Hello Everyone. Before i skydive'd, I've always wanted to know what it feels like to do skydiving for the first time. Last weekend (june'2013) I have completed my first tandem 15k feet skydiving at Hollister, California, and so i can share my experience and give few tips. However, one liner is that, it will be much easier than what you expect and lot of fun ! (Click "Show more" to read full description)
First of all, it is NOT a necessary thing to do in one's life. SO, go for it only if you really want to, and if you like doing it.
1) watch enough youtube videos of "complete" tandem-skydiving experience. There are 10k, 15k, 18k feet skydiving options. I would recommend 15k for the first time tandem skydiving. I took that, and it has about 1 minute free-fall and 5 to 7 minutes parachute fall. You can wear regular clothing, but its recommended not to have too much loose clothing, and wear only shoe, and ensure nothing is loose to fall-off from you.
2) Just feel confident. I assure you that for a normal healthy person, this is a safe sport. This is one of the very few activities in our everyday life where "feeling optimistic and confident" really really helps :) However, If for some reason your apprehension dominates your confidence, then it means you have to delay the skydiving fun !
3) Simple: Just follow the instructions given by your instructor :) He/she is an expert, and they are really experienced to take care of you. For tandem skydiving, you dont need to know anything beforehand, nor need any sort of training, except for willingness to skydive and knowing what does skydiving mean.
4) Once you just drop off the plane, trust me, for first-time skydiver, you're like lost, however you are still conscious, but you dont know whats happening. During this time, your body is trying to adjust ALL the biological levels so that you are safe. Everyone can handle this transition, so do not worry about it. This period is like about 1 to 5 seconds. These few seconds is the time when you get that adrenaline rush !!. Just see the world while you fall.
5) Then, after those first few seconds, it will be stable, but you are still in free-fall though, i.e. you will free fall at approximate speed of 120 mph. For 15K tandem skydiving, free fall will be approximately close to 1 minute. Enjoy this 1 minute, which is the best part of skydiving.
6) Once you are close enough to ground, your instructor deploys the parachute. It is pretty simple and it doesn't have any thing in it to make you nervous. It was much simpler than what i thought. Once the parachute is deployed you will start falling with much lesser speed. Parachute ride time depends on the maneuvers you perform, however, typical parachute ride time is about 5 minutes. Do maneuver the parachute. After free-fall experience, next best thrilling fun is maneuvering the parachute, and with that you can change directions, and more fun is to increase speed all of a sudden by pulling one side of parachute rope much lower.
7) Then, landing is again pretty simple, at very slow and controllable speed. Your instructor suggests you raise your legs up so that he/she can land first. Just do that way.
Thats it, you've done it !!!
Remember one thing, the probability of accidents here is finite, but negligible, like 1 in 100,000 jumps is fatal. But why do you expect yourself to be such unlucky ?
Lastly, they give you a voluntary choice of leaving any tips to instructor. Be generous and leave a decent tip. Also, they deserve that for the kind of hospitality they show. What decent means:about $20 to tandem instructor and $15 to a outside-video-photographer
Hope it helps you. I'm Pavan Bashaboina, and my instructor was Eric, outside video-photographer was Ronaldo, and i've completed the 15k tandem skydiving at California Skydive Hollister, CA, june'2013. Good luck !!
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