I’m standing on the wing of a plane while it’s in flight—just walking along as if the feat were nothing. But this is just my imagination; I’ve never really walked on the wing of a plane while it was in flight.

However, I have always been a thrill-seeker. 

One day I overheard one of my coworkers saying he was astonished that another wanted to go skydiving. In fact she asked him to go, but he declined. I couldn’t hold myself back. I jumped from my seat and strode to her cubicle. “Are you going skydiving?” I asked Harika Tridandapani. 

Harika said, indeed she wanted to, but that she would like someone to go with her. I quickly volunteered to be her cohort in her death-defying adventure. 

It takes chutzpa to jump out of a plane.

The operator taking our reservation gave us a quick rundown of how to get ready and what to expect. 

• Anticipate 45-60 seconds of free-fall
• Anticipate 5-7 minutes once the parachute is pulled before touching down
• Wear shoes that won’t come off
• Bring long sleeves (sometimes it gets cold at 14,000 feet)

But two minutes on the phone could not really prepare us for what was to come. 

Getting Ready

We drove to a little airport in Fort Morgan, Colorado. When we first arrived, there was a group just landing from a jump. The sky was raining parachutists. I thought, “This doesn’t look too bad. I can totally do this.”

I was hopeful we would go in the next group to jump; but alas, we were not. This gave us time to watch people packing parachutes. It was quite interesting. Jumpers would land, bring their chutes in and a few people would pack them up. It is quite a feat to pack a parachute and quite important to do it correctly. Other peoples’ lives are dependent on another person’s packing skills. Of course one can pack her own parachute, but allowing others to pack it gives the other person the opportunity to make some extra money and experience with aspects of jumping.

After about an hour or longer our tandem instructors called Harika and I to get into our harnesses and then began briefing us on the procedures for the jump. “We will need to hang our toes out of the edge of the plane door. This door is about four feet high, so you’ll need to squat down so we can both fit out the door. Hold your harness straps when we go out. Once we’ve left the plane, put your legs back between mine and try to kick me in the butt. Push your hips back into me and arch your back,” said my instructor.

Simple enough. Harika and I have this down. My instructor was tightening the leg straps on the harness I was wearing and I said, “That’s a little tight.” 

He replied, “No one has ever complained that they were too tight once we were in the air.” 

Touché.

The Plane

The airport was tiny—only used for crop dusting the area and the skydiving operation, and had one runway. 

The outfit had a Cessna (don’t quote me on that) that had the seats removed and replaced with benches. The airplane door had been removed and was replaced with a fiberglass door that could be opened in the same manner as an overhead garage door (minus the electrical unit).

Harika and I, our instructors and three other single jumpers piled into the plane. We took off and began climbing to an altitude of 14,000 feet. The single jumpers left the fiberglass door open for some time while we ascended. One of the instructors commented that I looked a little tense. I didn’t feel too anxious, but I was scared. I was in fact about to jump out of a plane for the first time in my life. 

I checked the shoulder straps on my harness, turned to my instructor, and asked if they were too loose. He just chuckled and cracked a joke, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” He was right, no complaining about how tight it was once I was in the air. 

We were able to see the pilot, all his instruments and the view out the windshield of the plane which was very cool. 

I stared out the side windows and watched as more and more of the land became visible as we climbed higher and higher. This was a view I was used to seeing, but normally from commercial flights where I imagine I’m walking on the wing of the plane. 

Okay, about time to either jump to my death or jump to one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. 

The Jump

The tandem instructors strapped us to them, and we watched as the single jumpers went out before us. With no hesitation, one jumped. The next two jumpers stood on opposite sides of the door with one foot inside the plane and the rest of their bodies outside the plane. Then they jumped at the same time. Only ones left were us. I’m really nervous now. I just keep running the instructions over and over in my head because I don’t want to make this more difficult for my instructor. 

I see Harika and her instructor scoot along the bench to the open plane door. 

They step up to the edge. 

Now they’re out the door and free-falling.

I am very apprehensive now and not sure if I actually want to do this. I can’t turn back now. We step to the edge. I can’t even bring myself to put my toes over the edge of the doorway. I’m staring out of the plane at the ground.

It is 14,000 feet below us. Now I’m terrified.

I squat down and push my head back into the shoulder of my instructor almost as if I am trying to push him back inside the plane. However, I don’t push that hard—just enough so that I feel as secure as I can with him behind me, and we just sort of fall out the door.

The wind is screaming past my face at about 120 miles per hour. I hear it. I feel it. The land is expansive. I can see for what could be hundreds of miles—farmland mostly.

Then I feel a tap on my shoulder as my instructor points up at the plane. I look up and there is the plane. Amazing! We did it. 

(Click here for Harika's skydiving video)

I start to wonder what will happen if the parachute doesn’t open properly. I really hope those packing the chutes knew what they were doing! I push those thoughts from my mind and look at the Earth below. I relish the experience as it is taking place. My fear is subsiding and ecstasy is filling me. I literally feel like I’m flying even though I know I’m plummeting to the Earth at a ridiculous speed. The free-fall is intense. I hear my instructor say, “Pull the parachute.”

“How do I do that?”

Gliding and Landing

He pulls it, and I tell myself I misheard him. The parachute opens with no trouble. Thank you parachute packers! My life was in your hands, and you packed it perfectly. 

The ground is substantially closer now. I see less of the expanse of the Earth and see farm plots closer now in more detail. I begin to giggle. 

It is so beautiful—serene, humbling, freeing, Zen. Now we are floating through the air. I’m able to suppress the giggles for a little bit and look to the horizon, to the ground below and up to the sky. There are no words to describe this—only one that scratches the surface—phenomenal. 

My instructor pulls a handle on his chute and we swing in a downward spiral. I know that no rollercoaster ride will ever compare to this! I get some of my powers of comprehension back and realize he is navigating us over to the landing field. 

Giggle, giggle, giggle. 

We can now see the people on the ground who are watching us. I wave my hands, but I think I’m too high still for them to be able to pick out my hand gestures. 

We’re on the ground within just a few minutes of pulling the chute. A catcher comes to help unhook me from the tandem instructor. Back on the ground my adrenaline is pumping, and I am exhilarated.

The Verdict

Skydiving was easily one of the most memorable experiences of Harika’s and my lives. We also highly recommend it—if you have the chutzpah. 

After just entering my 30s, it helped provide me with some perspective on my life. This experience challenged me to expand my comfort zone. We all need to challenge the boundaries of what we are comfortable with because this spurs us to self-improvement. It taught me to trust in others and their experience and that I am still as daring as I ever was.

Harika and I have faced death and are ready for future challenges that will come our way. After all, they can’t be as terrifying as skydiving, right?