Sky Diving At Seventy Three

Why do people do skydiving? Is it not risky and dangerous? Are these guys mad or out of their mind? Craziest of the crazy?

Skydiving gives you a thrill. Thrill beyond words. Because you dive from an aircraft for a free fall! Hurtling down to the earth below at a speed of 200 kms an hour! And before you get scared of crashing on the ground, the parachute opens and arrests your speed. Then the gradual descent begins. Sounds cool? Or, scary? Have you done it? Would you like to do it?

I recently did skydiving with Ankur our son-in-law, Nikhil our elder grandson and two other friends Satyam and Sachi the father-daughter duo, in California. It was an adventure beyond words. The feeling of having done it is like climbing a summit. Am grateful to God that I could do it at my 'young' age of 73! Of course the other thrilling aspect was that three generations did it together. Same day, same aircraft, same height but two dives! We all couldn't be accommodated in one sortie as explained later.

It was a long wait before our turn for the dive came. Let the pictures do the talking.

After three hours, Sachi, Nikhil and Ankur got their turn. The jubilant trio returning after the dive.

Each skydiver is thoroughly briefed and kitted up before boarding the flight.

Time to board the single engine plane for the air drop.

Ready to go!

See the short video of my parachute coming in for landing.

Finally, the touch down! Felt dehydrated.

Sharing below a video showing the highlights of the skydive.

Special thanks to Ankur and Ashi for making it happen. In Neeta's absence, Ashi tried her best to dissuade all of us from doing it. She even interviewed Clark one of the experienced instructors, about the safety measures and the risk involved. Thank you Ashi for relenting and let us do it!

Location

Bay Area Skydiving is located in Byron, California.

Cost of a Dive

We thank Bay Area Skydiving in California for giving us a lifetime experience. Bookings can be made online contact ID jump@bayareaskydiving.com. Week day dives are a bit cheaper. The dive costs USD  300 per person for up to 60 seconds free fall from a height of 15,000 feet. There is a discount of USD 10 for students and military personnel.. Videography charges are extra and vary from USD 100 to 200.

Other Adventure Stories

We are sharing below a story of another adventure sport called 'paramotoring' where you fly in the sky like a paratrooper! Heard about it? If not, then browse the link below for a picture story:

Paramotoring in Hyderabad - Shows what a paratrike is like. It includes the picture story of a 'young' lady who celebrated her 63rd birthday doing paramotoring after reading our blog! She called it a glorious experience.

Here is another story of four young women hiking in a river having chest high water with strong current! They had left their children behind! Sounds crazy? Browse the link below:

Women Hiking In Water - Picture story of four young moms hiking in a flowing river for 25 kms!

We end with a PQ picturesque quote about life and the spirit of adventure.

Hope our story has shaken you to rise above your comfort zone! Take risks and enjoy life.

Thanks for browsing and stay connected.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Pleasanton, USA/ 7th Aug 2025

#adventure #livinglife #comfortzone #risksinlife #thrill #skydiving #california #bayarea #freefall #threegenerations #crazyguys #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Paramotoring in Hyderabad

 Want to fly on your own? Like a paratrooper? Right here in Hyderabad?

Then head northwards to Konda Pochamma Reservoir (35 kms from RSI Secunderabad). See the map below.

Adjacent to the ramp going up the reservoir, you will see a green hangar. 

That's the home of Wingmasters Co., India's first internationally licensed Paramotoring company providing exclusive Air Safari experience to its customers. Paratrike is the safest form of powered flight. Wingmasters take you up in the air in one of their Paratrikes.

Although Ghumakkad could not take a flight as it was late in the day, we did meet Mr Abhay Rathore, Chief Flying Instructor who showed us the facilities. His love for adventure sports comes from his family background. His father and grandfather both served with the Indian Army whereas his younger brother is a marine commando with Indian Navy. Paramotor flying normally happens at sunrise and sunset when the winds are not very strong. We are sharing a few pictures of our visit. Don't miss the warning sign at the main entrance. The entire flying club is guarded by a Rottweiler and a Pit Bull- both sentries of repute. 

However, to get a feel of the thrill of a paramotor flight, you may click here for a video clip. People of all ages can take the flight. You may book your slots on phone 9950259444 or their Facebook page. Tariff in Sep-21 ranged from Rs 2500 for a 5-munite ride to Rs 8000 for a 20-minute ride. Go-Pro photography charges are extra. So, if you love adventure, don't miss a micromotor flight. Ghumakkad is posting this story on Wingmasters not for any commercial interest, but for his love for adventure sports.

We end with a PQ- picturesque quote. Shot during a recent hike with school students negotiating a rock face, the PQ says, "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone". So, get out of your comfort zone- at work, on the sports field or as a learner. Your real life will begin then!

Live a life full of adventure. Likes of Corona will not bother you.

Thanks for browsing

   -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ Konda Pochamma Reservoir Hyderabad/ 24th Sep 2021

Postscript 6th Oct 2021: Within 10 days of posting this story, one of the readers went paramotoring along with few of her friends. Occasion- to celebrate her 63rd birthday up in the air! Sharing an extract from Lekha's story dated 5th Oct 21. Lekha Sishta is a well known management professional in HR circles in India and Asia.

"Harsh, thanks to you and your blog.. I had an Exhilarating experience..

My birthday gift to myself.. Went on a para-motoring ride  early today, with a group of my IIMB alumni@ Hyd group.  Totally 16 flights our group did.. With their kids and spouses too..

It was totally exhilarating.. A not to be missed experience... Initially, the  takeoff was a little bumpy, but once airborne after the first two seconds of heart in the mouth, it was amazing.. Not just the view from up above (and the reservoir is really huge...and well constructed), the farms below, the glistening water of the canals, the cold morning air freezing the hands a bit,..the birds flying below you.. And then I was "head in the clouds.."  literally and figuratively.. It was white soft feathery wisps of clouds softly brushing past the cheeks, the wind gusts gently lifting the trike now and again.. Then the sudden clearing.. the glow of the sunrise and I knew what the birds must feel like.. And all too soon, the 10 minutes just sped past... And it was back to earth with a very smooth landing... 

Glorious, glorious, glorious experience!

I have to tell you all one more awesome thing that happened yesterday.. 

One of our alumni, Mahesh had booked just for himself  and said his wife would come, see and then if she was comfortable we would book a flight for herself too on the spot. 

He brought his mom and mother-in-law  for the drive.....both in their mid 70s..

Not only did Mahesh wife love the Paramotoring experience.. she wants to now sign up for the course too to learn to pilot the craft.. 

The awesome bit was both the 70+ years young-at-heart ladies.. were enthralled and wanted to take the ride too. They both did .. And came back thrilled and smiling ear to ear. It was so cute.  They both wanted to go again soon too. 

Thanks to the two darling older ladies.. Full of zest and verve.. 😍😍

We also had a 10 yr old the daughter of another alum who flew.. So across 10-70, we took to the air!! Glorious!!!"

_________________________ 

#adventure #parachute #paratrike #sports #WingmastersCo #flying #pq #picturesquequote #KondaPochammaReservoir #micromotoring #Hyderabad #getaway #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh