Parachuting: An opportunity to feel excitement in the sky<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): People dreamed about flying for centuries before
\ntechnology made it possible. Although planes have long since
\ndemystified flying, people still yearn to drift freely high above
\nearth.<\/p>\n
With parachutes, people can fill that human urge to soar
\nwithout a machine. All it takes to become a skydiver, as
\nparachutists are known, is good health and lots of nerve.<\/p>\n
Parachuting demands mental maturity from its athletes. Because
\nof this, Federation Aeronautique Internationale require that
\nskydivers be at least 17 years old.<\/p>\n
Bambang Samudra, a member of the Bandung-based Aves
\nParachuting Club, said a novice parachutist can quickly learn how
\nto fly and control a parachute.<\/p>\n
\"In practice, most novice parachutists can do solo parachuting
\nafter only eight times of tandem fly with an instructor,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Bambang was trained by military officers during the 1980s,
\nwhen the requirements to fly were much more rigorous. \"A person
\nwho wanted to join a parachuting club in the past had to undergo
\nphysical and psychological tests,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Now it's much easier to jump out of a plane. A series of
\nclassroom drills and ground training are all students need to be
\nable to jump alone safely.<\/p>\n
\"We'll provide students with lessons on aeronautics, the exit,
\nsafety and emergency procedures. They must memorize all of
\nthese,\" Bambang said.<\/p>\n
The latest parachuting training method, called Accelerated
\nFree Fall, is made possible by technology.<\/p>\n
\"Two instructors will take a student hand-in-hand and teach
\nhim about balancing in the air. The instructors will correct all
\nof his movements on the spot,\" Bambang said.<\/p>\n
The latest parachutes are equipped with safety devices that
\nautomatically open a parachute if it is not done manually several
\nseconds after jumping out of the plane, if the skydiver is
\nfalling too fast, if the main parachute does not open properly,
\nor if the person is still free-falling less than 1,000 feet from
\nthe ground.<\/p>\n
The Aves Parachuting Club, established in 1969, has 200 names
\non its membership roster, but only half of them are active.
\nThirty of Aves' skydivers are athletes, mostly college students.<\/p>\n
\"There are various things that motivate people to try
\nparachuting. The most common reason is that they just want to try
\na new experience by joining a parachuting club,\" Bambang said.<\/p>\n
\"Through natural attrition, we know which people are really
\nserious about the sport,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Job demands and travel distance make it difficult for members
\nto remain active.<\/p>\n
The Aves Parachuting Club offers parachuting lessons for Rp 5
\nmillion (US$2,110) at the Lido Lake Resort on the border of
\nSukabumi and Bogor regencies, West Java, which is owned by Adnan
\nMokodompit.<\/p>\n
Mokodompit is one of the club's founders. Others are senior
\njournalist and the country's most senior skydiver Trisno Yuwono,
\nformer club chairman Johnnie Saleh, and the Indonesian Engineers
\nAssociation chairman, Arifin Panigoro.<\/p>\n
The club encourages potential skydivers to learn the skill
\nthemselves rather than just going for the one-shot thrill of a
\ntandem jump.<\/p>\n
\"It is better for students to take lessons, at least, for 10
\njumps, than to take a tandem jump,\" said Bahar, also a member of
\nthe club. The club charges $150 for a tandem jump.<\/p>\n
\"The club does not charge a membership fee. We, the seniors,
\nestablished a business company to finance the club's activities,\"
\nBambang said.<\/p>\n
Several other private clubs also offer lessons including
\nGaruda and 165 Skydivers, in Jakarta; Manguni in Manado, North
\nSulawesi; and Katulistiwa in West Java.<\/p>\n
Bambang said that Aves is the only parachuting club which
\noperates its own plane, a five-seat Cessna 185.<\/p>",
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