On the Git of Go

I hope you enjoy my next story. It's about my favorite sport, skydiving. So some of the terms in here might take a little contemplation to understand. But part of why I wrote this story is to try and give people a more realistic look at skydiving. Some terms are necessary, and I'll try to explain those. Also it's hard to explain the way jumpers use the air currents and direction to fly. Without getting teachey.

The story has quite a lot of sex in it, two MFF's one MMF, but it's mostly in the second half. So if you want a story that jumps right to fuckin, sorry this isn't it. It's a fairly long story too. A lot of it is true, the island is there, the ranch is there. Swimming pool, sauna is there. The boogie, airplane, jumpers were all there too. But I think it only happened once. In a special October.

The night jump is true, the story of the great lake jumpers is true too. The use of the pool lights, and cars on the runway, true. The Twin Otter landing I describe, true. So if you were there, yes it's that boogie. All of the names have been changed. Some characters added and some left out. A lot of the happenings are fantasy. Unfortunately this story is self edited so the mistakes are all mine. All characters are over 18. Plus it's an STD free world. Be safe in the real world.

And now for my disclaimers which I have mostly plagiarized but didn't realize I hadn't copied the authors' name. My apologies and thanks for these profound words to whoever you are.

Yes, I never met a comma or ellipse I didn't like.

Yes, it jumps around too much.

Yes, it's in the wrong category.

Yes, it's too long.

Yes, it's too short.

Yes, this is stupid shit.

Eyss, I need an editor, are you volunteering?

And, yes, I suck.

And you have yourself a warm and fuzzy day.

If you want a perfect story, go write one.

ENJOY!

A lot of people write and post stories, do so for their own enjoyment. Most are honestly trying to make better and more readable stories. How everyone can help is to post constructive comments and votes. This is our bread and butter. So please vote and comment.

*****

Go on the git of go. It was what a lot of the big plane sky divers used to say. To put a freefall formation together, with forty people. All from one plane, in 60 seconds. Everything has to click together like a Swiss watch. First you have to get the exit timing smooth. That's the count...Ready...Set...G...

The first group out of the plane. That's the base, the foundation. If that's fucked up. What happens outside the plane is greatly extravagated inside the plane. If the exit is blown...when you get out the door, getting your first look at the formation...Your already waaay behind. Plus it's accelerating away, faster and faster.

When I've been at a party or get together, talking about my sky diving. I've got an example that I like to use, a real world occurrence. One that we all see most every day. Plus I put a little story to it.

A group of friends are going to a restaurant, Joe says he'll buy all the pizza and beer we can eat and drink. If...we can beat him there. You're the closest one following him. Due to traffic you're stuck at a stop light behind him. He's first in line, your number eight. It's a single lane, but it opens to a three lane after the stop light. Here's what fits like part of a sky dive. Joe's first, the base, that foundation.

As the light turns green, Joe takes off fairly fast. The guy next starts out pretty good, but he's already two car lengths back. The next guy is quicker so he's only a length and a half behind the second guy. Joe's up to about 15 mph. The next car driver to start, has a cell phone talking to his broker, the older lady behind him is in no hurry. Joe's up to 25 mph, you haven't got to move yet. The next two are normal so they add four car lengths to the race. Joe's up to about 30 mph. You still haven't got to move, the restaurants only quarter mile away. You going to get free pizza and beer?

The next part is what I call, riding the slide. Move fast into one of those outside lanes. Slam it fast, up to a hundred miles per hour. When/if you get ahead of Joe, side slide into the parking lot. Just like those racing car drivers do on new car commercials. Keep sliding until you slot into a parking space.

Ready...Set...Go, we've all used this count since we were little kids. Starting foot races or anything that needs an equal start. Such as the starter gun at a track meet. Most things we use this count for, only the go, the first pulse of go is used. Like that starter's gun. In sky diving, we need more, so the Set and Go are broke down into pulses and the spaces between. Imagine six starters in a line; they fire their guns one right after another, fast as they can. One runner starts on the first gun, next on the second gun and so on. If someone's not exact, the race is called. Everyone gets to come back, to try again. Except in sky diving you can't start over.

