Damn! No Thunderstorms Today

-

The weather is ok for flying. (Where are those thunderstorms when you need them)!

Joking aside, we have been lucky to find a good patch in the weather - so we head off to the local airfield. The plan is - I shall be co-pilot and Brenda will be jumping from the plane. As you can see below - our plane (a Cessna Caravan) awaits us on the tarmac.


First - the girls need to get suited up....

Ellen has jumped many times. But for Brenda - this is a first!

So - once everyone is geared up - it's time to board the plane. As you can see below, the cockpit is a bit smaller than a Boeing 747.

Ummm - where's the start button?

With any luck, as the co-pilot, my aviation skills (limited to flying drones) will not be needed!

Beside me, our Pilot - Michael - seems to have it all under control.

Of course Brenda is doing a tandem jump and she will be wearing a guy on her back "Jo" - who will be in charge of the chute. Once the plane gets to an altitude of 14,500 feet, the jump door opens and everyone piles out (well not everyone - just those with a chute)!

Brenda (with Jo on her back) - along with a cameraman specifically assigned to film their jump - will start with a freefall for 50 seconds before the chute is opened. I bet that feels like forever! Then they have about 4-5 minutes of slower descent with the wing being controlled by Jo to complete turns and spirals and eventually a graceful landing. 

Well that's the plan anyway. If you want to watch the video - click on the link below. If you have a problem viewing it - let me know and I will email the link directly to you.

Tandem 26.08.23.mov



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Perugia, Cortona & Montepulciano

-
Image
After a light brekkie - we head into the hills. Our first stop is Perugia - the capital town of Umbria (with a population in excess of 160,000 - it's a big place)! At 8:30am the traffic  through the main business district is heavy. Once we get up into the "centro storico" - it's quiet (too early for the tourists). A view across the main square Another magnificent cathedral, & no matter how many there are, every one has a different look & feel.  And more magnificent views from the top of the town over the valley below. After a coffee stop, we leave Perugia and head back into Tuscany on our way to Cortona - made famous by Frances Mayes in her book "Under The Tuscan Sun" later made into a movie starring Diane Lane and Sandra Oh. Nowhere is on the level in this delightful Etruscan hilltop town! The view from our lunchtime table (in Ristorante Tonino) is so incredibly good! And the food here (Brenda's dish of breadcrumbed anchovies and deep fried praw...
Read more

Assisi, Montefalco & Todi

-
Image
After a couple of days chillaxing - it's time to head for the hills again. Where we are staying in Acquapendente is very central to the hilltop towns of the Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio regions. Our first stop today is Assisi. The "not to be missed" - Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi Two days after his death in 1228, Francis was proclaimed a Saint by Pope Gregory IX - and two days later the pontiff himself laid the foundation stone for what was to become the Basilica bearing the new Saints name.  The Basilica is built on two levels.... The upper level - with its high ceilings and beautiful wall frescoes The underground level (the Crypt) with its stunning ceilings and artwork The Crypt has the remains of the Saint buried in a sarcophagus sited directly below the main altar upstairs The streets are steep and lined by beautiful stone buildings in an immaculate state of repair Well enough of Assisi - it's time to move on to Montefalco. This town is almost completely walle...
Read more