Let's Go Skydiving!

A few years ago, a friend asked me to go skydiving last minute at Skydive Paraclete XP in Raefod, NC. I wanted to go for a while and a slot opened an evening after work. Because it was last minute, I had no time to get nervous or contemplate it. Honestly, this was the best way to go!

Skydive Paraclete XP is a great destination for jumps and is close to Fayetteville, NC. They hold competitions where the renowned Golden Knights have performed along with many others. They also have a wind tunnel for indoor skydiving. While the indoor tunnel looks like loads of fun, I was wanting the real deal…. jumping out of a plane!

We went at sunset on an evening in October. My friend was already certified in jumping, so he jumped on his own with his gear. I was paired up with a tandem instructor and he was great! Since this was my first jump (and only one, so far anyway) I got the video and pictures to prove it! The staff are all super friendly and love telling jokes. My tandem guy told me jokes the entire time we ascended in the small airplane. His humor helped me stay calm and laughing the whole way up.

We climbed up to about 12,000 feet and a few guys jumped out who wanted to fly only at canopy level, meaning they deployed their parachute as soon as they jump, no freefalling. We continued to climb to about 14,000 feet where we got the green light to jump!

Okay, yes, I was super nervous and the initial descend made my stomach float up…. the picture says it all! Once we stabilized while freefalling, it was like pure bliss and so peaceful. One of the guys grabbed my hands to spin us around slowly, watching the sunset in the distance. The further down we fell, the warmer it got. It was cold when we first jumped!

The parachute was pulled after what felt like mere seconds (about 60 seconds to be exact) and we floated down. We floated down slowly so I could enjoy the view and landed with perfection if I should say so myself. I was speechless when we got down and the adrenaline was pumping through my body. Once the adrenaline wore off I was dead tired! It all happened so fast, and I have no regrets about it!

If you’re in the area Fayetteville, NC area, I highly recommend skydiving with Skydive Paraclete XP!

Have you skydived before? If so, where?