The skydiving plane that operates out of Upolu Airport, has lately been making some lower level takeoffs. A couple of times I’ve been walking up from the coast, east of the runway, when the plane suddenly zoomed into view and whizzed over my head.
On the third occasion, I was ready for it and got this photo. In this case, it was the pigeon that was startled and made a sudden takeoff of its own.
I often see the skydivers operating out of Upolu Airport. I see the plane take off and I see the brightly colored parachutes descending. But I’ve wanted to get a photo of the skydivers jumping out of the plane for some time. This photo isn’t it, but it’s the closest I’ve come.
Here, the skydiver has just jumped, but the main chute hasn’t yet opened. They typically drop for a while before opening the main chute, as this one did a minute or so later.
Another view from Upolu, this time of a portion of the airport. But why is there an area of long grass, blowing in the wind, with the letters B I G mowed into it?
The reason is that this is where Big Island Gravity, a local skydiving operation, is based. This area is where the skydivers touch down after their jumps. A couple of days later, and the grass had been mowed again. The letters were still visible, but the long grass was gone.
For more information about Big Island Gravity, go to http://skydivebig.com/.
Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.
Every so often, the skydivers operating out of Upolu Airport get their descents nicely coordinated, at least from my point of view.
Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Sky.’ See more responses here.
The skydiving business, operating out of Upolu Airport, was busy during the holidays. A typical flight deploys a pair of tandem skydivers, where a paying customer is attached to an experienced skydiver.
I was out walking when these people jumped out of the plane. After the chutes opened they maneuvered around before landing back at the airport. The lower picture is a composite of three photos, giving an idea of how they spiraled down.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
These skydivers were probably feeling on top of the world and to one side of the moon.
Posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Top.’ See more responses here.
A skydiver heading for a watery landing? It’s all a matter of perspective. Actually, she’s about to take a right and curl down safely to a grass landing at Upolu Airport.
Everyone’s scared of clowns, right? This one appeared attached to the sometime-in-the-distant-future shade tree by Upolu Airport. Presumably it was hung there in connection with the skydivers operating there, but imagine it on your porch, swinging in the breeze, just watching and waiting for your return one dark and rainy night. Dum, dum, dum, dum.
Graham's Island 