Many of you will remember Rachel Spink, she was on Course 2 in 2006 and came back last year as the official 'House Elf #2'....and is being promoted and will be back in 2008 as 'House Elf #1' (Yayyyyyyy!!!!!!)

Rachel rose to the Laura Crane Trust challenge and this is her idea of 'fun'!!!!

Wednesday 10th October 2007
 
After a very early start (6am!!) I arrived at Langar Airfield to be met by lots of other very nervous people and the organisers of the event. After a safety briefing and run through of the days events we found out when were going to be doing our jump, I was on lift 4 of 8 so not too long to wait...I thought.

After the 2nd lift went up, the clouds arrived and seemed set in for the day, it wasn't looking good. The Red Devils kept us entertained for a while with various dvds and general banter but everyone was starting to get bored, when at 3 'o clock the sun appeared and a nice hole developed in the cloud. Lift 3 went up and I began to get my kit on, it was at this point I started to think what was I letting myself in for but knew there was no going back.

When my tandem diver Danny arrived we went through a few things then boarded the plane. The plane was small and being scared of flying, was possibly the worst part of the dive. We slowly climbed to 13, 00ft.  At 11,000ft we were strapped onto our tandem partners and did the last few checks before jumping.
I was 1st out and the point before falling where I was outside the plane looking at the expanse of cloud below me was very scary but adrenaline got the better of me and when the countdown came I was ready to fall!!

Freefalling at 120mph is an undescribable feeling, it is hard to breath and difficult to control your body. At the time it was scary but looking back I enjoyed it a lot!! Once the parachute opened it was time to enjoy the ride before landing back on the ground.

Whilst under the canopy I had the chance to take the controls and perform various movements which again all added to the experience.
Landing was easy I just had to hold me legs up and let Danny take the fall, it was great to be back on hard ground but  would love to do it again!!

I am still waiting for the last bits of sponsor money but have passed the £500 mark already, all of which will be sent to the Laura Crane Trust when collected.

All in all an amazing day!!!

Rachel Spink - RYLA 2006 - Course 2