Breaking down, 'Set' is necessary because, just before exit, people crawl outside the plane. Hanging on to handles, fasten to the plane. The purpose of this is getting the most people off the plane, out the door, as fast as possible. Also as close together as they can, thus forming that base group. This group starts the formation, setting the pace, place and form. That's where everyone needs to get to, fast. Guess what, the others from the plane are coming, fast too.

There can be as many as six jumpers hanging on the outside of the plane, floating, that's what we call them, floaters. The floater closest to the front of the plane, goes on the first pulse of Set. The next goes between the S and E. The center two goes on E. The first rear floater goes between E and T, with the last going on the T. The purpose of this is to keep them from getting all tangled up. As they let go and fall off the plane.

These six need to look like a door opening, with the rear most floater as hinge. The center two have, on their knees in front of them, two holding onto them tight. They're pulled out with the six floaters. There are three that are loosely holding on the two kneeing, pressed up tight against their backs. They're moving between the T and the Git of go.

Most of the people inside the plane and close to the door area are going on that pulse, the git of go. It's not until you get back into the divers, are they going on the second pulse of go.

All the people inside the plane have to be very careful of their timing too. If you go early you're pushing those ahead of you. Maybe causing someone to trip and fall or tumble out the door. If your timing is late, that causes the guy behind you to pause, then the guy behind him, so on and so on. Don't be like that line of cars at the stop light.

Sky Diving, sure it's a hell of a rush, adrenalin high, that fight-flight fear of death. Conquering one of man's basic fears, falling. Coming as close as you can to the desire for true flight, free as a bird. All this stuff is right there in your face. You just jumped out of an airplane, that's as in your face as it can get! Screaming across the sky at 100-160-200+ mph. Wind noise so high you can't, couldn't possibly hear anything. Air being shoved in your face, nose, and mouth so fast. It's like you can't breathe. But your actually breathing too much. None of that, can you ignore or deny. It's the bright light shinning right in your face!

This count, exit timing, positions and such. Are just part of what I view as the hidden beauty of sky diving. This is the part of jumping, that's not in your face. It takes a while to see what it's doing to you, your soul and your body. Even if you're not aware of it, you don't feel it. It still happens.

Trying to put this in the simplest way. Your mental chalk board's wiped clean. Your soul, mind, body, get a vacation. Not a very long one, but still a vacation. How it happens is a very natural part of the jump. Add the wild, fast adrenalin rush. To the total concentration and extreme focus to the exit timing. The release of self to just follow that flow out the door with the group. Not even thinking, you're already moving out the door.

Again in the dive, that total focus and concentration. That maximum effort, to do your part of the dive, your part to the success of the whole. Plus the united purpose of everyone to the goal.

This is the vacation; your mind has nothing else in it, no room. I even feel a little sensory deprivation. You can't hear because you block out the wind noise. Touch is faint as most of the time, all you can touch is air. I only feel temperature in the extreme. Sure after the chute opens you feel it, not during the dive, the focus is too tight. It takes everything you are!

This little vacation, what it does to you and for you is not insignificant. We've all wished at some time or another, to go back, be a child again. This is some of what happens, with the cleansing aspect of this vacation. All the minutiae of our life is gone, vanished. That fight with the wife at dinner, boss pushing for a project fast, kids fighting, gone.

Sure they'll come back, but for a little while, there is just you, as you were at a simpler time. The muscle tension we all carry from stress, the unconscious slump we feel from the weight we carry, gone. We stand taller; feel better, almost like a small rebirth. Add that to a jump weekend like this, 5-6 maybe as much as 8 jumps in a day. Your mind feels free, clear, better balanced. Besides it's a wild, ass kicking, fucking ride.

Skydiving becomes a very goal driven environment. After a while that high adrenalin rush, starts to lessen a little. Then it becomes this drive to succeed, to make that formation, and get there faster. Learn more skills, get on bigger dives. As that drive to succeed gets higher, the error factor gets less. Most skydives have a less than 1% allowance for error. Again this total focus is what causes that cleansing in our minds.

