Ground School

I've spent the past two weekends at Skydive SYD, learning as much as possible about skydiving, and preparing to be able to jump myself. During the classes, you go through everything from the gear itself, to how to fly your canopy and plan your landings. You learn how to move safely outside and inside the airplane, and what to do during an emergency. You also learn to identify canopy malfunctions and how to handle them. Finally, you learn how to PLF - the technique used to minimize the risk of injury during a hard landing, where you need to roll on the ground in a specific way. 

The second weekend of "ground school", we started out by rehearsing the theory, before sitting down for a written examination that tested our knowledge and understanding of the entire course. Afterwards, we proceeded to do a practical examination where we hung in a harness from the ceiling and simulated the jump from wave-off (where you wave to signal that you will pull your parachute), and all the way to the landing. When you have pulled your parachute you count five seconds and then inspect the canopy by looking up, to see if everything is working as it should. 

During the simulated test, the instructor would hold up a random image of a canopy that might either be in perfect condition, or could have a malfunction. If there was a malfunction, we had to act on it according to procedure, which could either mean trying to fix it or doing the emergency procedures where you cut away your main parachute and then pull your reserve. It was a little bit nerve-wracking to go through, but also empowering to see that I truly did know how to handle things if something goes wrong.

I passed both tests and was cleared for skydiving. Unfortunately, the weather was no good so I was told there would be no jumping until a later date. Instead, I ended up going home to continue rehearsing while wishing for better weather soon.

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