Johnny's Skydiving Story
Skydiving in Lompoc California
1801 North H Street, Suite G , Lompoc, CA 93436
(877) 652-5867
http://www.skydivesantabarbara.com
Tandem skydiving in santa barbara county
Photo Credit: SkyDive SB
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Is Skydiving on your bucket list?
In Lompoc, California you can take the highest tandem jump on the west coast!
Take in unforgettable views of the Pacific ocean, space coast, chaparal, hillsides, and vineyards, and feel the adrenaline rush of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It’s safe, don’t worry! Skydive Santa Barbara is fully recognized by the FAA and has operated daily for the last 15 years with an untarnished safety record.
They’ve provided jumps for more than 300,000 thrill seekers since 1998. So, what are you waiting for?
About Skydiving in Lompoc CA
Skydive Santa Barbara has three jumps to choose from:
(1) 8,000 foot tandem jump
Perfect for anyone wanting the thrill of jumping off an airplane at a low price. 20 seconds of free fall.
(2) 13,000 foot tandem jump
If you are looking for a nice long free fall at a great price then this is the jump for you.
(3) 18,000 foot tandem jump
This skydive is like no other. It’s the highest drop zone in the entire United States.
You would have to join the military or NASA to jump from a higher elevation. You even have to take oxygen in order to take this dive. This is the most popular skydive. You’ll get a longer free fall (90 seconds) more parachute time and the best bang for your buck.
Skydiving in Lompoc California is hands down the best choice.
Skydive School (Assisted Free-Fall Program)
Take your love for skydiving to the next level with our Assisted Free-Fall Program. This program is designed to prepare you for your first solo jump! The course consists of 4 to 6 hours of ground training, 7 assisted jumps and finished off with your first Solo Jump from 13,000 feet.
Johnny's Skydiving Story
What Is A Tandem Skydive Actually Like?
Going to jump out of a plane?
If you’re thinking of going skydiving, you need to read this.
If you’ve already been, you’ll probably be able to relate to this. This is a detailed description of exactly what a Tandem skydiving experience feels like. A Tandem skydive means a skydive in which you’re attached to an instructor, and he/she controls the parachute.
You’re flying with someone else, and not on your own, in case you were wondering.
In early 2013, I did a Tandem parachute jump for charity. It was one of the best experiences of my life. The feelings and sensations involved are beyond words, nevertheless, I will try to explain them here.
What a Tandem Skydive actually feels like
You get to the drop zone usually sometime in the early morning to be sure you get on the first few flights up, but it doesn’t matter too much. You get to the drop zone and check in, fill in all the forms, your heart starts racing a bit and you look around at all the other people about to jump out of planes.
You’ll fill in forms such as insurance and things like that basically meaning that if you should die the company isn’t held responsible. Not to scare you or anything, but they get you to pay well in advance!
First you meet a tandem skydive instructor!
Next you’ll go into a room where there is music playing and an instructor will tell you lots of things about skydiving, crack a few jokes and generally pump you up for it. You’ll watch a video of someone else skydiving along with some pump up music.
There may or may not be a group of young girls screaming or getting all hyper, maybe they were dared or challenged to come today? Who knows.
After that, you’ll have a bit of a wait around the drop zone, just watching people moving around getting ready, you might see a couple of plane loads go up and fall before you do. When watching them, you’ll think that they’re falling fairly slowly, until you go up.
Then when your name is called up to the rigging tent, you’ll meet your personal tandem instructor and shake their hand, but you’ll be sort of distracted by all the people running around and all the equipment In the place.
He’ll kit you up and make sure your skydiving harness is on properly. Right, now you’ll go towards the plane. It’s at this point that you realize that you’re genuinely going to jump out of a plane 10,000 feet in the air and hope that the parachute works.
It really starts to dominate your thoughts until all you can think about is the present moment.
Where you are right now, it’s really powerful when this happens as you’re so connected with ‘now’ that nothing else matters. So everyone will load into the plane and you’ll pack right to the back, and no matter how small the plane is, they will somehow squeeze everyone into it, so it will be a tight fit.
They will be talking or shouting amongst themselves, looking at their altimeters from time to time.
Now the plane will climb for a bit and after what feels like 20 minutes you look out the window and think this must be high enough, better get ready to jump, and then your instructor will shout in your ear, we’re not even a quarter of the way yet.
This is when you realize just how high 10,000 feet really is. It’s very high.
So after another 10 minutes or so, the plane will start to slow down a bit and level out. The instructors then start the process of throwing everyone out of it. Now they’ll do their final checks on the equipment and their altimeter, and then...
Then they open the plane door
This will be loud.
