Summer of 2022 – Part 3 – Tandem VI & My First Solo Jump

I returned to Skydive Toronto and completed my sixth tandem jump.  I jumped from a height of 12,000 feet (3,657.60 metres) while attached to an experienced tandem instructor.  A cameraman followed us down, filming the whole experience.  The adrenaline rush and views of the approaching ground are awesome!  I’ll provide a link to the video(s) in the near future.  I didn’t have time to edit it before posting this blog.

It takes around 15 – 20 minutes for the plane to reach the required altitude.  That’s a long time to contemplate what you’re about to do.  I avoid getting tense & anxious by pretending I’m a passenger on a commercial airline and just look out the window, watching the ground get further and further away.  This technique works just enough so that I don’t freak out or vomit before the big drop.  Every skydiver must have some fear in their system at all times.  It keeps you focused and from making (fatal) mistakes.

I enjoyed and survived the jump.  I thanked the tandem instructor & cameraman for helping me complete my sixth jump.

Tandem skydiving is like a theme park ride.  The instructor you’re strapped to does most of the work.  They do let you control the parachute for some time during the descent, but then all you do is wait for the ground to get closer, and then put your feet up before coming to a gradual stop.  I’ve always wondered if I could do everything by myself.

My chance came the day after I did my sixth tandem jump.  I registered for Skydive Toronto’s Solo First Jump Course.  It’s a day course that teaches you “all of the fundamentals required to successfully complete your first skydive”.  The course culminates in a solo static line jump from 4,000 feet (1,219.20 metres).  A static line automatically deploys the parachute once you exit the plane, so you only fall for about 5 seconds.  Then a Ground Control Instructor guides you down to the chosen landing zone by radio.

The course began on an early Saturday morning.  Me and seven other students listened intently as the instructor went over the fundamentals of skydiving and the importance of maintaining & using the equipment.  We would be jumping out of a small Cessna.  We practiced jumping out of an old and no-longer-functional Cessna fuselage in the hangar.  (Whatever works).  We also practiced pulling the steering toggles on mock parachute harnesses outside.  We were told that sometimes the parachute gets twisted like a swing on a swing set, so we needed to practice how to untwist ourselves while descending towards the ground.  This led to the most important lesson/choice: if the parachute can’t be untwisted and/or becomes tangled, do you pull the reserve chute?  If you have to pull the reserve chute, you need to do it sooner rather than later, because you need to fall a few hundred feet to let the reserve chute deploy.  We practiced pulling the reserve chute ripcord handle several times.

There was a written test at the end.  You need to pass in order to jump, and I’m glad I did.  The course was done at 3pm.

Activity around the hangar was busy all day.  There was us, the first timers, then the advanced students, the experienced skydivers, ground staff repacking parachutes, administrators, and the customers/tourists.  I was told Saturdays are the busiest.

Even though the course finished at 3pm, I didn’t do my first solo jump until 7pm.  I was beginning to think I would have to do it at night.  Me, two students, an instructor, and a pilot, crammed inside a Cessna and we took off into the summer sky.  We would be the last solo jump group to, um, jump.  I would be the third student to jump.  Lucky me.  The instructor would follow thereafter.

Upon reaching 4,000 feet, the instructor opened the right side-door, flooding the cockpit with 100km/h wind.  He yelled some instructions to the first student and in an instant, he was gone.  The pilot banked the plane to the left to assist the instructor in closing the door.  The pilot then circled around for another pass.  The process repeated for the second student.  The door opened, loud wind, instructions were yelled, and then the student left the cockpit.  This time, the pilot had to bank the plane twice to the left because the instructor had trouble closing the door.

My turn had come.  I quickly checked and confirmed my static line was attached to the plane.  The instructor motioned me to the door.  I’m glad there were no mirrors inside the cockpit because I must have looked pale or had the face of a soldier with PTSD.  The side-door was opened and I found myself staring 4,000 feet down to the ground.  The wind howled as the instructor shouted into my left ear.  “You see that field down there?  That’s where you’re going to land!  Aim for that field after you leave the plane!”  I nodded.  To be honest, I wasn’t looking at the field.  I was looking directly at the small metal step above the right tire.  I’m so glad I practiced on that old fuselage in the hangar.  “Ready!?”  I nodded.

“Door!”

“Door!” I shouted back.

“Left foot!”

“Left foot!”  I placed my left foot on the metal step.

“Left hand!”

“Left hand!”  I placed my left hand on the wing strut.

When I didn’t hear the command “Go!”, I looked over my left shoulder.  The instructor gave me a hard nod.  The moment of truth had arrived.  It all came down to this.  Did I have the courage & strength to leave the plane on my own?  I did. 

I leapt out of the plane.

I don’t remember the drop.  All I remember is the sound of the plane getting quieter & quieter and the falling sensation coming to a sudden halt.  I looked up and saw my parachute properly deployed.  No untangling for me.  I took in the magnificent view of the land below.  I listened to the Ground Control Instructor (GCI) giving directions to the first two students.  I had to correct my direction of descent twice before the GCI started directing me.  Even though I had two walkie-talkies strapped to my harness, we were instructed not to touch them or use them to talk back.  The descent lasted around 6 minutes.

My landing was almost perfect.  I pulled both steering toggles at the right time, but I stuck out my feet too early.  I slid across the grass and tumbled over.  I immediately stood up and raised my right thumb up to let anyone know that I was okay.  I glanced up at the sky as I was collecting my parachute.  “I really did it,” I said to myself.

The GCI congratulated me on my first solo skydive.  The ground crew in the hangar helped me out of the parachute and harness.  The instructor landed a few minutes after me and also congratulated me for completing my first jump.  I would receive a Certificate of Completion in the mail in a few weeks.  I left Skydive Toronto that day feeling very proud of myself.  Thank you, Skydive Toronto, for helping me achieve a major milestone in my life!

Unfortunately, I don’t have video proof of my first solo jump.  Students aren’t allowed to jump with GoPro cameras.  The instructor that jumped with us didn’t bring his GoPro.  But I did do it; believe me.

To Be Continued . . .

Update: Sorry for the long wait.  I finally uploaded a video of my 6^th tandem jump.  Check out Tandem VI: Quick Drop Version.