Flying Dreams Essay, Research Paper

To Fly Has Been a Dream

On a bright sunny day with the sky as clear as crystal glass, you

peer out into the open sky to the land down below. The door opens in

front of you the wind rushes into the aircraft. You step out falling

freely away as if you were a bird soaring on the winds of time. You peer

back to the aircraft for a brief second to see it speeding away. You feel

weightless as the wind roars around you. Looking down you suddenly

realize that you are falling towards the earth. Someone once said that

the sky is the limit, but in skydiving the ground is the limit. Skydiving

is not just a free fall and a parachute ride, but an extreme thrill of

events in a short amount of time.

Skydiving begins on the ground. The equipment that you use is the

most important part of a successful dive. The most important piece is the

parachute itself. It must be packed so that there are no knots in the

lines and so that the parachute will open properly. The reserve parachute

is the second most important piece of equipment. It must be packed by a

Federal Aviation Administration rigger every 120 days or after the reserve

parachute has been deployed. The third piece is your altimeter that is

set and calibrated to altitude at ground level. Several optional pieces

of equipment are a helmet, gloves and a skydiving suit. Some jumpers like

to perform a pre-jump on the ground. It’s most commonly called a dirt

dive. They walk through the skydive on the ground while talking about

what they will do on the jump and then what they will do if the jump

doesn’t go as planned.

The Jump Master is a highly skilled skydiver. The Jump Master has

over 500 skydives and licensed by the United States Parachute Association.

The Jump Master is in charge of the jumper on the aircraft at all times.

He notifies the jumper of the drop zone approaching by giving a one minute

warning, a 30 second warning, prepare to jump, and jump signal. The Jump

Master also is in charge of checking that you have put your equipment on

properly. He checks to see that you have not crossed your leg straps and

that your chest strap is fastened securely. Next he checks to see that

your ripcord is properly in place, also checks to see that your reserve

parachute card is not over the required re-pack date. After receiving the

Jump Master inspection it is time for you to board the aircraft. The trip

to jump altitude can be reached by airplanes, helicopters, and hot air

balloons. After flying to a maximum altitude of 15,000 feet above ground

level or a minimum of 3,500 feet above ground level the jumper can exit

the aircraft at anytime the Jump Master signals to jump.

You have been given the signal to jump. You may be jumping alone

or as a group. For as many times that I have skydived. I prefer to jump

alone, “It’s like being on top of the world.” As you exit the aircraft

falling toward the earth, you’re able to spin, twist, flip, turn, roll,

surf, and perform an aerobatic display without the force of gravity

restricting you. Glancing at your altimeter ether on your wrist or chest

strap to see what altitude you’re at. Your altimeter tells you when to

deploy your parachute. The minimum altitude to deploy is 2,000 feet above

ground level. Most jumpers begin to deploy their parachute at 2,500 feet

above ground level.

Finally you have reached the parachute ride. You have pulled your

ripcord and have a full parachute deployed. If the main parachute had not

deployed. You would have had to deploy your reserve parachute. Before

pulling the reserve parachute ripcord you have to release the main

parachute by pulling the cut away pillow. When the reserve parachute

deployed the main parachute would release from the container and fall

freely away from you. The jumper reaches up and releases the brake

toggles which controls the parachute. The brake toggles were set when

packing the parachute, so that the opening of the parachute would not be

so rough. Now that you have a fully deployed parachute many stunts can be

performed. You can stack one parachute on top another, spinning and

spiraling down with colored smoke spraying from smoke cans. At about a

1,000 feet you begin your final approach to the drop zone. Most drop

zones have a target about 20 feet in diameter of sand or small gravel rock

to aim for. Around 10 feet above the ground you apply the brakes that

flare the parachute causing you to land. Landing properly is like

stepping off a ladder, nice and soft.

Skydiving is not for everyone. For every time you go up and land

on the ground safely you have cheated death one more time. Skydiving is a

sport of many thrills that last only a few seconds. It is more complex

than just a free fall and a parachute ride.