Skydiving

Skydiving has given me some of the best moments of my life, and some of the best people in it. I came into the sport the long way round, working through just about every kind of first jump there is.

My very first jump was a tandem from 16,500 feet, strapped to an instructor. Jumps two and three were static-line jumps from a Cessna 172 at Whenuapai. On a static-line jump, a line fixed to the plane opens your parachute for you. After that I did a TAFF (a tandem AFF, explained below) from 15,000 feet. Then I went to Skydive Auckland at Parakai to complete my AFF. From there I just kept jumping, a lot, at both Parakai and Mercer.

AFF (Accelerated Free Fall) is the modern way to learn to skydive on your own. You jump from the plane with two instructors holding on to you. In the air you work through set tasks, such as holding a direction, turning, and practising the move that opens your parachute. Then you open your own parachute, steer it and land it. Over a series of levels the instructors gradually let go, until you’re flying on your own and on your way to a licence.