I am scared. Will I actually do it?

Almost everybody is frightened. That is not a consoling sentence, it is a description of the facts — people who approach a first jump entirely calm are a minority, and usually have not quite worked out what is coming. Fear does not disqualify anybody. In practice only three things do: weight, age and health.

Fear of heights is usually a different thing

People with a fear of heights often assume a skydive is out of the question. In practice it is frequently the opposite. Fear of heights fires on a reference — the edge of a balcony, a ladder, a glass floor, something that shows your brain how far down the ground is. At 4,000 metres that reference is missing. The ground is a map, not a floor under your feet, and plenty of people with a fear of heights report not feeling it at all.

This is not a rule and it is not therapy. It is consistent enough, though, to be worth knowing before you rule the idea out.

Where it is actually hardest

1. 01Before you arrive — the fear is largest here and lasts longest, because it has time. Usually several days.
2. 02During the briefing — it drops, because there are now specific things to remember.
3. 03In the aircraft, on the climb — it builds gradually, the higher you get.
4. 04In the door — a few seconds where it is sharpest. This is the moment.
5. 05After the exit — gone. Not gradually; essentially at once, because there is nothing left to be frightened of. The decision has been made.

The most common report after a first jump runs roughly: the worst part was the week before, the door lasted five seconds, and the rest was the best minute of my life.

What helps, and what does not

• Knowing what will happen helps. The unknown is a bigger share of the fear than the altitude — which is why it is worth reading what a first jump is like.
• Jumping with somebody helps. A group distracts, and introduces a force that beats fear: not wanting to be the one who backs out.
• A short gap between deciding and jumping helps. The longer you wait, the more time the fear has.
• Alcohol does not help — and that is not an opinion, it is a condition of being cleared to jump.
• Watching malfunction videos does not help. Statistics do not reach the imagination, and the imagination is the opponent here.

What if I change my mind in the door?

Nobody is pushed. If you decide in the aircraft that you are not jumping, you ride back down and that is the end of it. It is rare, it does happen, and it is not treated as shameful — instructors have seen it many times.

Worth knowing, though: the voucher is spent. The aircraft flew and the slot was taken. If you know you might back out, tell the instructor before boarding rather than in the door.

Symptoms that are normal

Shaking hands, a dry mouth, quick breathing, a fifth trip to the toilet, talking too much or going completely silent. All of it is an ordinary response to adrenaline and it passes by itself. Instructors see it daily and it impresses nobody.

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