Jump!
This is a short story I wrote a few years ago that I just
unearthed... Originally written as part of a GCSE course (I did it
when I was 38 to get my english up to standard for another course
cos my CSE in english was... let's just say pants...).
thought I'd see what you thought...
* * *
It began with a poster on the student union noticeboard for a charity
parachute jump. He’d always wanted to do that so enquired the moment he
saw it. The jump would take place over in Lincolnshire aa place called Target Skysports, in April, the goal being to raise £80 in order to qualify for the jump.
of course ask the other people on his courses, his lecturers and family, but that wouldn’t raise much. However, he had been using Usenet for well over a year. He'd made friends online, so why not ask on the newsgroups too?
began turning to the left. He pulled the right while relaxing on the left and
rotated clockwise, deciding to do a full 360 to see everything. The Humber bridge drifted into view.
* * *
A month had passed since he posted his parachute jump story to a few
newsgroups he regularly frequented and people had pledged over £100. It was time to start collecting. Over the next month he found he’d raised over £150 and handed in the money to the organiser.
* * *
He completed two turns, viewing the panorama before deciding it was time
to think about where he was going. He looked down and began rotating again
to locate his target.
“It should be easy to see, but the scale’s a bit hard to work out. . . now where. . . is. . . AH! There!” he thought.
A small white cross was in a field by the airstrip; he’d almost missed it
expecting it to be bigger. He gave the left grip a quick tug to aim himself in the right direction and then relaxed, wanting this to last for as long as possible. He knew that pulling the grips not only turned him around, but also increased his rate of descent, so decided that from now on, he would only steer when necessary.
* * *
The day of the trip to Lincolnshire had arrived and the other jumpers were
assembled outside the student union waiting for the driver and organiser to
arrive. Soon after this, names were checked off on the list, everyone piled into the minibus and they were off.
They arrived at around midday. After everyone had filled in some paperwork and declared themselves free from medical conditions that could cause problems, the training began. First in the classroom, explaining how the chutes were folded, how they worked, how to jump from a plane and how to land, followed by an hour of jumping off a three foot platform to practice landing procedure.
Unfortunately, the weather had taken a turn for the worse by the time they
were ready to make the jump, the wind becoming too strong and rain on the way, so the jump had to be postponed to the next day. Everyone was offered places in a group of caravans at the back of the office and they made themselves at home before taking a trip to the local pub for a meal and a pint or three.
plane was only a small Cesna, only five could go up at a time. He stood by the field, looking up at the first batch of parachutes as they deployed and drifted slowly to the ground, wondering what it would feel like. He’d been scheduled for the fifth flight of the day, which would be in about two hours so he had plenty of time to enjoy watching the others.
The ground was getting closer, a lot closer. It was time to prepare for the
landing. He went over the previous day’s training, put his legs together, relaxed his knees and waited. Suddenly, the ground was rushing at him, almost taking him by surprise at the speed of it. His feet hit the ground and allowing his knees to absorb much of the impact, he rolled with it. He’d landed quite close to the cross but not directly on it. He got up, ran behind the parachute and began to collapse the canopy before a stray gust of wind could pick him up.
Elated, he walked with the chute back to the offices to get out of the harness
and jump-suit and hand in the equipment.
* * *
He was in the plane! Finally, the time was near. Something he’d been waiting for for the past four months. The engine roared into action and the plane moved off. This was the first time he’d ever been in a plane and yet, he didn’t feel scared. The plane left the ground and began to circle to the correct height. He was sat in the position that would be second out&n
bsp;of five to jump out.
“Oops, sorry”, said Andrew, turning to face the front.
“GO GO GO!”, yelled the instructor.
thought I'd see what you thought...
Jump!
“ONE THOUSAND! TWO THOUSAND! THREE THOUSAND! FOUR THOUSAND! CHECK CANOPY!” he bellowed.
Andrew looked up, breathed a sigh of relief and then had a look
around
The view was amazing, the land stretched out before him and a river glinted in the sunlight far to the north like a ribbon of silver. He reached up and located the grips to his left and right.
The view was amazing, the land stretched out before him and a river glinted in the sunlight far to the north like a ribbon of silver. He reached up and located the grips to his left and right.
* * *
It began with a poster on the student union noticeboard for a charity
parachute jump. He’d always wanted to do that so enquired the moment he
saw it. The jump would take place over in Lincolnshire aa place called Target Skysports, in April, the goal being to raise £80 in order to qualify for the jump.
He signed up for it and began thinking of ways to raise the money. He could
of course ask the other people on his courses, his lecturers and family, but that wouldn’t raise much. However, he had been using Usenet for well over a year. He'd made friends online, so why not ask on the newsgroups too?
* * *
He decided to test the grips and gave the left one a slight pull. He slowly
began turning to the left. He pulled the right while relaxing on the left and
rotated clockwise, deciding to do a full 360 to see everything. The Humber bridge drifted into view.
