Weekend in the air
In early May the part of the BTOMO company's team made the unforgettable journey that was almost a kilometer and a few minutes long, as they came down to earth from the clouds. Five employees did skydiving. For some it was their first skydiving experience, for others it was just one more jump.
The trip was timed not just to the birthday but to the anniversary of BTOMO. The company celebrated its 10th birthday on May 11. Skydiving has already become a good tradition for the team. Thus, they decided to celebrate such a prominent event in this particular way.
In a kilometer over the ground
May holidays surprised the people of the South Urals not in a spring manner at all: snow fell on the eve of the scheduled skydiving. It was not so bad as at the end of April 2014 when the snow storm immobilized and naturally covered the whole city. However, the staff of the airfield “Loginovo” calmed us down: “Skydiving will take place. Come to us”.
Brave people from BTOMO came to the Sverdlovsk Region (where the airfield is located) on Saturday evening to have a good night's sleep, to take energy and to be on the site as early as 7 am on the next day.
Two types of skydiving are offered for amateur parachute divers: on their own and a so-called tandem jumping when the jumper has an instructor behind his or her back who does all necessary tricks while you are enjoying the sights.
In the first case, future parachute divers have to meet quite strict requirements for medical contraindications, and they undertake the briefing that lasts for 3-5 hours. During the briefing instructors tell how to put on a parachute properly, how to treat the main and the drag parachutes, what to do if the parachute has failed, how to land properly. They train how to behave during the flight using the special suspended system. If we speak about a tandem jump, the briefing takes only 15-20 minutes for which you'll be told how not to prevent the tandem master from doing necessary actions during skydiving.
The employees who took part in that event, of course, have chosen to skydive on their own and did it in the daytime. Everybody successfully landed and shared their experiences.
Azalia Nurgaleeva:
— The most terrible moment for me was when I found myself in front of the open access door of the airplane. When after three signals the instructor opens this door and you see enormous fields and woods underneath, only one thought is pounding in your head: “May be, I should not?” But then you look the instructor in the eye and you see that you have not a slightest chance to step back. You collect yourself, remember how to detach yourself properly and do a step in the emptiness... 3 seconds of free fall are completely incomprehensible. May be, it is because of the instant jerk from the opened canopy. When you see that everything is all right, do the scheduled activities you take a few deep breaths and you can calmly admire the landscape. Everything seems so tiny underneath and the horizon is far away. It is so calm and you can only hear screams of your friends who are flying in hundreds of meters from you. When you land, you still have a single thought in your head but now the other one: “More! More! More!”.
Alexey Zakhezin:
— I've already considered skydiving, I've wanted to challenge myself in the air. But I haven't got any suitable company – my friends were not interested in it. I've often watched online videos of athletes skydiving and performing various tricks. “I would like to do the same”, I thought. When our CEO informed us about the trip to the Loginovo airfield and that we would do skydiving, I was very happy and I immediately said that I would come. I decided for myself that I would jump. Even I could not do that for some objective reasons, I would certainly do it the other day.
Preparation for skydiving was supreme. First, during the training class, we studied the construction of a parachute in details, we were told the rules of conduct during skydiving and at the moment of landing, they explained how to behave in various force-majeure circumstances. Then we trained all these skills on the simulators until they became completely automatic. Only those who completed the training course and passed the theoretical and practical exams to the instructor were admitted to flights. I recommend everyone to try skydiving even once in their lifetime!
Yulia Kotlyar:
— A year ago I could not imagine that one day I would be able to do skydiving. I have always admired the people able to do it. To float over the earth, to admire its beauty is the dream of many people. And it was my dream too. If the person dreams of something it will certainly come true. The destiny will give many signs and will lead to right people at the right time. In my case such person was the CEO of our company. It was he who explained in details what skydiving meant, told some funny stories as well as said that skydiving is still one of most demanding one because of its beauty and experiences.
Now about the flight. It is difficult to make the first step – to the unknown. At this moment you have mixed feelings of fear and incredible interest. But it is late to step back. Now you can make only steps forward. I jump... I am flying! I am really flying! It is some super freedom: no thoughts – only feelings! Your eyes catch the picture, but your brain does not analyze it, it just keeps it in the memory. I would always float there, in the air...
Albert Zinnurov:
— Skydiving is a difficult but very significant step.
When I was first told about it I thought of a funny and captivating adventure. But I saw a completely different picture on the airfield. Theoretical knowledge, construction of a parachute, practical exercises, the study of so-called special cases, rules of landing – I felt dizzy from volumes of information, unfamiliar terms and the heat of emotions. For the organizers' honor, the whole training part was explained in a precise and detailed manner. I especially liked practical classes on suspended systems that maximally imitated various real extraordinary situations.
I do not belong to fans of such sports, to professional parachutists (I've done only two jumps) but I can say with confidence that it is definitely worth to overcome yourself and to feel this freedom of flight. Yes, it is incredibly difficult (at least, for me) to make a step to the open access door. But this drive and knowing that you've made it (“you are a man, damn it”), compensate for all worries and fears you feel before the jump. I recommend it.
Sergey Litkovets:
— Skydiving – I've done it more than twenty times and I am still afraid. But I do it for some reason – may be, it is a step towards the dream, may be, it is a self-challenge of going beyond your limitations...
After the jump I like to rig a parachute myself, to walk across the field in silence. When you drive home you do not rush as usual lost in your thoughts. It is the “calmest” sort of calm that you can ever experience – after skydiving. Perhaps, it is the reason I do skydiving.
Perhaps, it is the time for me to use the “wing” – taking into account my weight, bumping on the ground during landing with round canopies means a high risk of injury. The wing is a new and interesting level. I am so enticed. Step forward? Yes!
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