The Rush of a Lifetime: Fun Skydiving in Danielson, CT
At Fun Skydiving in Danielson, CT you can experience the thrill of a lifetime, jumping out of a plane and freefalling to the ground at over 120 miles per hour. Many “Real TV” like shows and movie showcase skydiving as a dangerous sport, focusing on the many incidents that happen mid-air, but looking at the statistics, it is very safe, and Fun Skydiving ensures your safety with many trained professionals.
First-time jumpers are required to jump tandem (two people), and the person attached to you is a professional jumper. This jumper concentrates on all the safety aspects of the jump like harnesses, parachutes, steering, and landing. Having the other jumper allows you to worry less and just enjoy the view and flight to the ground.
When first arriving at Fun Skydiving headquarters near Danielson Airport, there is usually somebody already falling out of the sky on their way to a landing. Visitors enter the building and confirm their reservations and are suited up in their harnesses. Then they are brought outside where the short lesson begins. All jumpers are told to think “banana” when they first jump out of the plane, because that is the shape their body needs to be to stay level while falling.
Next, the jumpers meet their instructors, who continue to explain the process that is going to happen when they jump, and also offer their background for any worried jumpers. With something as seemingly dangerous as skydiving the training process is relatively short, but effective. The two main things to remember when skydiving is to think “banana” and the landing procedure.
Landing will be different, depending on the professional jumper that you are tandem with. Some professionals will go for a landing where the jumpers stick their legs straight out and glide into the grass, and some will use a running landing on their feet.
Two or three groups and tandem jumpers pack into a small plane with their pilot, and with the door open, the plane takes off. This is no commercial airliner. The plane ride is a great part of the experience, looking over the state of Connecticut, and even on the hottest days, the air is cold 10,000 feet up.
Once the right altitude is reached, it is time to jump and descend to the ground. The tandem professional jumper hooks up all of cables and safety hooks to the harness of the jumper and they slide over to the opening of the plane. Hanging off of the harness and curling their legs underneath the plane, there is nothing but the jumper and the ground and a huge adrenaline rush goes through the body.
The tandem professional lets go and the freefall begins. The jumper let’s their arms out and makes the banana shape while flying over 120 miles per hour to the ground. After over ten seconds of straight free fall that tops any roller coaster or thrill ride, the parachute is deployed and the divers are yanked up to a vertical position and their speed is slowed down greatly.
Now, with nothing but ground below, it is a relaxing ride as the ground becomes closer and closer. Other jumpers are visible and it is surreal giving a wave as they are drifting down to the ground. Arm movements help steer the jumpers in any direction, and with surrounding rivers and roads, it is amazing how the professional jumpers can land in their field with such accuracy.
Once the divers land, that is when the whole experience really kicks in, and repeat jump is immediately on the mind. Fun Skydiving in Danielson is an incredible experience, and never to be forgotten. Prices for first jumpers range from $195 to $215, but there are many discounts available, including group rates. They also offer video documentation, where a another diver dives parallel and captures the whole experience on DVD.
Fun Skydiving recommends booking at least a week in advance and they do jumps seven days a week. They also offer a full jump school if your interest turns into a hobby, and that includes over twenty-five jumps. Fun Skydiving is great experience for anyone, and will be a highlight to everyone’s Summer.
