Jodie Chambers' parachute jump
January
It's been five years since my nan passed away after suffering with Alzheimer's so I decided to do something a little bit crazy that would make her proud. My friends and family know that I am scared of heights and small aircrafts, so what better way to conquer my fear than to jump out of a the smallest plane I have ever seen at 12,000 feet!!!! I think because people know how scared I would be, it encouraged them to sponsor me...probably because they thought I would chicken out.
April 19
Drove up to the airfield with my dad, who was even more nervous than me, my stepmum and my boyfriend, Mark. I was very excited but my emotions were going from one extreme to the other... nervous one minute - excited the next!
Went through half an hour of training with Chris the instructor. After three hours we found out I could not do it today as the weather was too bad and the wind too strong... bit of an anti-climax but I guess I still had something to look forward to.
April 25 5am
Woke up feeling a bit queasy and nervous, but very excited! Had been checking the weather all week as I had booked the jump for today. Drove up to the airport at 6am...on my own as the others couldn't get time off work.
Got to the airfield which was a lot less busy than it was the previous Saturday. Within minutes got called for refresher training, just running through the positions you need to be in when you leave the aircraft etc. Met loads of other people and we all discussed what charities we were jumping for... was really nice to see so many people doing something for charity!
Then they called us to get our jump suits and harnesses on and introduced us to the instructor who was jumping with us. Chris was lovely and very reassuring. Walked up to the plane and sat in at the back. Everyone else boarded the plane and that is where my nerves kicked in... the plane was tiny!!!
The first lady jumped out at 3,000 feet as she was doing the static line jump... looked scarier than the tandem as she did it on her own. The plane got up to 12,000 feet and the first two guys jumped. Then the next, then the next... then it was my turn... so we edged our way towards the door after being securely fastened to the instructor! My legs were dangling out the plane and my stomach was churning! Then you have to put your head back on the instructor's right shoulder and your legs underneath the plane to make an arch shape.
Then he counts to three and gives the cameraman the nod and he leans on you and you tumble out of the plane head first - at about 125 mph. At first I closed my eyes and held my breath through nervousness. Went through the clouds and it feels like a cold exfoliator on your face... weird feeling.
It was very windy and very fast..After a while I opened my eyes and started to smile. Realisation kicked in and I actually couldn't believe I was doing it! The view was amazing!
Then Chris pulled the parachute and for a moment I had forgotten he was going to do this... I thought I had fallen off him for a moment... that was one of the scariest points of the jump. We slowed down and were in the upright position. Chris was doing lots of spins and turns... made me feel a bit sick but was lots of fun! The view was again breathtaking. As we came closer to the ground all I could think of was wanting to go back up and do it again... It was AMAZING!
I got a bit tearful for the last minute as I thought about my nan, the reason for me doing this jump. I thought of the little picture of her I had put in my pocket before I left home and hoped she was proud of me.
When we landed I looked at the cameraman and shook my head... I couldn't believe I had actually done it... I have definitely faced my fear of heights and small aircraft and can't wait till I can do it again!
In total I have raised just over £550 for Alzheimer's Society and would like to thank everyone for sponsoring me and to Skyline and the Charity for giving me the opportunity!
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