This is soviet, be careful.

When you are waiting in line to board the plane you are about to jump out of it really isn't all that comforting to see someone do engine work on the plane. Welcome to Ukraine.

When we showed up (Chris Mahar, an old bible college buddy and myself) to go skydiving we should have known that it was going to be sketchy. It was. The veteran who fought in the Afghan war from the 80's gave us 3 hours of instruction. Us and 80 other lucky youngsters. He liked the fact that we were Yankees, he kept telling us how the USSR stuff was way better than NATO stuff. Yeah right.

We were using WWII era equipment that some guys had used fighting Germans. I liked to imagine that the Russian wearing my gear lived through the jump because I didn't think I was going to.

The plane looked like a tin can with some wings, it sounded like a popcorn machine falling through the sky.

I was the first one to jump and let's just say I was standing at the door of the plane for what seemed like an eternity waiting for the guy to hit me on the back and say "your gone!"

Once I fell out I was doing summersaults and flipping like a gymnast. My chute took and then peace, that is all I can say. From the tin can, guys yelling, falling, wind, freaking out, to total peace and quiet. I took a photo while in the air and then started thinking about how to land.

They said that you could control the chute, they weren't being all that truthful. You land wherever the wind wants you to land.

I forgot to disable my safety chute and had to land with two chute open, which made for difficulties. Once I hit the ground I was drug about 2 miles before being able to knock the wind out of my chutes.

Maybe this isn't all that missionary but I definitely learned a lot about the Soviet mind. I think my little trip outside of town to jump out of a plane taught me more about the USSR than all of the books I have ever read.

I highly recommend it. In the last 25 years no one has died.

Blessings,
Jake