“Hmm, I didn’t even know that was so close”, he thought to himself “But wow, what a RUSH! That was amazing and this view is just beautiful!”
* * *
A month had passed since he posted his parachute jump story to a few
newsgroups he regularly frequented and people had pledged over £100. It was time to start collecting. Over the next month he found he’d raised over £150 and handed in the money to the organiser.
* * *
He completed two turns, viewing the panorama before deciding it was time
to think about where he was going. He looked down and began rotating again
to locate his target.
“It should be easy to see, but the scale’s a bit hard to work out. . . now where. . . is. . . AH! There!” he thought.
A small white cross was in a field by the airstrip; he’d almost missed it
expecting it to be bigger. He gave the left grip a quick tug to aim himself in the right direction and then relaxed, wanting this to last for as long as possible. He knew that pulling the grips not only turned him around, but also increased his rate of descent, so decided that from now on, he would only steer when necessary.
* * *
The day of the trip to Lincolnshire had arrived and the other jumpers were
assembled outside the student union waiting for the driver and organiser to
arrive. Soon after this, names were checked off on the list, everyone piled into the minibus and they were off.
They arrived at around midday. After everyone had filled in some paperwork and declared themselves free from medical conditions that could cause problems, the training began. First in the classroom, explaining how the chutes were folded, how they worked, how to jump from a plane and how to land, followed by an hour of jumping off a three foot platform to practice landing procedure.
Unfortunately, the weather had taken a turn for the worse by the time they
were ready to make the jump, the wind becoming too strong and rain on the way, so the jump had to be postponed to the next day. Everyone was offered places in a group of caravans at the back of the office and they made themselves at home before taking a trip to the local pub for a meal and a pint or three.
* * *
He relaxed, relishing the very odd and unique blend of helplessness and freedom. The ground was definitely getting closer now, though it seemed to be taking longer than he expected. Time in this situation would be very subjective. Someone standing on the ground wouldn’t have all these feelings and sights to experience. They say time flies when you’re having fun, but that wasn’t the case here, it seemed to have slowed to a snail’s pace, if anything.
* * *
Finally, the jump was going ahead, the weather was fine and calm. As the
plane was only a small Cesna, only five could go up at a time. He stood by the field, looking up at the first batch of parachutes as they deployed and drifted slowly to the ground, wondering what it would feel like. He’d been scheduled for the fifth flight of the day, which would be in about two hours so he had plenty of time to enjoy watching the others.
* * *
The ground was getting closer, a lot closer. It was time to prepare for the
landing. He went over the previous day’s training, put his legs together, relaxed his knees and waited. Suddenly, the ground was rushing at him, almost taking him by surprise at the speed of it. His feet hit the ground and allowing his knees to absorb much of the impact, he rolled with it. He’d landed quite close to the cross but not directly on it. He got up, ran behind the parachute and began to collapse the canopy before a stray gust of wind could pick him up.
Elated, he walked with the chute back to the offices to get out of the harness
and jump-suit and hand in the equipment.
* * *
He was in the plane! Finally, the time was near. Something he’d been waiting for for the past four months. The engine roared into action and the plane moved off. This was the first time he’d ever been in a plane and yet, he didn’t feel scared. The plane left the ground and began to circle to the correct height. He was sat in the position that would be second out&n
bsp;of five to jump out.
Safety checks over, the first jumper moved to the doorway. Her rip cord was attached to a cable connected to a bar above the doorway, she seated herself on the ledge and faced forward. On the command of the instructor, she pushed herself out and was gone. Then it was his turn. He moved to the doorway, still feeling no fear. His ripcord was connected, he placed his hand over his emergency cord, put his legs over the ledge.
“No”, the instructor said “You need to face forward”.“Oops, sorry”, said Andrew, turning to face the front.
“GO GO GO!”, yelled the instructor.
He pushed himself out and was away...
“ONE THOUSAND! TWO THOUSAND! THREE THOUSAND! FOUR THOUSAND! CHECK CANOPY!” he bellowed.
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9 Comments
:)
By the way, was Target Skysports based at Hibaldstow? I did my one and only parachute jump there about 15 years ago and funnily enough, it was also a charity jump that I had to raise a minimum of £80 for, organised through the uni Skydiving Club. We also had our first attempt postponed because of weather and ended up coming back the following weekend to complete it. And we stayed in very, very cold caravans (it was December) behind the main office. Nostalgia....!
Looks like we did it at about the same time.
Maybe if I win the lottery... Might not be allowed to now, broke my foot a couple of years ago and have a plate in it now so that might disqualify me.
When people ask for "anything interesting about you" in silly icebreaker things, one of the ones I say is, "I've been up in a plane once, but never landed in one"
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