First Fall
The first time I fell of the sky was in the last week of October 2011. I rushed from Chennai to Delhi after Diwali and packed my bag and Parachutes and landed in Dhana, near Sagar in Madhya pradesh in Central India - a beautiful landscape
interspersed with hillocks, lakes and cut across by numerous small
streams. Dhana is a sleepy village and houses the Paratroopers brigade of the Indian Army. Abutting the Cantonment is a small airstrip of a civilian aviation company whose air crafts we would be using for Skydiving. This jump was not just special to me but was also important to my company Dreamcatcher's as this was going to be the first jump by the director of the company i.e. none other then me. For over the last 10 months we have been taking all the preparatory steps for this day, getting permissions from various govt agencies, bringing together various skydiving enthusiasts, rigging parachutes, enhancing the skills of our jump masters etc. These herculean efforts are mandatory to make the jumps safe and legal.
My team consists of Jump masters - Sky masters - Br, Ba and GmR supported by Am on ground. I simply run around with these guys to make them feel comfortable. My mission in the last week of Oct 2011 was to make the jump happen and not to jump. I was going around the place with my men supervising them training fellow first timers. It was interesting and fun watching people getting trained and to appreciate the care and caution my team exercised to make the jump safe and enjoyable to the first timers. I also sat with the freshers and appeared for the exams!!!!!!!!!! and passed it to.
I remember that it was on the last day of the camp, a breezy Sunday afternoon where I was assisting fellows pack parachutes when Br came running towards me and told " Sir, why don't you wear this harness? ". I simply obliged thinking that it was some sort of demo for the first timers as I had been a subject for demo in the previous days. We both walked towards the aircraft that was idling in the taxiway, ready to go. I asked him if this was going to be a demo for exit practice. "No sir, you are going up in this sortie and jump". Ba clamped a radio in to my ears and told me that he would be doing the target control for me. I was taken aback as I was not ready for this surprise. I was persuaded by Br to do it. I got in to the aircraft and the propeller stated spinning.
It was a Cessna 172 aircraft that had been retrofitted to perform skydiving. Our Pilot Mr. Sagar was all smiles when I got inside. My fellow jumper in the sortie was 18year old Mubi a young chap from Kashmir who later told that he would have used me as a an alibi for not jumping had I refused to jump. His words still ring in my ears
" Sir, all that I did in these many years came in front of my eyes within 3 seconds of my jump".
I should testify to my fellow skydivers that I have more fun in going up in a aircraft with out a door than jump of the plane. Believe me folks the climb up the sky was the utmost thrilling part in the entire sequence. Where else do you get such a chance to go up in a aircraft sitting on the threshold with out the door!!!!!!!!!. It is like going up the sky in an auto.
We were up in no time and were briefed by Br about the landing area and wind direction when the aircraft passed over the runway during the pre-final run. Br and Sagar were communicating with each other through sign langauage and all the sudden there was a tap on my shoulders. I heard Br shouting at my ears " Siiiiirrrrr Out".
I was crawling on my knees like a baby and put a leg out side on the
footstep of the aircraft. The moment I put my hand outside to reach the
strut below the wings I felt strong winds pushing my hand behind. The
propeller was the culprit. The level of alertness of mind suddenly shot
up and I was completely aware of what it going on with me and around. I
took the other leg and placed in on the step and by now I was completely
out of the aircraft. Alas no going back and i will have to jump.
Traversing to the end of the wings using the arms was not as hard as it
was during the ground training as the winds and the forward movement of
the air craft create a sort of weightlessness and help you accomplish
the task.
. I got as far as I could and looked at Br who was carefully watching me climb out and scanned my position with his eyes and gave a thumbs up and shouted "Go". I released my hands and I was in a different plane altogether.
And there I was under the mercy of gravity falling freely like a stone and could see only the white sky. I religiously counted or rather shouted 1000! 2000! 3000! 4000! 5000! and suddenly felt a jerk and an upward thrust. I saw my guardian angle - parachute- with a yellow feather beautifully fluttering over my head and attached to my shoulders through risers. I checked the altimeter attached to my chest and it read 3000 feet. Here I am alone over 3000 feet flying like a bird. The voice of Ba crackled over the radio. The intermittent crackle continued over the next 3 minutes till I landed safely in front of him. I grabbed the toggles and started steering my canopy and congratulated my self upon becoming a canopy pilot.
What I saw from that height and what i felt during that time is astounding. I wouldn't call it the time of revelation but it was certainly the time of awakening. I was not flying rather I was meditating in the air. I was completely aware the sorroundings and was able to sense and feel as every microsecond passed by. The meandering dry river bed below looked a giant snake, the runway like a ribbon and massive white roof of the hanger below looked like a picnic towel spread on lush green grass. 3 minutes stretched like 3 hours with the 3000 feet between me and the terra firm becoming infinite. I was going around in circles and wandering aimlessly in the air under the watchful eyes of Ba. He made turn right, turn left, go round and round and fall vertically.
I heard his voice cracking in the radio once again repeatedly telling " prepare for landing". I checked my altimeter and it read 1500 feet. I was directly above the runway at its northern end with winds blowing parallel to the run way from north to south. I was flying with the wind. I noticed the rapidly approaching ground with the dimensions of object getting bigger and bigger. I could clearly see runway marking rushing fast behind. It gave me an illusion of riding in a road up in the sky. By now I have reached 600 feet and took a left turn as instructed, with in a few seconds another left turn as instructed over the radio and there I was on a final approach at 300 feet above the ground and could see the crowd anxiously waiting below.
I could hear people jeering and hooting from below and it grew louder and louder. I was not flying into wind and executed the final instruction that came via video " Flare Flare Flare" when I was hardly 12 feet above the ground. I felt a sudden upward thrust and landed like a graceful crane that beautifully glides over water and lands on the bank of the pond or river. My yellow angel gently collapsed behind me upon delivering me safely on ground. There were voices " Congrats, Bravo, You have done it, How was it", but i was in a completely different plane still soaked in the felling of a kite hovering above, kissing the clouds and wandering aimlessly.
You will have to feel it folks.
To Fall or Not to Fall, the answer is "its worth falling" resulting in multitude of mixed feeling.
Welcome to the world of skydiving where falling is fun....................................
Will continue to fall................ Keep watching
Mohan
http://www.facebook.com/SkydiveIndia
www.dreamcatchers.co.in
