My First Time Skydiving with Skydive Walterboro

Skydiving is something I've wanted to do since I was a little girl, and I finally got my chance the other day for my 32^nd birthday. My husband surprised me with a trip to Skydive Walterboro for the afternoon of a lifetime.

I am fearless; maybe a little too fearless for my own good. I didn't lose any sleep the night before, and was calm but excited with a smile plastered on my face from start to finish. Besides from experiencing what it's like to free fall, one of the reasons I wanted to skydive is because I've done just about everything there is to do with aviation, from being an air traffic controller, to being a baggage chick with United Airlines. You name it (except for engine maintenance), I've done it. So jumping out of a perfectly good airplane was the next logical step in my life.

Before we went into the plane, an instructor fitted me with a harness and taught me the proper way to fall out of an airplane. Yes, there is a proper way, kind of ironic isn't it? As soon as you jump out, you have to arch your back as much as possible and throw your head back at the same time. This will help nature find your center of gravity, and after your initial roll, you'll automatically wind up in the correct falling position.

Another one of the ironies of skydiving is that you have to buckle your seatbelt when you are in the plane. My instructor told me it's one of those pesky FAA rules, and then my training as an air traffic controller kicked in - I remember learning about that at one point. Still it was pretty funny, because there were 4 divers plus the pilot crammed into this tiny clown-car of a Cessna. We had a hard enough time positioning ourselves to prepare to jump. It was like a crazy game of 2 mile high Twister played in a closet. I couldn't imagine being able to get out quickly if our lives depended on it.

At about 8,000 feet we started getting ready. I turned around, got on my knees, and crawled as close to the pilot's seat as possible. My instructor scooted up behind me and he buckled us together and handed me my goggles. He sat back and I sat back on the ground and got as close to him as possible to let the camera guy get into position.

Once we were at 10,000 feet, the pilot cut the plane's engines back, someone yelled, "Door!" and the tiny door flew open. It was only about 67 degrees on the ground, so it was pretty chilly up there. When the wind starts to hit you, even if you aren't afraid, you know it's the point of no return.

The camera man got out of the plane and help on to one of the bars by the wing. We shuffled on our butts to the door and this is the point when all of your control and trust is given to the stranger strapped to your back.

I shuffled to where I was sitting on the edge of the door's opening. I grabbed on the same rail as the camera man as I put my feet on the step, and inched as far out as I felt safe. My instructor grabbed my hand that was balancing me and brought it to my harness. I knew it was time to grab onto my harness with both hands until he tapped me to tell me otherwise.

He inched me even further out the door and I felt the wind at full force on my face. Now my butt was touching nothing but air as he was now sitting on the edge. How he balanced the both of us right there, I have no idea.

He grabbed me with both hands and asked if I was ready. I was. He rocked me back and forth, counting to two, and then on three we were gone into a vertical drop. I arched my neck and back like I was told, and after a couple seconds, we were in position. He tapped me on the shoulder and I let go of my harness, regained my sense of direction and giddily waved to the camera man who jumped out with us.

Probably one of the biggest misconceptions about skydiving, is that you feel like you're falling, and that's one of the reasons people might shy away from this extreme sport.

You know how when you dream about falling, or when you're on a ride at an amusement park and you get that scary dropping feeling in your gut? You don't feel that sensation at all when you jump out of the airplane. When you're in the airplane, you're already moving. The plane slows down right before the door is opened, but still - because of the speed and the forward motion, when you jump out you feel like your in control...flying, not dropping like a rock, even though that's technically what you are doing during the freefall stage, which at 10,000 feet lasts for about a minute.

When you're skydiving for the first time, even the most relaxed individual (like myself) can't fully take in everything that's going on. You try to stay in the moment and enjoy it as much as possible, but your mind is trying to find a balance between being in the moment, and anticipating what's coming next. Mind you, staying in the moment means trying to take in the scenery and figure out where you are in relation to the landing zone, playing it up for the person videotaping you, and sensing for the first time the insanely stong/steady rush of air that makes the need to physically breathe in and out almost non-existent.

Meanwhile, since it's your first time, your trying to remember to keep in the correct position as instructed on the ground and before you know it, the parachute deploys and you aren't ready for it your first time. The harness digs into your groin, and it does hurt quite a bit - enough that 2 days later I'm still bruised, but the pain is nothing compared to the awesomeness of the experience of slowing down from 120 MPH to only a few miles an hour.

The rest of the way down is eerily quiet and peaceful compared to the roar of the Cessna's engine going up to 10,000 feet, and then the roar of the wind as you freefall. The rest of the descent gives you time to get comfortable and play around a little. My instructor allowed me to take control and taught me how to go left and right. Then he helped me do some sort of a corkscrew trick, first wildly swinging to the left and then immediately back to the right.

It was the only time I got a little queasy - again, most likely because I wasn't prepared, but the nausea immediately went away once we were level again. That trick was so much fun. I felt more out of control doing that than I did in the freefall.

Before we landed, we had plenty of time to go over the landing technique. He showed me how to slow down the parachute by pulling hard on both handles at the same time. We did this mid-air and we all but stopped dead in our tracks. It was a killer sensation.

He lined us up for our landing, I raised my legs at my hips to a 90 degree angle, we both pulled down on the handles and we had the softest landing possible. The excitement and adrenaline is still coursing through my veins, two days later.

The entire fall lasted for almost 7 minutes. When I stood up and finished my video interview and finally had a moment to take everything in, my first thought was, "When can I do that again?" I'm officially hooked.

The staff was amazing (and highly experienced) and the tandem fall, plus video and about 50 still pictures cost just under $300, but if you just wanted to do the tandem jump, it would have cost $195.

Becoming a certified skydiver with Skydive Walterboro only costs about $2,000, which includes several jumps and training to go with it. Once you're certified, it only costs $25 for each jump if you own your own gear, or you can rent their parachutes for an extra $15. If I had more time in this area, this is definitely something I would do. If nothing else, I plan on going on one more jump before we move away from the area next year.

If you are one of those who feel they would love to skydive, but are too afraid to try, all I can say is don't be afraid and go for it. You only live once, so why not experience as much as you can?