Skydiving feels incredible
But no amount of description can convey to you just how loud this will be until you do it, so just for now accept that the door opening will be loud. If you’re not going first, you’ll see the first person go to the edge of the door and disappear outside.
You may hear them screaming and it will slice through the screaming. They’ll scream on the edge and then as they are pulled out of the plane the scream slices in half and you don’t hear it any more.
They just vanish and almost the second after that, your instructor will tell you to get on your knees and slide over to the door. You do so, and when you get to the edge, you are filled with adrenaline like nothing you’ve experienced before.
You will be euphoric.
All other thoughts vanish and you’re left with a few seconds. These few seconds are possibly the most amazing seconds you will have experienced so far in life, the seconds where you lean forward and leap out of the plane. they feel like forever, and at the same time, a brief moment.
Time seems to just freeze while you’re in free-fall
This is no exaggeration when I say that it feels like time freezes, you fly almost in slow motion out of the door, and the overload on your senses that you experience is indescribable.
You’ll then start to accelerate, fast and within a few seconds you’re falling at about 140 mph.
Although it doesn’t feel like you are cause you can’t see things moving past you. It feels very intense and the force of the wind pushing up at you is very strong. You can’t hear anything, as it’s literally so loud, and yet at the same time, utterly peaceful and serene.
The camera man will now come into view and start floating around you, he might give you a high 5 or something.
Now after a few more seconds, the instructor will pull the chute, and you’ll dramatically slow down. Sometimes the force at which you slow down can make people slightly dizzy or maybe wind them a bit.
Now your parachute is open and you float to the ground
The chute will spiral and steer towards the landing zone, and it’s at this point that you may feel a bit dizzy or feel your ears pop.
This is normal and won’t last. Enjoy the view, there is such an amazing view from that high up. Now you’ll come into the landing, and the chute will level out and you’ll slide forwards into some grass. Bring your feet up and knees to your chest and slide into the landing.
Now what follows this is a state of disbelief and shock. You won’t know what’s just happened until you sit down and it really sinks in.
You won’t get the same feeling from indoor skydiving, because it’s not as intense, you get the rush of air and it feels like free-fall, but it’s not the same, the air isn’t as cold, you don’t get the view, the realization, and the experience that you do from real skydiving with an indoor skydive.
It’s almost the same, and they put you through a wind tunnel, so you get the rush of the air, but don’t take my word for it, try both and then see what you think.
I want to skydive now!
Hopefully I’ve just pumped you up and you’re ready to go skydive right now! If so, here are some tips to help you get the most out of the experience.
1 – Make sure you’re not tired. Being tired will mean you can’t focus as well, and you’ll sort of miss important sensations and feelings because you’re so tired.
2 – Don’t eat much before. The spirals the chute does on landing can make you feel a bit sick if you’ve got a full belly of food!
3 – Take pictures! I find that pictures are better than video because you can pick the best looking ones and publish them on Facebook. Video is FAR less flattering, believe me.
What you may find is that the day after you are instantly addicted to skydiving and already want to go again. That’s what a tandem skydive feels like.
Blue Skies.
That First Jump
"Once you have tasted the sky, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."
I guess my story begins with this quote from Leonardo DaVinci.
It was a beautiful afternoon in late November. Trees had shed their last leaves, warm sunshine blazed through clouds, and winds breezed through my hair. I had visited Skydiving Sta Barbara for the first time to make my tandem jump, and it was absolutely the most exhilarating experience of my life. I still remember the moment like it was yesterday, when the door was opened, cool air rushed in, and I looked down from the door of the flying airplane. I'm not going to lie, it was scary! My heart began to beat faster, my mouth got dry, and my palms got sweaty. My instructor counted down... and we jumped!
I never had a moment in which I was so excited and frightened at the same time. All that I could do was feel the amazing sensation of soaring through the air. The entire free fall humbled me to the expanse of the world beyond me, and it showed me another long, healthy, and beautiful perspective of this world.
I knew that I would come back again as soon as I landed. And yes, I did!
I started my AFP student program right away in December. I scheduled my ground school, spent many days at the drop zone, and many hours pouring over the training materials. On a sunny Tuesday in December, my instructor and I went up to 13,500 feet for my first AFP jump. It was this time that I could finally confront the door of the plane, and see what I was made of! That was also the day I had my REAL experience of skydiving. It was exhilarating, powerful and life changing, all at once.
Stepping out that door of a flying airplane terrified me at the beginning. The feeling was surreal and overwhelming. I asked myself if jumping out the plane was what I truly needed to do to make myself happy, if skydiving was truly redefining who I was meant to be. The answer was, obviously, YES!