All of this is the best possible situation, sadly on a jump meet weekend you may be able to get a lot of jumps. It's a quality vs. quantity thing. In that drive to succeed. When you go with people you know and jump with. Things can click together like that Swiss watch, you read each other. At a jump meet, you probably don't know most of them. As a result; you don't know their experience level, what type of planes they've jumped before, how well they can fly, what positions they can handle, how they handle their timing, or exits. In short it's pretty much, catch as catch can. When it all fits together it's beautiful, sadly that's not most of the time.

This has good news, bad news aspect to it. Good news for the fun button. Bad news for the success rate of the jump. Putting that formation together. The bad news is obvious, the further apart and the slower things get together, the more you eat up that very small time window of 60 seconds.

The fun button aspect is what I'm thinking about right now. I call it riding the slide. It's about the only reason I liked to jump the old DC3's. They're all gone, we don't use the old birds anymore, much too slow. But we still use the count. The git of go.

I'm sitting here in the back of this Twin Otter over Friday Harbor Island, in the San Juan Islands. It's October and this is called a Boogie. An impromptu party, a collection of skydivers. Call up your friends, lets meet at xxxxx, October xx they got a Twin Otter it will be a...blast! It drew about 40-50 jumpers, plus added on people. Girl friends, wives, some old friends, some new friends, some soon to be friends.

In the Twin Otter the jumpers sit on the floor, the seats are all gone. Plane stripped bare, for less weight. We call closer to the pilot the back and the tail the front, that's where the door is. Ass backwards I know.

As I said I'm sitting in the back. I'm trying to keep my head into the dive, thinking of what I need to do. Thinking about that ride on the slide. But I'm getting worried. This was supposed to be the last jump of the day. For some silly reason Seattle-Tacoma tower has control of the air space over the San Juan's. They have had us on hold for quite a while, and it's getting DARK outside. Let's see; its dark out, we can't see, we're over the ocean, we have to jump out! It fuckin doesn't look good!!

The plane can't land on that short grass runway we've been using, not with a full load, so we can't go back. To land with a full load. We would have to fly over to Seattle, or the military base at Bremerton, (that's a BIG no...No) or Whidbey Island. We have enough fuel for Whidbey maybe Bremerton, but not Seattle. Plus Sea-Tac tower has us still holding. And Whidbey has no lights on the runway!

I was the safety officer for most of these guys, a few years ago. I remember the old horror story about that load of sky divers over the Great Lakes in the sixty's. Spotter screwed up, (that's the guy that visually looks out the door, to direct the pilot) it's said that they thought it was a light cloud cover over the drop zone. What it was instead, was miles out into the lake. Two guys stopped and didn't jump.

The rest did! No possible way to make it back to land. Here's their choice, to open your parachute for a short flight! NO way to get back or even close. Remember these are the old round chutes no flight just drag. Its late season, (like now) cold-cold water. Sucks the heat right out of your body. You won't last long, and then you'll drown. No possible chance for rescue, not enough time. Second choice. Don't open your parachute, find high speed concrete water, it's quick. Some of the people made either choice. No one made it back. Except the two guys who never left the plane, eighteen people.

The guy sitting beside me is leaning back talking to Jace, our pilot. It's too loud in the plane to hear what their saying. But I'm still watching them. He turns around from talking to Jace and struggles to stand up, well half stand, the ceiling's too low to stand. He slowly makes his way to the center of the plane.

"Listen up ladies and germs, here's the plan. Jace said, don't worry we're in no trouble. He has GPS and has had a lock on the ranch all day. Plus he guarantees you'll see it from the air. It's pretty dark out so don't try for a formation, just get together, touch someone, stay together. Some of the guys have top lights, follow those, and stay with the group. Stay to four grand, no one peel off early, or we can't see where you are. If you can't get to the group, track, track. Get as far away from the group as you can get. Then don't open until three grand. Group is the same thing, stay to four grand, then track to three and open your chute." "Another matter is the head count, some of you know me, my name's Larry if you don't. I'll land on the runway, come and find me. I'll stay there until we get a full head count, we don't want to lose anyone in the dark." He looks back toward the pilot's door area and sees thumbs up from Jace.

