![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-30-at-4.16.58-PM.jpg\")
And yes, I kinda liked it. Certainly was a rush! 120 mph, no engine, no wing, no control. Sir Issac Newton in the driving seat:<\/p>\nAn aerobatic glider instructor I respect a lot\u00a0counsels\u00a0pilots wearing parachutes to do one tandem parachute ride. To eliminate a lot of unknowns. To be safer pilots. To experience the fall, the rush, the wind, the brain overload \u2014 so that if you ever\u00a0need to bail out you will not freeze; rather you will orientate and have the headspace to pull the cord. All good sense.<\/p>\n
Only I didn’t get to be 52 years old by jumping out of airplanes.<\/p>\n
I’m scared of heights. Petrified really.<\/p>\n
I’m busy.<\/p>\n
Maybe next month. For sure next year. Maybe.<\/p>\n
Well, I finally\u00a0got serious and did it. Moved way outside my comfort zone to become a safer pilot, should something really bad ever happen. And it feels pretty good. Now that it’s finally done:<\/p>\n
And yes, I kinda liked it. Certainly was a rush! 120 mph, no engine, no wing, no control. Sir Issac Newton in the driving seat:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-30-at-4.11.34-PM.jpg\")
Now, do you need a lot of training to do a tandem jump? I think this picture explains the concept quite well:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/hangoverelevator.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
We jumped from 14,000 feet, south of Phoenix. After a minute of freefall, the ‘chute opened and my Russian-new-best-friend let me have the reins for a while. Cool to have some control again. To feel like I’m flying again:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-30-at-4.19.00-PM.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
And the landing? Well, we clearly nailed it!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-30-at-4.20.31-PM.jpg\")
I got a lot more than an adrenaline\u00a0rush and Facebook bragging rights. If I have control failure, if I have a mid-air, I feel much better prepared to jump and pull. To live, to fly another day. The unknown, the uncertainty, has been reduced. That initial OH MY GOD I’M JUMPING INTO NOTHING NEVER DONE THIS OH MY GOD brain lock has been removed. I shouldn’t freeze up. I will be pilot in command. Even without a plane to command.<\/p>\n
The real question is\u2014 what else, out of my comfort zone, should I have done a long time ago?<\/p>\n
And so . . . \u00a0what are you putting off, that will make you a better pilot?<\/p>\n
.<\/p>\n
(Many thanks to everybody at\u00a0Skydive Phoenix<\/a> for a great experience, and the cool air-to-air video. Not a paid placement, I don’t do that. Paid my\u00a0money like everybody else. Did this last week, before President George H. W. Bush died.\u00a0As a young combat pilot in the Pacific theatre, his life was saved by a parachute. He continued\u00a0jumping for fun at major milestone\u00a0birthdays. It is pretty dang neat.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An aerobatic glider instructor I respect a lot\u00a0counsels\u00a0pilots wearing parachutes to do one tandem parachute ride. To eliminate a lot of unknowns. To be safer pilots. To experience the fall, the rush, the wind, the brain overload \u2014 so that if you ever\u00a0need to bail out you will not freeze; rather you will orientate and have the headspace to pull the cord. All good sense. Only I didn’t get to be 52 years old by jumping out of airplanes. I’m scared of heights. Petrified really. I’m busy. Maybe next month. For sure next year. Maybe. Well, I finally\u00a0got serious and … Continue reading Doing something uncomfortable<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[217,219,88,57,218],"class_list":["post-1860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-jumping","tag-parachute","tag-preparation","tag-safety","tag-unknown"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1860"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1872,"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions\/1872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innerairmanship.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}