Great footage from the National Geographic

Parachuted in? Only literally

I enjoyed two skydives at Weston on the Green this afternoon, in cloudless skies.

For the first, I floated out stable, looking up at the plane, before surveying from freefall the constituencies represented by John Howell MP and the Prime Minister. It’s a slightly flat landscape for my liking.

For the second, I exited sitfly before rolling onto my back. My transitions are still unstable and I back-flipped several times before spinning wildly upside down. Tunnel time required perhaps… I pulled high, 5500 ft, and enjoyed the view under canopy.

Not a bad way to relax – now to that email.

On a lighter note

I have learned that the British Parachute Association’s magazine, Skydive, is featuring me next month, including this photo:

There’s a rumour that I may be the first skydiving MP. I don’t know if it is true but, in any event, I wish I had more time for it.

The sky is looking particularly spectacular at the moment. Hey ho – perhaps next weekend…

Empuriabrava skydiving photoset

Uploaded a new photoset to Flickr – Empuriabrava, Oct 2009:

Here’s another favourite – a well-formed 5-way formation, high above the canals of Empuriabrava:

Empuriabrava, 19 Oct 09

Five-way assembling

Five-way assembling (click to enlarge)

Once the wind subsided, we had a great day. Eight jumps, knocked out as fast as possible: first an eight-way, then five-ways when three lads left for the airport.

More photos when I’m not behind a filter blocking flickr.

Skydive Tramontana

Skydive Empuriabrava occasionally suffers a phenomenon knows as the “Tramontana”: a strong wind from the mountains. It’s been blowing since we arrived on Wednesday but it is forecast to subside today or tomorrow.

In the meantime, this is as close as I’ll get to a skydive:

Skydive Tramontana

Skydive Tramontana

It’s still a great place to be and, with broadband available, I can get some work done. Maybe tomorrow…

Oh, and I recommend lunch here:


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The bus to 15,000ft

Just uploaded a few shots from Hibaldstow. Here’s the bus to 15,000 ft:

Exit Steve

In the end, I made eleven jumps this weekend, seven yesterday and all good fun. Here I asked a tandem cameraman to shoot a solo exit:

Exit Steve
Originally uploaded by stevenjbaker

I find I must make way too much effort to match my fall rate to the average skydiver, particularly in big formations (which fall slower), so here goes the diet…

UKS Boogie – Hibaldstow

So here we are, Mark and I, at Hibaldstow for this year’s UK Skydiver Boogie. Via Target Skysports:

Welcome to Target Skysports, the home of skydiving in the UK. We offer sky diving courses from up to 15,000ft at our dropzone in Lincolnshire.

I arrived yesterday in time to jump solo from 15,000 feet, taking a full minute of freefall before pulling at 4000 feet to familiarize myself with the DZ.

Today, it is too windy…

Skyhook reserve static line

Follow the link from the photo for a sequence of images showing how, when the main parachute is cut away in an emergency, the Skyhook RSL deploys the reserve parachute using the main as a drogue. The reserve is professionally packed in the white bag on the left, which pulls away completely in the air to release the chute. (The reserve needed its regular repack, creating this opportunity.)

This is an extra safety feature over the usual reserve static line arrangement, which just pulls the reserve pin and allows the reserve pilot chute — grey in the picture — to deploy the reserve.

D-day Commemoration

On a grey and showery day, skydivers at Weston on the Green commemorated D-day, not by skydiving, but by jumping static line at what for us is a low level: 3500ft. It makes you think.

D-day Commemoration – Dornier G92, originally uploaded by stevenjbaker.

Sport parachuting is relatively low risk, believe it or not. We go high with modern equipment: it works reliably and there is time to take the reserve if the main fails. No one is, or will be, shooting at you. But to be on a static line, lower, is a little unnerving.
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Surveying Cameron’s constituency and jumping with a paratrooper

The weather was superb for skydiving yesterday and Weston was alive with skydivers, tandem passengers and their families. Beth caught me on camera a couple of times under canopy:

I jumped three times. The first two were solo jumps for fun — one in shorts, one in my FS suit — allowing me time to survey Mr Cameron’s constituency at my leisure: it looks good. For both exits, I gently forward rolled onto my back for a good view of the Dornier G92 flying away: beautiful.
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Freefall coaching with Skyskills at Bodyflight

Some footage from 45 minutes of tunnel time at Bodyflight yesterday with Chris Shaw of Skyskills and Mark Ryall. In places, it’s quite funny:

My objectives were:

  1. To achieve a slower neutral fall rate.
  2. To learn the discipline of stopping to take grips.
  3. To move more crisply.

We achieved these. As you can see, I still have far to go, but we’re getting there. Chris is a great coach and I highly recommend him.

First jumps at Weston in 2009



Steve under canopy, originally uploaded by stevenjbaker.

Shamefully, it took me until yesterday to jump at Weston this year.

The weather was superb, with the perfect wind for relaxed landings. Jumped two formations with people not previously met and discovered my fall rate much improved by losing a few kg.

Why skydive?

Someone suggested to me that the reason for skydiving is the thrill of the risk to life. Um, no, not quite.

It is because, for about a minute, the skydiver is at liberty in the sky without an aeroplane. It is because skydiving is an exercise in personal responsibility, for yourself and for your friends.

Ultimately, it is for the reason Mark so eloquently explains in this video, as he comes out of freefall at a good safe height of 3000 feet:

The risk to life? No, it is the risk of life.

A really easy pack

As its last pack was in the dark, I thought it best to repack my main parachute before jumping it. Finally, getting this 210 sq ft canopy in the bag was easy. Follow the link from the photo for more*:

In the container, originally uploaded by stevenjbaker.

It turns out the secret is not just practice, but practice in the packing shed with the packers on a slow day. Thanks Skydive Algarve.

WARNING: This image and this sequence of images are not intended to instruct you in parachute packing. You are responsible for obtaining packing instruction from a qualified person.

New We7 playlist — Skydive

Some music suitable for jumping out of aeroplanes, by way of relaxing after returning to work:

Man, 97, completes 120mph skydive

A 97-year-old man from Dorset is believed to have become Britain’s oldest skydiver after jumping out of a plane at 10,000ft (3,048m).

George Moyse, who will celebrate his 98th birthday on Wednesday, landed safely on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

via BBC NEWS | England | Man, 97, completes 120mph skydive.

Good on him :)

And remarkably, to watch the video on the BBC site from Austria, I had to watch an advert first:

Adverts on the BBC

I had forgotten the games the BBC plays to raise revenue while maintaining the licence fee… See also “How to save the BBC”, a publication from the CPS.

Kitesurfers at an Algarve beach

Follow the link for a few shots from Portugal.

Skydive Algarve – day 4

Windy again today, but we managed two jumps in the early evening. Both were a mess, but good fun. At the beach, the kite surfers were out: pictures to follow.

Based on the weather forecast, Mark and Jake expect to go to 21,000 feet tomorrow, and perhaps land on the beach, but I will be on my way home.

It’s been a great trip. I love Europe: we were Brits jumping at a German-run drop zone in Portugal with staff and guests from all over the continent. People just get on with things and enjoy themselves, wherever they come from. A pity then, about the structures of the EU.