Skydive!

I've done hang gliding and about 150 hours of flying. I've always wanted to try parachuting, never quite managed it.

BUT I do know most of what will happen to when you do your jump. It'll be tandem with an instructor, and he or she will really do everything and they will do it all right, so it's going to be way safer than it looks, in reality..

You have two parachutes, and often the first one is deployed automatically as soon as you leave the aeroplane, and the second one is "insurance" so here's how it it will go: 

You'll rock up at the airfield and, find wherever it is you are supposed to go. You'll probably get a cup of tea and a short wait then a briefing where you'll be told everything you need to know.

At some point you will go to the nasty, smelly, noisy aeroplane and climb in the back with instructor. After a short period of faffing about the pilot will taxi (drive) the aeroplane to whichever end of the runway is in use today, and faff about some more doing his pre take off checks which will include a few seconds of running the engine hard with the brakes on, (magneto checks) where the engine might sound a tad rougher briefly, (it's sure noisy) before lining it up on the runway possibly with a short pause for the tower to say it's a good idea, and you roll down the runway gathering speed and take off.  

Take off is noisy, if they have a decent aeroplane you'll feel some acceleration, but in a few seconds you'll be climbing out and upwards. Some places they throttle back a bit or have to make a turn very soon after departing the ground for techical or noise abatement reasons but they'll keep climbing up to an awesome height.

Rather than being scared, as you get higher (probably than you've ever been, before) remember that in aviation height is your friend.

In simple terms, the little aeroplanes are pretty much invulnerable above 3,000 feet, because even if the engine quits even a crap  pilot like me has more than enough time to pick his spot, (if you look out of the window at the ground there are ALWAYS big flat spaces underneath you) and glide the aeroplane to a safe landing. I've done a precautionary landing in a field when, cough, I got lost once and although I had power, I know could have done it without power easily enough.     

So they fly you to the place where you get out, and at some point it will suddenly get very "real" for you...

However, they will have briefed you, and you should know exactly how they plan to get you out of the aeroplane, (if you are not sure about that or ANYTHING else, ask a question and be sure that you understand the answer. Preferably before you board the aeroplane!) so rather than allowing your self to feel any fear, concentrate on doing your bit right, being the perfect partner to your instructor as he gets you both to the point of leaving the aeroplane. It'll be noisy, unbelievably windy, and generally quite exciting with a sensation of falling but then the chute will open (all to quickly, if you are wired like me!), and after a bit of wobbling about, I'm told that the descent is a very laid back and pleasant experience somewhat akin to the hang gliding. At this point you are as safe as sitting on the couch, so look about and enjoy the view!

The landing you'll have been thoroughly briefed about, and if you want to practice a bit beforehand try jumping off a convenient step, stepladder, low wall etc. (there's probably a youtube video somewhere called how to do a parachute landing) but from what I can gather it's no big deal. I think 3 or 4 feet is enough, but I do not know.

It's good to prepare, although most normies don't, us Autists tend to like to have a bit more control don't we?

The whole experience although exciting and most probably very different to anything you've ever done before, has a huge amount of safety related stuff going on in the background.Trust the system and the people, it all works very well in aviation.

If anyone wants to take my bet, I'm happy to bet ounces of gold that she will be totally safe and have a great time... 

Do tell me how accurate my description turns out to be. Although I've not done a jump, I've been around aviation for a long time and I'm pretty sure I've nailed all the important stuff. 

if you can arrange do it safely try sticking your head or at least an arm out of a car window when the driver is doing sixty. It'll give you a good idea what to expect in terms of the wind, although during your jump your head will have more hearing and other protection, you still will understand why you want everything tight and not flapping about..  

Have fun. I'm a little bit envious to be honest.

I've done hang gliding and about 150 hours of flying. I've always wanted to try parachuting, never quite managed it.

BUT I do know most of what will happen to when you do your jump. It'll be tandem with an instructor, and he or she will really do everything and they will do it all right, so it's going to be way safer than it looks, in reality..

You have two parachutes, and often the first one is deployed automatically as soon as you leave the aeroplane, and the second one is "insurance" so here's how it it will go: 

You'll rock up at the airfield and, find wherever it is you are supposed to go. You'll probably get a cup of tea and a short wait then a briefing where you'll be told everything you need to know.

At some point you will go to the nasty, smelly, noisy aeroplane and climb in the back with instructor. After a short period of faffing about the pilot will taxi (drive) the aeroplane to whichever end of the runway is in use today, and faff about some more doing his pre take off checks which will include a few seconds of running the engine hard with the brakes on, (magneto checks) where the engine might sound a tad rougher briefly, (it's sure noisy) before lining it up on the runway possibly with a short pause for the tower to say it's a good idea, and you roll down the runway gathering speed and take off.  

Take off is noisy, if they have a decent aeroplane you'll feel some acceleration, but in a few seconds you'll be climbing out and upwards. Some places they throttle back a bit or have to make a turn very soon after departing the ground for techical or noise abatement reasons but they'll keep climbing up to an awesome height.

Rather than being scared, as you get higher (probably than you've ever been, before) remember that in aviation height is your friend.

In simple terms, the little aeroplanes are pretty much invulnerable above 3,000 feet, because even if the engine quits even a crap  pilot like me has more than enough time to pick his spot, (if you look out of the window at the ground there are ALWAYS big flat spaces underneath you) and glide the aeroplane to a safe landing. I've done a precautionary landing in a field when, cough, I got lost once and although I had power, I know could have done it without power easily enough.     

So they fly you to the place where you get out, and at some point it will suddenly get very "real" for you...

However, they will have briefed you, and you should know exactly how they plan to get you out of the aeroplane, (if you are not sure about that or ANYTHING else, ask a question and be sure that you understand the answer. Preferably before you board the aeroplane!) so rather than allowing your self to feel any fear, concentrate on doing your bit right, being the perfect partner to your instructor as he gets you both to the point of leaving the aeroplane. It'll be noisy, unbelievably windy, and generally quite exciting with a sensation of falling but then the chute will open (all to quickly, if you are wired like me!), and after a bit of wobbling about, I'm told that the descent is a very laid back and pleasant experience somewhat akin to the hang gliding. At this point you are as safe as sitting on the couch, so look about and enjoy the view!

The landing you'll have been thoroughly briefed about, and if you want to practice a bit beforehand try jumping off a convenient step, stepladder, low wall etc. (there's probably a youtube video somewhere called how to do a parachute landing) but from what I can gather it's no big deal. I think 3 or 4 feet is enough, but I do not know.

It's good to prepare, although most normies don't, us Autists tend to like to have a bit more control don't we?

The whole experience although exciting and most probably very different to anything you've ever done before, has a huge amount of safety related stuff going on in the background.Trust the system and the people, it all works very well in aviation.

If anyone wants to take my bet, I'm happy to bet ounces of gold that she will be totally safe and have a great time... 

Do tell me how accurate my description turns out to be. Although I've not done a jump, I've been around aviation for a long time and I'm pretty sure I've nailed all the important stuff. 

if you can arrange do it safely try sticking your head or at least an arm out of a car window when the driver is doing sixty. It'll give you a good idea what to expect in terms of the wind, although during your jump your head will have more hearing and other protection, you still will understand why you want everything tight and not flapping about..  

Have fun. I'm a little bit envious to be honest.