Jump 1 (cont.)

My experience with sport parachuting. Official Spring 22:00 11/17

Looking out that door, I held my breath for a few seconds, checked the fastening on the static line...stepped out into the blue summer sky.
I counted one, one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand and felt the jerk and sudden slowing when my parachute opened.

I looked around. It was so quiet. I had never been anywhere with absolutely no noise. I didn't even hear the wind as it whipped by my head, filling the two-toned parachute that billowed above my head.
"I did it! I actually jumped from a perfectly good aircraft!" I said it out loud the words the only sound I could hear.

The ground rushed up and I prepared to land like I had been taught. Bend my knees and roll.

It worked. I landed without any broken bones and gathered the silk fabric as I left the area nesar the drop zone where I had missed the mark by a few feet.

Exhilarated, I was ready to prepare for jump two. This time I was more "present" and remembered to watch my "chute as it opened with one hand on the pull for my reserve 'chute. This one, too, went as planned. My landing was a trifle closer to the middle of the drop zone and that was the end of jumping for the day.

Due to a variety of reasons that I don't remember, it was a week or two before my third jump.

It was really windy that day and the helicopter pilots kept delaying. Finally, the wind lightened and I was in the next group to jump. They asked me if tIi wanted to try it without the static line, but I said I wasn't quite ready for that. So with line attached I stepped out of the heli. I noticed a smoke on the drop zone. The signal that beginners were not to jump, Too late! I was already in the air. i watched my 'chute deploy and rehearsed the actions I was supposed to take to keep from getting dragged in the high winds.

My feet hit the ground but my 'chute filled with air, There was no way to get on my feet. The chute dragged me, mud ground into my jumpsuit. I could not gain my feet, As a last resort, I remembered the capewells, the emergency parachute release at both shoulders, I reached for them, but they weren't there. I reached higher, finally, I pulled both and the 'chute finally collapsed. I was several hundred yards fornm the drop zone. I had been drug so far and so fast that the mud I went through had gone clear through the fabric to my jeans underneath,

I gathered the 'chute and trudged back to the area near the zone. My husband ran towards me, He took the ;chute and asked if I was oaky. I was out of breath and just nodded.

As we approached the drop zone, one of the more experienced jumpers was landing. He, too, was unable to run around the 'chute and got dragged, as well. His observation that the suggested method was not very good, almost made me laugh. My husband sighed and told me he had been frightened because he thought my parachute had tangled before it filled. That did not make me feel good, because I had watched it and it looked fine to me

The next weekend, I suited up to do another static line jump and had to wait for, what seemed to be a long time. When they were finally ready for me to board. I swallowed hard, no, this is not going to happen. This experiment is over. I'm done. No more jumps for me.