As an unexpected side benefit, a very important one, were all the incredible people I met along the way that I now call family: my dropzone instructors, coaches and other jumpers. They come from different walks of life, and every one of them has a unique story to share. But, united by the passion for the sky, the whole skydiving community treats each other like close family. I gained so much love and encouragement from each one of them. They walked by my side when I was in the shadow, pushed me forward when I held back, and picked me up when I fell. They helped me realize that every skydiver faces the fear, they jump out of a flying airplane on purpose, for a reason, to connect with their true selves, touch the spirit of freedom, conquer their fears and discover the trouble-free, liberating sensation of flying.
With all the love and support, I kept moving forward, kept breathing and kept focusing on the maneuvers I had been trained to do. My jumps were where I found my peace and confidence. I finally could feel relaxed as I was flying through the sky; my heart was still pounding and shaking, but I started noticing the bluest of skies, the beautiful arch of our planet and the glowing sun in my eyes; it was truly amazing. That was where I realized that I was not fighting the wind, gravity, or nature, but just the fear that was inside of me. When I conquered this fear, broke through that barrier and let go, the entire experience got much easier and more interesting.
I ended up with my "A" license in March. That was the time that I became a BABY skydiver. My heart smiles harder and my soul gets stronger. Skydiving allows me to trust myself, release myself, and to be myself that I haven't been in years. More importantly, I am embraced with more true friends who have become my brothers and sisters, and I found a place where I am not from, but have come to call “Home”.
Skydiving is a beautiful addiction, and it is more than a sport. It is something about the attitude, which requires dedication, willpower and perseverance. This spirit will remain in our blood wherever we go.
"Above the surface of the clouds, a whole new different world exists, for those who let go their fears, this world is a reality, a freedom and a gift"- Unknown
"There is absolutely nothing that I have experienced in my life that compares to the rush skydiving gives off. There are tons of pics and a real good video that I will never get tired of viewing and showing to my friends and family. I should have skydived sooner in my life. I've been missing out! If I could rate this a 6 out of 5, I would. Yes, I'd do it again, and again, and again, and again..."
John Siva's Story: A 30-Year Skydiver’s Best Advice
CV-born and bred in NYC John Siva is a force to be reckoned with.
He's been jumping for 30 years, first of all--and, in all that time, has nailed a perfect safety record. The stats are downright amazing: He has been the instructor on over 3,000 tandem skydives and, in all those jumps, not one student has been injured. Not only does John instruct tandem students, he trains new skydivers to earn their solo licenses in Skydive Monroe's excellent AFF program. (And he's a great sport skydiver in his own right, to boot.)
John's connection to Skydive Sta Barbara started, quite literally, at the very first jump of his skydiving career. He made that jump at a dropzone north of LA that no longer exists--but the current owner of Skydive Sta Barabara was John's first jumpmaster. He had just moved from Orlando FL at the time, and skydiving joined a growing list of reasons for him to make his new home in central CA.
"It wasn't that hard for me to move 900 miles away from family," he laughs. "Okay, that's not true. My brother moved down here about six months before I did, and it was the lack of work opportunities in the area that we lived up there in NYC that truly brought me to FL. I didn't work on a farm, and I didn't work in a factory, I did work in an office, so my choices were rather limited at the time. After living down here for a while, my brother would send me up his local job ads. I was just amazed at how many pages of job ads there were in California versus in the area where I was living, so I packed up and went. And it wasn't hard to move away from the NYC winters. They are brutal. The last winter I was there--actually, at his going-away party--it was 30 below. I don't miss that."
Soon after making the move, John found skilled work, fixing dents on collision cars, painting those cars for a local body shop and working on Airforce base with the fly boys. One day, a coworker walked around the shop asking people who wanted to make a skydive. The guy really had a bee in his bonnet for it, as he had just done four years in the US Air Force base nexy door, and had received ground training but never had, never made any jumps while he was in the military. John was intrigued. He threw his hat in.
"I let him make all the reservations," John remembers, "And we were supposed to go down on a Sunday morning to do the class. I was given options: Do you want to do a static line, tandem or AFF? None of these made any sense to me. But the gist I got out of it was if I was going to make a skydive, I wanted to get some freefall and not be 'strapped to some dude,' sitging on my arse. That was my mindset. At any rate, the guy who did all the reservations called me the night before and said he was sick and couldn't go in."
Undeterred, John went on his own. He did the class, made the jump, and hasn't stopped jumping since. To John's knowledge, the other guy never did made a skydive. That was 29 years ago.
"I've been at it for a while," John laughs.
To date, Jojn has been a beloved fixture at Skydive Sta Barbara and other similar outfits around the country, for the past 17 years.
