Steve's Big Fall

	Getting ready to kiss the ground goodbye, with jumpmasters Bobby and Tony. The plane ride turned out to be just as smooth as a commercial airliner. There was no turbulence at all, so the trip started out well. There were 5 of us crammed into the little 4-seater. The back seats were removed, but it was still very tight. Tony and Charlie got sleepy on the way up and took a nap. I didn't.
	At about 10,500', just before we jumped. I don't think I even looked down when I was getting out on the jump platform. I say platform, but it was more like a small step. I was much more worried about getting all the procedures correct than looking at the ground. There was a lot to remember to do in my 30 second freefall.
	And they're off! My exit from the plane went off without a hitch, and Charlie was right behind us to take pictures and video. The plane was only going around 65 mph, but it feels much faster when the wind is hitting your entire body. But a 65 mph hour wind was about to feel like nothing at all!
	You can see how high above the clouds we were.
	Within a few seconds, I was freefalling at around 120 mph! I fell from 10,500' to 5500' in less than 30 seconds.
	The disorientation is over in a few seconds, and now I'm staring at the ground, coming up VERY fast!
	One of the things required to pass the first AFF class is to do three practices touches on the ripcord. As you can see, Tony had to prompt me to do the first one, but then I did the other two on my own.
	A practice touch of the ripcord, which is on my right hip, requires a counter movement on the other side of my body to keep me from tumbling, so that is why I raise my hand over my head as I reach back.
	The last practice touch before the real deal! The ground is coming up at 1000' every 5 seconds!
	At this point I'm thinking, "Wow, it is COLD up here!" In the first few seconds, the air at that altitude is pretty chilly. I'm sure I look terrified, but it was actually just amazement. Until you've done it, you can't believe how exciting it is!
	We were all getting bored, wondering when it was going to be over! No, actually there is an altimeter on our right wrists. The one you see on my chest is just a backup.
	Another requirement of the AFF training was to do a "circle of awareness". I check the horizon to get my orientation to the ground, check my altitude, and then tell each jumpmaster what my altitude is.
	I never saw Charlie during the jump, but obviously he got quite close to us to get the shots he did.
	Calling my altitude to Bobby. It's hard to be heard over a 120 mph wind!
	Checking the altitude again. I was really concerned about this for some reason...
	As I'm telling Bobby what my altitude is, you can see just how powerful the wind is in the detail picture.
	Another AFF requirement...PULLING THE RIPCORD! At 6000' I "lock-on" to the altimeter, and at 5500' I do a "wave-off", which is crossing my hands over my head, letting other jumpers know that I am getting ready to pull, then I pull the ripcord. The cord seemed hard to pull in training, but not with all that adrenaline going!
	Initially, a pilot chute comes out, and then it pulls out the main chute. Shawn will notice that my right hand, which should be holding the ripcord, is quite empty! That cost me an extra $25, because apparently nobody wants to go find them on the ground. Oh well.
	Tony releases as my chute is deploying, Bobby stays with me until he falls away when my chute opens. By the time the chute is fully deployed I am at about 4500'. I heard nothing but screaming wind until the chute was deployed, then it was nearly silent. BP people, this is probably your best look at the tank farms below.
	Charlie took some pictures of Bobby and Tony as they headed for base. The jumpmasters pulled at around 2000', so they were waiting for me on the ground.
	You can see the landing zone in this picture, probably from about 1000'. The head instructor, Mike, drove out in a golf cart after I pulled my chute and talked me down the rest of the way over a radio that's on my shoulder. There is a big white arrow on the ground that can be used to direct me, if the radio fails.
	That's me, doing a hard turn. Mike had me do a few spins that made me pretty dizzy, but it was fun! The freefall portion is only about 30 seconds, but the canopy ride lasts several minutes. It was quite relaxing, actually! I could smell the crude oil coming from the tanks below. Then I thanked God that I was still alive!
	This is a few seconds before touching down. I landed on my feet, but the ground was wet and muddy from the rain the night before, so I slipped and ended up on my butt. Not a perfect landing, but hey, I walked away!
	Been there, done that, got the T-shirt to prove it!

	For those of you who say "Why would anyone jump out of a perfectly good airplane?", trust me, it was not a perfectly good airplane! The jumpmasters said they felt much safer jumping out of it than landing in it!
	All dressed up, and nowhere to go! The pilot, me, and Bobby, one of the jumpmasters.
	Now I'm starting to get cocky!
	Charlie took some preliminary video while we were getting ready to...not jump!