Last year around this time I decided to book a tandem jump, good thing is I picked the right company. Bill is the owner of skydive louisiana really solid company with a great staff and good if not great instructors. Bill has thousands of jumps under his belt and he does not or will not short change you.
Here is a link to last years tandem and my experience Dream become reality, that first tandem at 10,000 feet was breathtaking and talk about getting a really nice kick of endorphins. I have completed my last tandem and now qualify to go through AFF Accelerated Free Fall course to become licensed.
How did this jump come about well we have a had a good close friend of Scotts visting us from Australia for the last three weeks, Brent Tasca is a former 3RAR Para veteran last wedsday I asked if he would like to go skydiving and of course the answer was "Of course Mate" Also the day prior was US National Airborne day....we also gave ourselves "Mohawks" ha ha to honor those bad asses that jumped into Normandy on D-day.
We both have had many jumps from different types of aircraft bot fixed and rotary wing. But its very structured the point of military airborne operations is to get you to the ground as fast as possible so you can engage the enemy. You have all this fricken gear strapped to your body and it can be a long day of pain. The civilian side is very nice and painless if you follow instructions.
So we made the 3.5 hour drive up and after a fifteen minute brief Brent was walking out with Bill to make his jump. Brent choose to do a flip out of the aircraft.....ha ha
The aircraft is a Cessna 182, and the pilot is a young kid with 750 hours of flying and despite the high winds he provided a smooth flight up to altitude...once again good guys.
Brent coming in from his jump.
Nice and smooth
Stand up landing with nice flare
My jump was a bit different as I had to perform some task to ensure I was ready to start AFF and ready to jump on my own. Bill briefed me and while Brent was off doing his jump I rehearsed on the ground to ensure I performed to the best of my ability. When the door opens and its time to go years of mindset and training take over....confidence in yourself your equipment and your instructor. You really get focused on the task at hand and nothing else enters your mind.....but I was at peace when we exited.
Coming in once the canopy is open this is where the real skill is at..."Landing Safely" Bill was awesome and talked me the whole way in....like I said he knows I am coming back and is prepping me for the next time I go it alone. These rigs run very fast, highly maneuverable and if done the wrong way can spell a bad day.
Walking of the DZ and still learning.....loving the Mohawk:)
Last shot is Brent Tasca, myself and Scott Chamberlain, we jumped with our Beret's in our pocket.
Airborne brothers to the end.........Death from above!
We also spoke with Bill and Scott is cleared to jump so we will get the "Squid" in the air".......I will be singing "Anchors away".......ha ha
Last thing is thanks to Bill and Skydive Louisiana for a great day look forward to the next few weeks
Thanks
AATW!
RLTW!
SAR
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