"We have always had a decent plane," John smiles. "We can get to altitude in 10 minutes. The owner is safety-oriented. We have got a solid safety record. The equipment is really nice. It's really nice here, and I'm proud of it."
In three decades of skydiving here, there and everywhere, it's no wonder that there are plenty that stand out in John's memory.
"I have three kids," he says, "And my middle child--who is the oldest daughter--took up skydiving. It just so happens that I am a medium-build kind of guy, and she was tiny, so I was pretty much one of two instructors that could go with her. We were strapped to each other and got all the way down. I taught her all the way through. I was her main instructor the entire time. Yes, I did fail her on a level just because she didn't do what she was supposed to do, safety wise. She was surprised that I did it, but I think she appreciate it as well. You don't skate through life, especially something like this. It is kind of important to know the safety stuff."
"The first time I released her was a big moment," John grins. "On her category C. The other instructor fell away, and I stayed with her. It was pretty amazing to see my kid skydiving. She has a few more than 100 jumps now."
John's daughter is, by a very long shot, not his first student. In fact, he has been teaching AFF regularly since 1997. The philosophy of skydiving instruction that he has developed over those intense years of teaching is, quite literally, simple. He strives to make sure that he never overwhelms a student with unnecessary information.
"You have to keep it short and simple," he says, "Because the first time we jump out of an airplane, it is overwhelming. It truly is. As an instructor, you have to break through that overwhelm in order to convey what you want to get across--and keep calm, no matter how well or poorly the student is doing. In my experience, the situation will pull through."
These days, John is proud to be a part/full-time painter as needed, aerospace and aeronautics engineer and part-time skydiver. That balance is just the way he likes it.
"Like scuba diving, I'm very professional, but I never want skydiving to become a job," he explains. "I think it would take some of the fun out of it if I felt I had to make a jump to support myself and my family. That's why people burn out, get complacent and tired. The balance I've struck means that skydiving is my choice and my hobby, and I am very passionate about it. I have been for many years."
As you might imagine, John meets excited new jumpers every day who come to him with advice about their brand-new-and-blossoming skydiving careers. For these--and for you--John is ready with a helpful word.
"First of all, set aside the time and the money you'll need," he insists, "Because you really need to put in the effort to try to be current. At the beginning, people don't realize the importance of that. Just know that if you do a reoccurring jump further on in your career, it is almost worse than if you do one earlier. And don't downsize too fast. And remember to smile!"
Is paragliding safer than skydiving?
It’s not easy to find definite answers. Based on my experience of many years in both activities I would say that skydiving should be safer, because:
- it is a mature sport with long tradition of improving both the gear and procedures,
- it’s regarded as aviation and often regulated by state authorities far more strictly than the paragliding, in turn seen as leisure and mostly self-governed,
- it’s perceived as potentially more dangerous, therefore people tend to pay more attention while exercising it.
Nevertheless I tried to find some hard numbers. For the skydiving that will be the USPA statistics as that’s where the sport is most popular, and by the same token paragliding numbers come from DHV, the German paragliding association.
Fortunately, base numbers are the same - according to the USPA skydiving was exercised in the USA in 2014 by ca. 36,770 of its members[1] while DHV says it had ca 35000 active pilots in 2015[2].
As for injuries, in the year mentioned there were:
729 skydiving injuries with 24 fatalities
220 paragliding injuries with 10 fatalities
And here I must admit I am surprised, as it is contrary to my expectations :) Even as the number of paragliding injuries is higher in reality, as not everybody reports a sprained ankle, it’s not that the grey number would be half as big, and certainly not in case of fatalities.
The answer may be that the real percentage should not be measured against raw membership, but actual number of jumps vs. hours flown. USPA says in 2015 there were 21 fatal skydiving accidents out of roughly 4.2 million jumps. That’s only 0.05 fatalities per 10,000 while wiki estimates PG deaths as 2 per 10,000… alas, pilots not flights.
Even when these numbers may seem inconclusive to you, one thing is certain. As in all airsports the actual cause of accidents are 95% human errors. Very rarely an equipment malfunction occurs, and even then it can be mostly explained by human factors again, like improper maintenance or setting.
I must admit I find this trait of flying activities really attractive - you are always responsible for your actions in pretty direct and spectacular way. Therefore if you are not honest to yourself with assessment of your skills, you will know that pretty fast, and sometimes painfully. The nature knows no mercy for dumbasses up there.
To sum it up - don’t be scared, if you will exercise any of these activities with your brain always on, you will be all right. Many people do that and have many years of beautiful experiences to dwell on and there is no reason you shouldn’t too.
