Swooping HawkThe last 15 minutes of the drive was confusing, but we were in the right place! When we got out of the car, a hawk was flying around over the landing area.  Matt tried to get a good picture, but our camera isn't equipped with the right type of lens. It's a bummer because I think it's the closest I've ever been to a circling hawk. 

Out of all this pictures Matt took, this is my favorite one. The hawk was practicing his swoop!

The pilot, John, was outside when we arrived. He told us we'd be on the first load with an AFF instructor and a recurrency student. As we entered the building, we were pleasantly surprised to find real restrooms and air-conditioned packing! The young man working manifest was also John. It was going to be easy to remember names! 

Manifest John gave us waivers to complete, checked our reserve repack dates, and we were ready to go. The recurrency student was doing a low pass - so we'd be getting out at 4,500. Since the student was anxious, the pilot decided to do separate passes.

Before we boarded the plane, the AFF instructor pointed out the land marks - the Go Kart track and some buildings with red roofs. It would be easy to stop the landing area from the plane. We geared up and got on the Cessna 206. Since there were only 4 of us, we had plenty of extra room.

As we were approaching the spot, the AFF instructor told us to open the door. This plane was equipped with a roll-up door - like the one in Kentucky.

Idaho

Matt left the plane and I followed. As you can see from this picture, the landing area is pretty small in comparison to most of the places we've been. There was a fence surrounding it and adding to the challenge - thermals coming off the Go Kart track. If you look carefully at the picture of the hawk, you can see that the nearby "out" is not flat. 

Both of us made it to the grass, but my landing was pretty fast.  I thought I was going to stand it up, but I ended up sliding on my knees. 

Since we were trying to make it to a drop zone in Washington State, we hustled through our pack jobs and bought a shirt. It was just after noon when we got in the car. Now what? 

Skydive Idaho Sign