An experience of skydiving in the skies of Jeddah

Fitting into any job can be difficult and nervousness inducing for anyone, however for the four-member team of the Red Bull Air Force could not have been any easier. All four members of the Red Bull skydiving team have similar stories in relation to the start of their hobby and then turning their hobby into a full-time career in skydiving. The four-member Red Bull team consists of Jeff Propenzano, Other Lawrence, Sean MacCormac and Omar Al Hegelan, and as soon as these skydivers tried the thrilling experience of free falling, they were immediately hooked on and knew that this was what they wanted to do.[irp]

The simplest and easiest way of describing the experience is something that everyone has experienced before, as kids and even as adults when we stick our hands out of the windows when the car is moving we can feel the wind pushing the hand back, the experience of skydiving is like that but instead of you the wind pushes your entire body. It is quite different to when we fall from a ladder or when an elevator bottoms out because we do not feel that full body resistance.

The stay of the Red Bull Air Force in Jeddah was part of the Seventh International Skydiving Championship which included 16 teams from all around the world. The last and final jump of the championship was made above the Jeddah Fountain after 5 PM when the fountain is operating at full strength.

One member of the Red Bull Skydiving Team, Omar Al Hegelan stated that something that most the people do not realize is that after the first couple of seconds of jumping from the aircraft, the skydiver does not even feel as if he is falling. He added that the skydiver feels as if they are floating. The visual perspective registered in the brain looks the same at ten thousand, eight thousand and seven thousand feet. Since skydivers are not getting a ground rush you feel as if you are floating in the air. The skydiver states that the experience of skydiving is totally different to that of a rollercoaster where you feel an uneasy sick feeling and your stomach feels like it is in knots. It is a very natural floating feeling.[irp]

Throughout the week during the championship the Air Force team, who were not part of the main competition performed several impressive aerial stunts with the help of props such as canisters of hot smoke which had been attached to their shins, and as the skydivers descended a cloud of colored smoke so that their stunts could be marked up in the air and could be seen clearly from the ground, as stated by another member of the Red Bull Air Force Jeff Propenzano. The Red Bull Air Force also performed base jumps, Free Flight Jump and Wingsuit Jumps. Each of these different methods makes use of different techniques, however, base jumping was the greatest crowd pleaser

Source: Destination Jeddah