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Procedures - Technical Library - Blue Sky Adventures SkydivingAccording to Wikipedia, the procedures for skydiving are: "Typically, a trained skydiver (or jumper) and a group of associates meet at an isolated airport. A fixed base operator at that airport usually operates one or more light cargo aircraft, and takes groups of skydivers up for a fee. In the earlier days of the sport, it was common for an individual jumper to go up in a Beech 18 or Douglas DC-3 aircraft for reasons of economy."We at Blue Sky Adventures Skydiving do not feel that Hamilton Airport is an isolated airport. And yes, we take groups of skydivers up for a fee; however, we do this because we love it! Nowadays, for reasons of economy, we jump out of a Cessna. A typical BSA jump involves us jumping out of the airplane at approximately 10,000 feet, and free-falling for approximately 45 seconds before deploying our parachute to slow the landing down to safe speeds. Once our parachutes are open, we control our direction and speed with hand grips called "toggles" and with lines called "steering lines" so we can steer ourselves to the landing site and come to a safe, gentle stop. Many of us skydive because it is as close as we can get to flying. When you are skydiving, there is no machine; you are the flying instrument. By maneuvering the body, we can generate lift, complete turns, and move forward and backward. Many people ask us if we experience a "falling" sensation similar to riding in an elevator. Most skydivers do not experience this sensation because when you reach terminal velocity (150-200 mph - head-downers; 120 mph - belly-flyers), you are not accelerating towards the ground. A skydiver's momentum from the plane causes the acceleration forces (acceleration is what causes the "stomach in your throat" feeling on a roller-coaster) to be slow as their direction of travel changes from the direction of the airplane's flight to the direction pulled by the force of gravity. That's why the lack of "falling" sensation does not exist when we leave the plane. Skydivers call this transition period "the hill". Most first-time skydivers make their jump with a trained and experienced instructor, usually in the form of a tandem skydive. During a tandem jump the instructor is responsible for the steady exit, maintaining a correct stable freefall position, and activating and controlling the parachute. Other training methods include IAD (Instructor Assisted Deployment), static line, and AFF (Accelerated Free-Fall). |
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