"Get ready we just got the go ahead, places people."

(A grand is a thousand feet, three grand is three thousand feet above ground) (Tracking is flattening your body as rigid as you can, at a slight head down angle, and slide in across the sky as fast and far as you can, horizontally.

Before you can open your chute, you need to be away from everyone else. If you're too close together you could collide, on chute opening. That would ruin your whole day.)

As he starts to come back I'm getting up, he looks at me. I lean over to him.

"I'm going to make sure 'I' can see. I'll be sure to be out of the way." he shrugs,

"OK Dee your good, make sure we're good too. I trust Jace but two sets of eyes won't hurt."

I try to make my way down the center of the plane, without stepping on any fingers or toes, banging into elbows of people getting their helmets and glasses on. About half way down they have to slap one guy, fuck he took a nap. I'm scared shit-less he's sleeping. As I get to the door Reddy's there waiting to open it. He's spotter, I trust Reddy he's my buddy, but he doesn't have a lot of experience, and it's my ass. If it doesn't look all good, I want to be one of those two guys left on the plane. Reddy will be too, because if I'm not sure, I'll jerk his ass back into a corner too.

We get the call, 'DOOR', so Reddy lifts the roll up plexi door, and pokes his head out looking down. I push, getting my head out too. My adrenalin spikes fast, because all I can see out is black on black. No fuckin way am I getting out that door, not blind, no FUCKIN way. Reddy looks back at me and shrugs, I grab his collar ready to jerk him back. I take one more look out the door and down. It's like, CLICK there's a bright blue green gem setting right below the plane. Underwater lights in the swimming pool, someone just turned on the pool lights. Oh...fuck that was close.

I slap Reddy on the shoulder and point down, give him the thumbs up, and slide my way back to the off corner out of the way. Reddy's looking, watching for just the right spot, shows a big thumbs up back to the guys in the plane.

Reddy goes, left foot in the very back corner of the door frame, left hand hooked in the upper corner as he rolls out the door to grab a handle on the outside of the plane, rear floater. Toon's doing the same on the front side of the door. Two guys are backing out the door grab a handle just behind the door frame, toes on the edge of the door, now they're outside the plane too, hanging on. Two people slide up to the lip of the door on their knees, fast now. Everyone's moving fast but right to their places. Two guys on their knees grab the chest strap of the two guys backed out the door. Three people press right up against the two on their knees. Two people follow the three pressed up tight, two follow them. They stack two by two, up tight. After about six stacks of two, then it's single file. First two stack guy.

"COUNT READY SET G..."

The blob's already off the plane falling, pulling the two guys on their knees with them, the three fall away with them. After that it's just like the huge anchor chain on an old ship. Link after link. Clack, clack, clack has they all fly out the door. As the single file starts to fly by, I slide in on the last guy.

His last step is about two and a half feet, back from the door, mine's three. But he's diving for the same place as I, shoulder not quite hitting the lower left corner of the door frame. Belly just inches off the floor, right shoulder high. BAM out the door. Less than a three second count, from the ready set g...and I'm out the door fast, damn that's fast. Everyone must be keyed up. The wind roar from free fall's so loud you won't hear anything, until the dives done. I'm laying right on that guy's ass and legs.

I take a half beat count looking for those top lights, long ways down and back. My minds clicking, thinking it's about a five second dive down to that base. Left hands giving a gentle push off the guy in front of me. It's like it's someone else. I'm not really even aware that I'm pushing him out of my way. All my attentions watching those top lights thinking how long I have to slide to get there, yep five count. My hands slap my ass, toes point, body rigid, head down, and tuck my chin on my chest, down. I drop straight down.

ONE... only thing that's hitting the air is the top of my pointy little head. Like a little kid trying to stand on his head with no hands.

TWO... my secret is that I can't fall, off my head. I'm building a high speed air bubble around me.