The Flight Deck

Comment from lex
Time: August 5, 2007, 3:26 pm

Parachuting is better than crashing. But only just.

Comment from Michelle
Time: August 5, 2007, 3:31 pm

Fighter pilots….
They’re so predictabe

Comment from P-3W
Time: August 5, 2007, 4:54 pm

Nope, not for me.

Why would anyone want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane? It’s climate controlled and even gets you where you want to be.

Comment from Michelle
Time: August 5, 2007, 5:53 pm

LOL
Careful P-3W, you sound exactly like Lex when I first mentioned this plan of mine to him many months ago. Wait, I guess that could actually be construed as a good thing … Anyway I took it as a pilot thing, my brother’s words were almost identical.

But as for me …. I can’t wait!
Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to share the details with everyone. So you can all live it vicariously

Comment from P-3W
Time: August 5, 2007, 9:11 pm

Heh Michelle. Vicarious living I can handle.

Guess I grew up with the “pilot” attitude about parachutes — Dad was flying jets before I was born and Husband flew P-3s.

I’m daring about some things, others not so much.

Comment from doorkeeper
Time: August 6, 2007, 7:20 am

My big bro, the former paratrooper, always reminded me that the planes he jumped out of were gov’t. planes…and so, not perfectly good!!
doorkeeper

Comment from Michelle
Time: August 6, 2007, 10:31 am

Careful, doorkeeper.
Talk like that around these parts could land you in some deep trouble

Comment from unkawill
Time: August 6, 2007, 6:50 pm

There is no such thing as a perfectly good airplane!

I am afraid, Michelle, that you will not be able to Solo till you get at least 3 tamdem jumps under your belt, and Ground school, If the Canadian parachute association has certification requirements similar to the APA.

Other than that, GO FOR IT! It will quite possibly be the most Exciting and Terrifying thing you will ever do!

Comment from Michelle
Time: August 6, 2007, 7:15 pm

Nope. A friend of mine did it a few years ago. She actually plans to jump again when I go. Apparently you spend all day “training” (ground school, I suppose?) and then you have a choice between a tandem or solo jump.

Look out below!

Comment from Snake Eater
Time: August 7, 2007, 2:14 pm

Michelle, don’t listen to these pilot weenies here..for them it’s a different albiet understandable mind-set…an unscheduled exit from their bird usually means that they or their bird …or both …f**ked up and tough questions are comming…assuming they survive .

For you the jump is the planned for event…you should want to go and at that point your training and absolute confidence in your equipment should kick in to make it a glorious event. If your able… go solo…that tandum thing, I my opninion, is for old farts like George H.W. Bush and besides is vaguely obscene to boot…so again go with the solo jump(s)…have fun and above all… keep your eyes open…there will be plenty of time to qualify for night jumps at a later date . Best

Comment from Michelle
Time: August 7, 2007, 4:30 pm

Thanks Snake Eater … now those are words I never thought I would hear myself say a year ago LOL
Will do.
Roger. Out.

Comment from Jim C
Time: August 7, 2007, 6:56 pm

Jumping out of an airplane… or staying safely on the ground. Hmmm, I’ll take staying safely on the ground. No offense, but I never could understand that whole parachuting thing. Of course, I’m not much of a fan of flying either… I guess that’s why I chose truck driving rather than pilot for a career. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that when I screwed up in the truck there wasn’t 30,000 ft between me and terra firma.

Jim C

Comment from Michelle
Time: August 7, 2007, 7:22 pm

I dunno.
I hear this all the time. Not just around here.

And to think that I’m the one that’s suppose to be “the gurl”.

Comment from KrisinNewEngland
Time: August 8, 2007, 9:34 am

I believe in terra firma; if I must be airborne (gritting my teeth and wincing the entire time), I’m not leaving until terra firma is once again firmly under my feet. And no, I don’t need to see it coming at me…I just want it to be there.

Good luck Michelle – you are a braver “gurl” than I.