the landing and noted it in my logbook.
There were two more student jumpers on the plane. I learned that the jumpmaster announced the malfunction - and the successful deployment of the reserve parachute - to the pilot, who was circling to let the next student jumper out over the drop zone. When signaled to move to the door, the second jumper shook his head in a "negative" fashion and said "Nope" or something to that effect. Ditto for jumper number three. I guess they got their money back. Maybe.
Tooth fixed, I was "back in the saddle" next weekend. After five static-line jumps, I made a 5-second freefall. Before long, I was off student status and had purchased my own gear. They say a malfunction happens in 1 out of 1,000 jumps. Since mine happened on my third jump, I figured I had 997 more to go without worrying about another malfunction. I'm sure that'll make statisticians cringe!
I didn't make it to 1,000 but ended up with 57 jumps in total. When I wasn't jumping, I was flying the jump plane on a part-time basis. After about a year, I sold my gear and moved on to other adventures. There's nothing like being in freefall. Once you reach your terminal velocity - about 110 MPH in the stable, freefall position - there's no sensation of falling. You feel like you're floating on a sea of air. But don't fall asleep! I still have dreams of being in freefall.
Wichita Falls Pundit
