Our trip to Orange was filled with anticipation.  Kim’s husband, Frank, was the designated driver, and Joe sat up front.  Kim and I were riding in the back - we carried on like little girls.  We couldn’t stop talking.  It felt like it was taking forever to get there.  I was fighting back the “Are we there yets?”  Then, I saw the airport!  We were only a few minutes away!  The Skydive Orange Hangar was next!

Outside the hangar, there were a couple of picnic tables, a set of bleachers, a mock plane, and a sofa.  Yes...a sofa complete with loungers catching some rays. The hangar was bustling with commotion. Skydivers walking around in jumpsuits, a group watching skydiving on the big screen, and parachutes strung out across the floor.  That’s when I noticed this girl with her chest pressed against the floor and her butt up in the air. Hmm...that’s a little bizarre.  I wondered what she was doing.  Maybe it was yoga?  After watching her for a few minutes, I realized that she was trying to squish the air out of the parachute.  Very interesting technique!  

We found student manifest and the process began... 

• STEP ONE: Sign in at manifest.
• STEP TWO: Watch a video about tandem skydiving.  The video was at least 15 years old. The man who designed the tandem system said he hoped the FAA would approve it sometime in the early 90's.  Maybe it’s time for a new video?.
• STEP THREE:  Complete the paperwork.  There are ten (or so) pages of signing your rights away. You get injured—it's not their responsibility. Chute doesn't open—not their responsibility. Equipment failure—guess what?  You’ve got it...not their responsibility. Basically, no matter what happens—they are off the hook. If you want to jump, just keep on signing.
• STEP FOUR: Paying a small fortune for 20 minutes of entertainment. They look through your paperwork to make sure that you’ve signed everything, and take your money. Tandem 220 + Video & Stills: 95 = Total: $315 - Jumping out of a plane for the first time – PRICELESS! 
• STEP FIVE:  Training - For a tandem jump, very little training is required.  One of the certified instructors, Jake Davis, spent about 30 minutes with us. He showed us how to arch our backs and talked to us about body position.  We practiced outside the hangar on the grass.  He took us to the mock plane and used a student (I volunteered Kim) to demonstrate the tandem exit.

SO...we managed to sit through the ancient video, sign our lives away, forked over a small fortune (equal to a car payment), and we endured the rigorous (ha ha) training, but that was nothing compared to what came next...

• STEP SIX – Waiting!  We’ve all had to do it before...wait our turn.  From the first day of elementary school right up to last week at the bank, we’ve learned to take turns with others and to wait patiently (or appear to be waiting patiently even when you are highly irritated). Putting our wait in perspective... We completed our registration and training by 3:00 or so, but we didn’t get to jump until about 6:00 PM.

During the wait, we looked around the hangar.  Who would be jumping with us?  Are all these people instructors? What sort of guy jumps out of a plane with a person strapped to them? On the way to Orange, I envisioned someone with purple hair, a nose ring, tattoos and crazy eyes. Kim and I talked about what would make us comfortable.  I had a few requirements.  I wanted someone that looked serious, looked strong, and I wanted him to have blue eyes.  I know that sounds silly, but it’s a trust thing...my dad has blue eyes.

After what seemed like FOREVER, our names appeared on the white board.  We were going up on load 21.  My jumper man was Paul T and my video guy was Dennis.