So many ways to Fly: Parasailing vs Paragliding vs Hang Gliding
Who doesn’t itch to fly? When Wright brothers invented the first aircraft it was a landmark invention not only because of the ease in transport it was going to bring but also because it satiated the deep human desire to fly. We humans kept inventing newer ways of flying and ways of making them commercial enough to allow anybody with the desire and guts to try them. Today, the most extreme way of flying in my knowledge is ‘Wingsuit Flying’. Wikipedia describe Wingsuit Flying as, “the sport of flying through the air using a wingsuit, which adds surface area to the human body to enable a significant increase in lift.” This may be difficult to grasp so just look at this picture and you know what they are talking about.
What-is-Wingsuit-Flying
Wingsuit Flying – Superhero for REAL!
Wingsuit flying is a very specialized sport, and hopefully one day I will have the courage and means to try it out. Johan is brave enough to add it to his Itch List here. I haven’t got there yet. As of today, not all of us can have these Superhero-like flights. But there are many other relatively easier sports that allow you to (almost) soar like a bird. You may have heard about Paragliding, Parasailing or even Hang gliding before, but aren’t quite sure how they compare against each other. If you are wondering how different they are and which one of them is for you, I have put down the definite differences between these activities. The experience that you get with each differs, just as the guts and effort needed differs.
So here, the fundamental differences between Parasailing, Paragliding and Hang gliding. If you have any questions, please shoot I will try my best to clarify.
What it is
Parasailing is a recreational activity. The person pursuing it is towed behind a boat while attached to a specially designed canopy (parachute-like) called Parasail wing.
Paragliding is a recreational and competitive adventure sport. The pilot flies a light-weight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft called Paraglider.
Hang gliding is an aerial adventure sport. The pilot flies a light and non-motorized foot-launch aerospace craft called a hang glider.
As seen from a distance: (L to R) Parasailing, Paragliding, Hang gliding
Basic Operating Principles
Parasailing: You are fastened to a parachute tied behind a boat. The boat accelerates across the water and lifts you high into the air. The parasailor has little or no control over the parachute. Paragliding: The 3 basic principles are: How to launch, turn and land a paraglider. Hand brakes are used to control speed, elevation and direction with the paraglider. If however you do a Tandem Paragliding you are strapped to a Pilot and have little to no control over the Paraglider.
Hang gliding: The basic principles here are similar to Paragliding. The maneuvering is particularly different while Hang gliding as pilots have their body strapped into the craft, and change direction by shifting body weight. Again if Tandem Hang Gliding, you don’t need to bother with the launching or turning.
Effort: Physical and Mental
All the three sports are more relaxed than you might think, and require very little in terms of pilot strength, flexibility, and just activity in general.
Parasailing is the least demanding of the three sports. You are tethered to a boat, where you go is totally determined by the driver of the boar towing you. Parasailing actually requires more effort by others and additional equipment beyond the parachute. That’s why it is more recreational.
Paragliding also does not require much physical effort by the Pilot. Pilots change direction and pitch by pulling on the cords connecting you to the Paraglider, changing the wing shape and therefore how the wind interacts with it. It may sound mentally strenuous but it’s simpler than it sounds – and knowing how the glider will react to your input eventually becomes second nature. Hang gliding can become slightly tiring on long flights because the pilot is in a relatively less-comfortable position and changing direction requires shifting body weight. The pilot should have good core strength.
As seen up close: (L to R) Parasailing, Paragliding, Hang gliding
Footnotes
[1] United States Parachute Association > Facts/FAQs > DemographicsUSPA > United States Parachute Association
The United States Parachute Association and its nearly 40,000 member skydivers enjoy and promote safe skydiving through parachuting training, rating, and competition programs. USPA represents parachute jumping from aircraft and helps keep skydivers in the air.
[2] https://www.dhv.de/web/fileadmin...
United States Parachute Association
Since safety is a priority, only jumpmasters and instructors certified by the USPA will assist with your skydive.
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"The tandem jump was the best time of my life! I'm so glad I did it at Sta Barbara. The staff is very professional and friendly. And I loved my freefall video. Definitely coming back soon!"
- Mike S.
"This is actually one of the best places I have been to. The crew is really awesome. Thank you guys for giving us such an amazing experience!"
-Julia R.
"Absolutely amazing!! My instructor not only got us to the ground carefully, but also made me feel safe while also maintaining the excitement (even after the last second nerves kicked in). They did a phenomenal job with my photos and video (worth EVERY penny). The excitement is unmatched!! If you're thinking about skydiving, I would definitely recommend Skydive Sta Barbara!!"
- Anthony J.
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