By Derek Ortega

By Derek Ortega

For those of you that have conquered the impossible, there is still one more thing to accomplish before retiring your extreme moments in your life.

Try jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet, with nothing except a parachute strapped to your back. Perris Valley Skydiving is one of the few places, where you can experience the ride of your life.

On Oct. 21, I found myself looking over Perris from 13,000 feet in the air.

That Friday morning I had no idea I was going to be skydiving by noon, I just had to be ready for anything that came my way.

Not bad for a days work, all part of being a college student journalist.

Before I made my leap of faith, I had to complete a training course, which prepared me for freefall.

In the training course you are taught how to position your body during freefall.

“When jumping out on a tandem getting your body in an arch position for freefall will give you stability and control,” said jumpmaster Vinny Palmieri.

A description of an arch position is to have your arms out extended in front of your body and your legs extended, with your chin up and hips forward. Your body is formed into a shape of a letter U. This “U” shape body position is the skydiving position for freefall.

There are certain restrictions for wanting to skydive.

“To jump out of any plane you have to be eighteen years old and sign a legal document,” Palmieri said.

After my feel for the arch position was complete, Palmieri geared me up for my first look at fear itself.

Feeling calm and collected I made my way to the airplane.

I got on the plane not knowing what to expect next.

The airplane reaches 13,000 feet over Perris. The latch in the rear of the plane opened. The cold altitude air came rushing in; at this point there is no turning back.

There I was looking at all the small things moving from above with the instructor Palmieri strapped to my back. I was so excited and thrilled; there was no chance to be scared.

Here we go!

Out the door and into the blue sky, with the air rushing to my face I never had such an adrenaline rush. Falling at a high speed it felt like you where not moving at all. It was such a full body rush. I was high on adrenaline for two days. The thrill of freefall is unbelievable. People have to experience it for themselves. The feeling was like nothing I felt before.

“During freefall the important things to do is pull the handles in the right order at the right height,” Palmieri said.

You must deploy the parachute at 5,000 feet to ensure a safe landing.

“Pulling the rip cord at 5,000 feet to stop you from freefall,” Palimeri said.

First time skydiver Marya Santini shared her experience by saying it was a great experience and felt nothing like it before. She recommended it to everyone and that people should try it at least once. She thought the instructors at Perris Valley Skydiving are awesome and are knowledgeable about skydiving.

I can’t believe that I jumped, but when you’re young and in college you explore the wild side of your personality.