A FORMER pupil of Monmouth Comprehensive School has just made her first skydive - for charity.
Lauren Malley, aged 18 of Pencraig, made her jump at the ILPH's autumn show at Northampton. She has been fund-raising for the horse charity for a while and wanted to do something spectacular.
Lauren said that despite a three hour wait for the jump she was not disappointed because it was well worth it.
"I was firstly introduced to my instructor (Barry Henderson) and he kitted me out with a jump suit, gloves, hat, goggles and harness. When everything was ready he ran through the positions I would have to adopt whilst in freefall, when the parachute is open and on landing. After final checks were made we walked to the aeroplane and hooked in.
"The take off was great (they take off with the doors open!) All the time the instructor was going through what I had to do and if I was all right etc. but I couldn't wait. Halfway up they shut the doors and I was strapped to the front of the instructor's harness. We sat down again until we reached an altitude of 12,000 feet, then came the big moment. My one way plane ride had come to an end.
"There were about 10 or 12 people in the plane; most were part of a formation team jumping together. We were second to last out of the plane. The instructor stepped off the plane and turned quickly so I could see how fast the plane disappears from sight!
"We accelerated in freefall to over 120mph - what a rush! I got over 30 seconds of freefall before the parachute was deployed. When it was, we decelerated to 10mph in under three seconds - it really knocks the wind out of you for a second.
"Suddenly everything is completely silent. All you can here is the rustle of the parachute above you. So peaceful. It took about five minutes or so to get to the ground but during that time we passed through a thick blanket of cloud, performed spirals, slows, sped up, and best of all - I got to steer!
"Before landing I got the extra thrill of floating overhead whilst our plane landed on the runway just beneath us! The landing was smooth and we landed on our feet easily.
"It was an amazing experience that I would recommend it to anyone. Now comes the job of collecting in sponsorship (I managed to raise over £250 for the ILPH).
"A big thank you to all who sponsored me!"