Skydiving is one of the most common things I see in people's bucket lists, and for good reason. It's scary and dangerous and expensive, but can be fun and life-changing at the same time. I say life-changing because many jumpers I met said they got addicted after the first jump. After doing some online research, I discovered that I had two options, namely tandem skydive and static-line skydive.A tandem skydive is a skydive where you are attached to a certified instructor. It generally costs more, because they need to fly the plane to a higher altitude (around 15,000 to 20,000 feet), and use a bigger, sturdier parachute to support two persons. In terms of enjoyment, tandem skydiving is the clear winner because you don't have to worry about anything except how you look on camera. Your instructor does all the work for you. Basically, you can just turn up at the jumping site 30 minutes before your scheduled jump and be good to go. Plus, since you're jumping from a higher altitude, you get more free-fall time in the sky (up to 60 seconds before your chute deploys) and enjoy the view for longer.
On the other hand, static-line skydiving has some downsides. First, you only jump from an altitude of 3000 feet. The parachute will deploy automatically, giving you only 3 - 5 seconds of free fall. Secondly, you need to complete a full day's training before jumping, and here's the most horrifying part: you have to jump on your own. On the plus side, the fee is lower compared to a tandem skydive, and you get extra bragging rights. A static line skydive requires balls of steel and some skill. It's not often that I get to have a special skill that most other people don't. Usually it's the other way around. So after taking everything into account, I decided to go with static line.
The cheapest package I found was with a skydiving club called Hawk Skydive, founded over 30 years ago by several military veterans of the Singaporean Army (not sure if I got this fact right though). Total fee was RM1200. Before the class started, my fellow students and I had to sign a waiver form (as usual) and write down our personal details. These would be handed over to the state police department who would then do a routine background check on us to ensure that we were not terrorists trying to hijack the plane for a suicide mission. We were also given a handbook, titled "Malfunctions". So, they actually had a whole booklet of things that could go wrong during a jump. How reassuring.The class took about 6 hours. We learnt about the parachute and how to operate it. We learnt about altitudes and the speed and directions of the wind. But mostly we discussed the malfunctions and how to deal with them.
After the class, we had a trial jump from a stationary plane. First, the jumper had to sit next to the door (well, actually there was no door. There was just an opening, and it would remain open during flight). Then, from the sitting position, we had to exit the aircraft slowly and stand on a small platform below the wing. On the jump master's command, we had to jump backwards and count 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000. By the time we reached 5000, the parachute should already be open. The instructor made us count as loudly as we could so that the people on land could hear us.
The next morning, we gathered at 7 am, hoping to start before it got too hot. However, we didn't receive clearance to fly, because it was too misty. If it rained, we were going to have to postpone everything until the next day. While waiting for the sky to clear up, we practiced jumping again from the stationary plane. It was the same plane we were going to fly on later. Her name was The Great Old Lady.
By 9 am, we were ready to fly. On each flight, the plane could accommodate only two jumpers, one jump master and the pilot. We were randomly paired up. The heavier person in each pair would jump first. My partner was a guy named Kirshen. He would jump before me. We would be on the 6th flight. Three cameras would be used to record the jumps--one on the jump master's helmet, one on the wing of the plane and the last one on a drone to record the landing. Out of the 16 of us, there were only 2 women.This was not doing anything to allay my fear. The very first jumper of the day had made a terrifying (and possibly fatal) mistake. Is that an omen or something? A glance at the other jumpers' faces told me we were all thinking the same thing. Shit just got real.
Luckily, the guy was okay. He landed on some field not too far away. Apparently he had hesitated before jumping and wasted precious seconds. As a result, he jumped too far away from the landing strip. Because of the distance, the instructor couldn't make out which way he was facing and so had given the wrong instructions. The jumper received an earful for his mistake.
The other jumpers did fine, thankfully, and before long, it was my turn to suit up. The suits were made of thick canvas to protect us during landing. Kirshen and I both chose orange jumpsuits, despite their resemblance to the kind that you might see in another sort of facility.
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| Please reduce my bail |
I felt like I was being sent to war.
When the plane took off, I actually managed to convince myself that this was an exciting experience. Then I glanced at the altimeter and saw that we were going higher and higher. That was when I suddenly stopped thinking altogether. My mind switched off and was sent into some sort of vacuum, where thoughts were just floating by but not really registering. I didn't even look when Kirshen jumped.
In a zombie-like daze, I took my position by the (nonexistent) door. The pilot took my hand and made me hold on tightly to a handhold above me. Then he made a sharp turn--the kind where, if you were on a normal airplane and you looked out the window, you'd see either all sky or all land, depending on which side of the plane you were on. I saw all land. It just felt different when you were sitting on a plane where there was no door but just a wide gaping hole that you could fall through had you not been holding on to something.
The jump master then patted me on the shoulder signalling my time to go. I struggled to put my legs in position. With the wind coming from the front and from the propeller, plus the heavy backpack weighing me down, it proved to be a lot more difficult than I thought. I looked at the jump master who said something I couldn't hear amidst the loud roar of the wind and the engine. Then I saw him mouthing,"Go".
