1,100th review and why not review a once in a lifetime experience? Skydive Midwest, near Racine, was a great place to do my first Tandem Skydive! ("First"? I thought "once in a lifetime" meant "once"!) With a Groupon, the dive was affordable, and worth the price.
Booked for 2pm Friday, I dove around 5pm. Others in my group of about 20 went earlier, just to give you a rough time estimate. Weekends, I have heard, can be a bear, but there are picnic tables, bean bags, a grill, and generally the waiting area isn't bad. I've heard they've made lots of improvements here, so if you haven't been in a while, there are new bathrooms, an indoor and outdoor waiting area, and vending machines. They could use a bubbler, as having to bring or buy water for a 3 hour wait seems unneccesary.
Our "training" (if you could call it that) was really quite rushed. The young guy that went through it, was a bit flip, and not as thorough as I would have liked for a risky situation. I noticed only one other (older) guy had any questions, so maybe I'm just less of a risk taker by wanting to know the proper steps of the jump. But others in our training were obviously nervous, and jokes about dying or "feeling off today" might be best if they're skipped at this point in the jump process.
Talked with another jumper in our group and he hadn't gone through the training, and wondered how to do the Tandem Jump. The great thing is that when you're getting suited up with the gear, your instructor goes over everything with you again. My dive was with "Klicke", and he was awesome. I had a few questions in the plane, and he went through the whole process, and made me feel at ease, while also getting me pumped for the jump.
The Dive:
- 10 minutes of the plane going up to alt. of ~14,000 feet is a little unnerving, but I also decided if the world were to end, these risky adventurous skydivers would be a great lot to be paired with! Your instructor will go over the dive with you at this time.
- 1,2,3 Jump! Jumping out of a plane takes a lot of faith. In the equipment, and in your instructor. Let Go is all you can do.
- Free Fallin'! I'm pretty sure Tom Petty never jumped out of an airplane, and was speaking metaphorically. Cuz this part is nowhere near as relaxing as his dreamy song. But it's also not as bad as I thought it would be. Going 120mph for 50-60 seconds towards farm fields is pretty cool.
- Parachute! When the chute opens, it's pretty cool. The instructor then undid my hip clips to him and then checked my comfort level. He did a few 360 spins, and then let me drive the chute! I did a few 720s each way, and that was fun. It's very relaxing, and offers incredible views.
- Landing! Sweet mother Earth! You'll skid on your butt and get some grass stains, so don't wear light colors. High five your instructor, and tips are appreciated for good service.
For 48 hours after your jump, you can book again at a discount. And if you want to get the whole experience on video, they offer that for a little over $100. Cool if you're celebrating a birthday, or what not, but I found the Tandem Jump itself pretty unforgettable, and didn't feel the need to share. Oh, except for this very long review! Thanks, Skydive Midwest! read more