Imagine the exhilaration of freefalling about 15,000 feet, the feeling of floating weightlessly on air; if you thought this was not possible in a town the size of Littlestown, think again.

If you are looking for some adventure this summer and are 18 or up, you might want to consider taking a tandem skydive lesson at The Skydiving Place in Kingsdale, located only a few miles outside of Littlestown.

At The Skydiving Place, students can enjoy quality instruction in a family atmosphere and are trained at a pace that is best for them according to their website.

If you decide that you want to take that first big step (literally), your first tandem jump will cost around $200, which can vary greatly depending on the number of skydivers and the type of dive you request. For the first tandem skydive, you are strapped to a professional skydiver who will control the parachute, or will let you take controls if you are feeling brave.

"The most thrilling part" said Jim Smith, President of The Skydiving Place, "is exiting the airplane," even though you are falling about 150 miles per hour, it is not like a rollercoaster, "you get the sense that you are floating," he described

"99.9 percent of people have a fantastic time and I'm sure they never look at the sky the same again," said Smith

You are probably thinking "this is crazy" but skydiving is a relatively safe and self-regulating sport according to USPA.org (The United States Parachute Association) but overall safety is determined by the individual; skydiving accidents rarely happen because of equipment failure or bad luck, in fact there have only been about 350 fatalities recorded to the USPA in the past 10 years.

"Our job is to make people feel comfortable, I won't let them back out," said Smith "once people get on the airplane they have already decided they want to do this. When they say they want to back out, it's not them talking, it's fear and evolution that people have built up over millions of years," Smith added.

Smith said he gets people from all walks of life, from ages 18-88 "from farmers to doctors and lawyers, we all share the same phobia, we like to challenge ourselves to conquer the fear."

Every parachute is designed for reliability and to be easy to use, to prevent accidents it is required that all students jump in good weather conditions. No parachute is 100 percent reliable, which is why skydivers carry an extra parachute, it is required by The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that parachutes are inspected and repacked every 120 days.

Other equipment skydivers must carry is an Automatic Activation Device (AAD) which calculates the rate of descent, a Reserve Static Line (RSL) which is attached to the main parachute to activate the reserve parachute in case of emergency, a jumpsuit which controls the falling speed, an altimeter which shows the altitude and specialized helmets and goggles or sunglasses which protect eyes from freefall ranges of about 150 miles per hour.

Other safety requirements include having good mental and physical fitness and not taking any medications that could impair your judgement according to USPA , prospective students should also wait a few days after donating blood or going SCUBA diving.

If you are considering the adventure, the first step is to call Smith at 359-8166 and he will make all necessary arrangements which include coordinating with the FAA to legally approve the dive. He will also coordinate ground control with the Hanover airport and provide professional skydivers with only the highest qualifications to perform the demonstration jump. For more information on The Skydiving Place, see their website at www.skydivepa-md.com/first.html.

Learn more about this author, Erin Thompson.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Skydiving: Getting started?
We want to hear your view. Write now!