Parachute Jump

I wanted to do it for a very long time and my wish has finally been granted. There is nothing I can say except that if you want to experience the trill of “free falling”, you should!

Read further if you want to see the video :-)

The day was very windy, the clouds were there, little drops of rain were falling every ten minutes. In short, the conditions were not ideal for the first Solo Jumps that some people had planned for the day and that was great for me because I wanted to do a tandem jump.

As the weather had caused some delay for some groups I had to stay “grounded” until it my turn. After waiting a good part of the afternoon at Namur’s airfield in the company of my sweetheart and the group of people from the fitness club we go to, I finally was called by an instructor, showed to a red suit that I had to put on and then follow the two minutes training… The rest is better be shown than written.

[youtube WaYwDxSO-3Q]

What can I say, it is the most exhilarating feeling you can get and as nearly everyone will tell you, those first five seconds when you drop out of the airplane are impossible to describe. I was welcomed with a very relieved and happy girlfriend who could not stop saying: “you are alive, you are alive!!!”

One piece of advice though, if anyone thinks about doing this for the first time; take some gloves with you, nothing big but something to cover your fingers. Why? well you are going to jump from 4 kilometers high; it’s cold out there! On my day it was -10°C!! Granted it only last 50 seconds, but it sure will make your experience even more enjoyable.

Will I do it again? Well, I’m tempted, getting certified requires to pass 7 tests which is not much, so why not…