Free fallin’
Saltwire reporter skydives with the Canadian Armed Forces parachute team the Skyhawks
As the engines rumbled loudly, Warrant Officer Mike Dwyer yelled in my ear. “Number one. Goggles.” Goggles, I thought to myself, better get them on quickly.
He was standing behind me, the straps of my harness tight against my chest and connected to his.
We had rehearsed drill three times. But I didn’t want to get it wrong. I forcefully slipped the goggles over my eyes. I didn’t wait for him to instruct me on the second task and quickly grabbed the two material rings on my shoulder.
“Number two,” he yelled, “Hands.”
To my left the red light told us to wait. With a beep it switched to green. It was time. The large door began to lower, and we took a step toward the edge.
I felt my legs begin to shake. I told myself ‘don’t let them buckle.’ I had made it this far. 13,000 feet in the air over Summerside.
“Number three. Legs.”
I bent my legs just like he had instructed, as he braced my weight in the harness. “Ready. Set. Go!”
His arms flew forward and, from below, what seemed like all of P.E.I. was waiting for me.
So, this is what skydiving is like. This is what skydiving with the Skyhawks is like.
Mike, who is originally from Conception Bay South, has been parachuting for the military since 1999.
As a first-time jumper I was rightfully nervous, but I knew I could trust him. He had the ability to make you feel totally at ease. If Mike said we were good to go, I had no doubt.
Forty-five seconds doesn’t go by as quickly as you’d think when you’re free falling.
When Mike tapped my shoulders, I knew I could let go of the grips.
“‘Keep breathing’ I thought to myself, remember what the other guy in the plane said.”
Two more Skyhawks fell alongside us, moving close to me for a high five or to give me a thumbs up.
After not quite an eternity, my head shot back, hard, as Mike pulled the string to deploy the main chute.
Fun fact: about one in 1,000 main parachutes fail and about one in one million reserve chutes fail. Good odds when skydiving I guess.
“Wow that was so cool!” I yelled.
“Look up,” Mike said. Above was our tandem jump parachute, styled to the Canadian Flag.
“This is the first time I’ve jumped and been able to see the oceans on both sides,” he said as we began our descent.
“The bridge is over there,” I pointed straight ahead.
“Oh, that’s really cool,” he replied.
“Do you want to try controlling the chute?” he asked. “Ya for sure.”
He instructed me to grab the loops. If I raised my hands all the way up, that released the chute, but if I pulled down, that tightened the giant kite and acted like a break.
“What would you say your favourite
jump has been?” I asked Mike as we continued to float.
“Halifax Common on Canada Day this year was pretty cool. For historical reasons. But probably jumping in Newfoundland. My whole family came out to see and that’s my home province.”
If Mike could pick anyplace to jump to, he said it would have to be his hometown of Conception Bay South.
As we got closer to the ground, Mike asked me to check the altimeter.
“I looked down at my wrist, we’re at 3,000 feet,” I said, unsure of my abilities to determine out altitude.
Finally, 100 feet above ground, Mike tells me to lift me legs.
We land, and he unhooks me from the harness.
“How was that? Good?” he asked.
“It was awesome,” I replied, still feeling the adrenaline rush.
He gathered the chute and we walked over to the Slemon Park Airport building. As he began the process of packing up the parachute I quizzed him on his parachuting history.
Mike was an infantry soldier with the Royal Canadian Regiment when he joined the army in 1998.
Within a year he was parachuting.
“We had jumped in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and Belgium for what is called interoperability. Essentially, it’s learning to work together in aircraft capacity. In Belgium, Australia and the UK we learned about their parachuting techniques and skills.”
Mike is deathly afraid of heights, but he’s said he’s learned to face that fear through training.
“I’m being serious. I’m deathly afraid. But through training and training and training I’ve learned to accept fear and work with it.”
He joined the Skyhawks in September 2017.
“I had reached my 20 years of service, so I was eligible for retirement. But when the opportunity to jump with this team came up, who could turn it down?”
Mike said his first jump with the team was exhilarating.
“The biggest fear was making a mistake. Because people were watching. But we had a fantastic training camp and we nailed the jump.”