I jumped, hit my head on the wing, and when I was still pondering whether I had really hit my head on the wing, the parachute had already deployed. And I was just about to open my mouth to start counting to 5000.
The walkie-talkie then crackled to life, giving me step-by-step instructions on what to do. I looked around me and saw the tiny roofs of houses and buildings. There was a swimming pool on a rooftop, looking about as big as a Band-Aid. And there was the vast blue sky. I had to wonder if I was really doing what I thought I was doing. At that point, I realized that this could either end well, or very, very badly. I was in no hurry to find out.
In a zombie-like daze, I took my position by the (nonexistent) door. The pilot took my hand and made me hold on tightly to a handhold above me. Then he made a sharp turn--the kind where, if you were on a normal airplane and you looked out the window, you'd see either all sky or all land, depending on which side of the plane you were on. I saw all land. It just felt different when you were sitting on a plane where there was no door but just a wide gaping hole that you could fall through had you not been holding on to something.
The jump master then patted me on the shoulder signalling my time to go. I struggled to put my legs in position. With the wind coming from the front and from the propeller, plus the heavy backpack weighing me down, it proved to be a lot more difficult than I thought. I looked at the jump master who said something I couldn't hear amidst the loud roar of the wind and the engine. Then I saw him mouthing,"Go".
I jumped, hit my head on the wing, and when I was still pondering whether I had really hit my head on the wing, the parachute had already deployed. And I was just about to open my mouth to start counting to 5000.
The walkie-talkie then crackled to life, giving me step-by-step instructions on what to do. I looked around me and saw the tiny roofs of houses and buildings. There was a swimming pool on a rooftop, looking about as big as a Band-Aid. And there was the vast blue sky. I had to wonder if I was really doing what I thought I was doing. At that point, I realized that this could either end well, or very, very badly. I was in no hurry to find out.
But time passed in a blur and I had to prepare for landing. Again, my instructor guided me through it all. He asked me to head to the left, which was towards him. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "Hello? I'm on your left, not your right." It took me a moment to realize that I had mixed up left and right... again. I fell hard on my butt, but it wasn't as bad as I had expected. The fact that I had landed in one piece was a good enough achievement.
My instructor asked me to stand up to show that I was alright (I was too far away to communicate with him). As I stood up, I noticed the drone hovering above me, so I gave a little wave.
I had landed a few hundred meters off target. They had to send a pickup truck to fetch me and my parachute.
Free lunch was served while we waited for the instructors to prepare our certificates and licences. While waiting, one of the guys told us about his previous jumps. Apparently he had done a few, and when he was not jumping, he often came to watch. He said, this was the first time in his experience that there had not been any injury. Usually, there would be cuts, broken bones, or--at the very least--sprains. He himself had once impaled his leg when he landed on a sharp wooden fence. He ended up in the hospital and on a wheelchair for many months. I'm glad he didn't tell us any of this before we did our jumps.
After lunch, we had the certificate awarding ceremony.
And lastly, we took a group photo with The Great Old Lady.
The next day, they posted a video of us on their YouTube channel and Facebook page:
The video really amazed my friends. Some of them said they had heart palpitations just watching it. When I watched it for the first time, I couldn't believe myself too. Wow, I really did that? Somehow in the video I managed to look calm and composed, although--I can assure you--I felt anything but. 😅 I don't think I want to repeat the experience. Tandem skydive, maybe, but not static-line, especially after I heard all the horror stories.
Skydivers are a crazy bunch of people. No sane person would voluntarily jump out of a plane. Unless, of course, that person is suicidal. But then again, there are many other ways to kill yourself that don't cost RM1200.
I had landed a few hundred meters off target. They had to send a pickup truck to fetch me and my parachute.
Free lunch was served while we waited for the instructors to prepare our certificates and licences. While waiting, one of the guys told us about his previous jumps. Apparently he had done a few, and when he was not jumping, he often came to watch. He said, this was the first time in his experience that there had not been any injury. Usually, there would be cuts, broken bones, or--at the very least--sprains. He himself had once impaled his leg when he landed on a sharp wooden fence. He ended up in the hospital and on a wheelchair for many months. I'm glad he didn't tell us any of this before we did our jumps.
After lunch, we had the certificate awarding ceremony.
And lastly, we took a group photo with The Great Old Lady.
The next day, they posted a video of us on their YouTube channel and Facebook page:
The video really amazed my friends. Some of them said they had heart palpitations just watching it. When I watched it for the first time, I couldn't believe myself too. Wow, I really did that? Somehow in the video I managed to look calm and composed, although--I can assure you--I felt anything but. 😅 I don't think I want to repeat the experience. Tandem skydive, maybe, but not static-line, especially after I heard all the horror stories.
Skydivers are a crazy bunch of people. No sane person would voluntarily jump out of a plane. Unless, of course, that person is suicidal. But then again, there are many other ways to kill yourself that don't cost RM1200.
