"Strut" refers to the wing strut of a Cessna monoplane. When I first started skydiving in 1997 or 1998, we did what they call static-line jumps for the first four. That's where, as in the old war movies, your "ripcord" is attached to the airplane, and deploys your canopy almost immediately after you exit de plane.At my drop zone, Skydive Chicago, we did these jumps by climbing out onto the wing strut, hand over hand, then releasing our foothold and hanging by our hands, legs flailing in the wind like some sort of humanoid excuse for a flag, until we got a thumbs-up from someone still inside the plane (preferably the jump master)--then we just, umm...let go.
You can see the static line over my left shoulder here. I had just released my "death grip" on the wing strut, so the canopy was not yet deployed. About five seconds is all the freefall you get on a 4,500 foot static line jump, compared to a minute or so on a 13,500- to 16,000-foot freefall (if you go up past around 13-14K, it's advisable to use oxygen while in the plane, to avoid hypoxia, which I am told can be fun, but can also lethally impair your reflexes--HAW HAW!).
Note also, just over my right shoulder, one of the jump masters had taken a lawn mower to the grass on the landing zone and written "O YEAH !" in huge letters.
I look scared, eh? Fuckin' A! More scared than you can imagine. One of the jump masters told me that he hadn't seen someone as scared as I who actually went through with a skydive. Here's what I look like after a day at the DZ. So I like to tell people, "If I can do this, then anyone can!" If I could remember what sex felt like, I'd probably say this was a million times better, though probably more expensive.
Notice in both photos, my helmet was way loose; fortunately I was able to hold it on. Can you imagine the irony of a person being killed on the ground by a falling safety helmet?
After four S/L jumps we were supposed to graduate to freefall class. But I was so afraid on each of the four (I am kind of afraid of heights, would you believe?), that I thought I'd never do a freefall skydive. This was OK with me, despite some good-natured teasing from the people out at the DZ, cause there is nothing like being under a good canopy...you are not a passenger, as some might think, but actually a pilot.
Anyway, it took me twelve static-lines before I got up the "balls" to do a freefall. During this first 60-second freefall (once I reminded myself to fucking breathe), I found myself thinking, "What the hell was I afraid of for all that time? This is brilliant!"
By now, then, having done so many more freefall jumps, I doubt I will ever do a static line jump again, except maybe on a dare.
Jumpmaster Woody, on the plane we jump now, a Super Otter. Woody rocks!
My friend Bob "Barbarian" Howard was the dude who coined the name "Strutterman", though the folks at Skydive Chicago call me...
"Nervous Nick, Static Master".
Bob is a very cool guy. I met him online in 1998 or late 1997, and through email we got to know each other so well that he actually invited me to stay at his place in Glendale, AZ, from where we traveled to a skydiving boogie in Rocky Point (Puerto Peņasco), Mexico.
The man invited me to his place sight unseen. Which makes him either a complete idiot or an extremely acute judge of character.
I witnessed my first skydiving fatality in R.P., I am sad to say, but a grand time was enjoyed by most, despite this.
At this point I haven't many jumps, due to the expense of training, but you bet your ass I am budgeting my paychecks for it. Needless to say, the utility companies are constantly pissed off at me.
(larger view)
A view of the airport, bottom left of windshield.
