Indoor Skydiving Nj

My Experience Skydiving At Cross Keys, Free Fall Adventures In Williamstown, New Jersey

When I decided to go skydiving it was actually an easy decision. I booked my "flight" online (which cost about $195), and I was ready to go.

When the day came, I was praying for clear skies and mother nature cooperated. My friends picked up me up and I was surprisingly calm...until they started making jokes.

Apparently for people that skydive on the steady or do it enough to be considered "professional, " it's part of the standard procedure to tease the first-timer an essentially scare them out of their wits. I learned later that this is a tactic supposed to make people feel comfortable so they're not "too" serious about jumping, yet for me, it had the complete opposite effect.

By the time we got there, I was Bugging out. Nonetheless, I told myself that if I do die jumping out of a plane, at least I'll be free as a bird until I go ker-splat.

When we arrived, there were picnic tables set up outside, an a big, covered, indoor section where I could see other divers getting suited up to jump. In my vision was a small plane, an far off was the bigger plane that I'd be jumping in.

First, they had me go inside this small building and watch the beginner's video. This essentially told me nothing except that this skydiving business would not be responsible for my death if I died. It also said to read and sign the waver carefully.

Next, I did just that. Apparently the plane could not go in the air unless it had a certain amount of people, which is why my friends were anxious for me to come. So at this point, they, and other jumpers, were beginning to get mad that I was taking forever to fill out this waver that apparently "no one ever reads anyway." Still filled with complete paranoia, however, I read every single word. It basically makes you initial and sign next to every line that this company is not responsible if something happens to you. I handed my ID and waver to the desk lady, and began getting suited up.

I asked the guy I'd be jumping with how many times he'd jump (after my friends told me they found a random foreign guy off the street that had only jumped once before.) The guy told me 2400, laughed, than said 87. This of course, was not comforting. He strapped the suit on me, and briefly explained what positions to take when jumping; this took a matter of five minutes. Again, I'm all about new experiences, but I thought he'd spend AT LEAST a half hour explaining exactly what to do when jumping. I could tell my questions were annoying him, and half the answers I got I couldn't even tell if he was serious about, so I decided to look him in the eye and ask him one final question: What exactly do I pull so I don't plunge to my death, and when?

When you jump tandem, you don't have to wear a jumper's suit (people that jump solo typically wear one as you can control your movements easier.) When you're jumping for the first time with someone, they are strapped to your back, with the parachute on their back. You don't attach to each other until right before you jump out of the plane.

So, we went to load onto the plane; me, an about ten other guys. Me and my jumper friend were going to be the last to jump off the plane, as everyone else was jumping solo. I remember shaking almost uncontrollably while we were waiting to get on the plane. But once we took off, I was in heaven.

One question I asked my friend was, "What happens if you get on the plane and then chicken out?" "You can't chicken out. Anyone who gets on the plane has to jump, " he laughed. Hmm...

Anyway, once we lifted off the ground, it was amazing. I felt like I was in Edward Scissorhands for a moment; that scene where you see all the little identical houses from above. These faded until all I saw was green, and then clouds and sky. The plane was at about 1300 feet when we jumped. I have no idea whether I used correct "form" when jumping, but all I remember was feeling my face flap around like a newspaper. Don't try to open your mouth or talk when you're in the air; you'll lose your tongue. I was able to touch hands and fly with my friend, who jumped before us.

As we fell, we eventually reached 500 feet, which is when my jumper tapped me. I then pulled the golf ball attached to his right hip, and our parachute came out. It's at this point in falling where the wind calms down, and you can actually have a conversation with the person you're jumping with. Landing wasn't hard either, although as soon as my feet hit the ground I stopped, instead of running it out. The entire fall was about 60 seconds. It felt like 10 seconds.

When it was over, they gave me a certificate proving that I jumped, and a "log book" to keep track of my jumps. My jumper friend said he was surprised I pulled the golf ball, and I did a good job. I then hung around (as my friends were jumping again, ) and got familiar with the place.

Many of the jumpers actually live on-site, as they jump 10-20 times a day depending on the weather. The people I spoke with afterwards were genuinely laid-back and conversational, and explained how once you jump, you're now part of the "community." In order to get a license to jump or be able to jump solo, I'd have to come back within 30 days, or else my tandem "certificate" expires.

The question isn't whether or not I want to go back; it's being able to afford it. Nonetheless, the experience was nothing like I expected.

I was expecting skydiving to be a strict sport; strict because essentially if you don't know what you're doing, you could die. I didn't expect them to be shouting commands at me, but I didn't expect them to be so laid-back either. Now looking back, I see how this is the only way they can be. If you take jumping too seriously, you won't enjoy it. Their "scare tactics" are supposed to influence jumpers to somewhat think about what they're doing, as most jumpers are scared before they jump. I'm not normal, however, so the process became backwards for me I suppose.

The jump itself was amazing. I now know why so many people turn to it for the rush. (If you have a drug problem or some form of addiction, I recommend skydiving as a cure.) Afterwards, your head will still be in the clouds and your senses mangled. If you're driving home or have to do a strenuous activity later in the day, be careful; skydiving drains you more than you'd expect.

Free Fall Adventures is located at Cross Keys, in Williamstown, NJ. (300 DAHLIA AVE, WILLIAMSTOWN, NJ 08094) http://crosskeysskydiving.com/

By Lucy Tonic - Prose/Poetry Writer

Movie/Music Critic