LEBANON – When the door of the plane opened, the reality of my first sky-diving experience hit me.

Any sense that this was just a leisurely plane ride was gone as a blast of chilly air burst into the narrow cabin and the roar of passing air began to compete with the loud drone of the twin-engine Otter. Gradually, the plane began losing passengers, as experienced sky divers toward the rear jumped through the opening.

With each leap, I shifted up on a bench in the cabin, securely tethered to my jump master, Tony Hays. Before long, the videographer, Jason Struthers, swung through the door and clung to the fuselage, ready to record our exit, as Hays and I stood on the edge of the void.

From there, I had an excellent view of the ground, 11,000 feet away, through passing wisps of clouds. Hays signaled that I should smile for the camera, and he began a rocking shift of momentum before we got to know gravity a little better.

The jump was offered to the Sun Journal by Skydive New England, which is based at a small airfield not far from the New Hampshire border. The outfit has been around for 23 years, and has increased its jumps from 4,000 per year to 22,000 over the past nine years.

This weekend, Skydive New England will send a team of four sky divers to do formation jumps at the Great Falls Balloon Festival in Lewiston-Auburn. The team was scheduled to appear at last year’s festival, but was canceled because of inclement weather.

Weather permitting, the team will aim to make four jumps over Saturday and Sunday from 5,000 feet above the balloon landing area. The sky divers will also be looking for hot-air balloons that will permit jumps out of the baskets, said Jason Fogg, the company’s marketing director.

“You might see a couple of shows just on the side there,” he said.

The team’s displays will include formations created by holding ribs on each other’s jumpsuits; smoke shows created with canisters on the jumpers’ feet; a jump with a large American flag; and approaches to the ground with speed canopies.

“People will be freaking out because they’re coming in so fast,” Fogg said.

People may also meet the sky divers while they’re on the ground and the company will offer discount coupons to Skydive New England and Three Rivers Whitewater of Millinocket, with which Skydive collaborates.

Being part of a formation requires extensive training and certification. My tandem jump with Hays was a way to get an idea of what it’s like to make the leap.

It was an overcast mid-July Sunday when I went down to the airfield, but with a high enough ceiling to jump. As I waited for my orientation, I couldn’t get Afro-Celt Sound System’s song “When You’re Falling” out of my head. Incidentally, in that music video a man plummets clear through the planet and into space on the opposite hemisphere.

However, instructor Kelly Hagerty told the class of rookie jumpers that the sport was very safe. One safety feature is a computer system that automatically deploys the parachute at a certain altitude if your jump master somehow becomes incapacitated.

“The most dangerous part is the shuttle bus,” said Hagerty, referring to a vehicle that takes jumpers to the plane. “The brakes suck. Essentially, you’re standing in a truck. Hold on.”

Many people were comforted by the fact that the jump masters had a lot of experience. Hays has taken over 4,500 dives; Struthers, more than 1,800.

Leaving the plane was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. Sky divers reach speeds of up to 120 mph, and the ground seems to get closer in a hurry. At the same time, the feeling is like riding an enormous roller coaster without having to leave your stomach behind.

The fall even included a brief formation when Hays and I caught up with Struthers. After Hays caught his legs, Struthers and I linked arms and completed a spin.

When Hays pulled the chute, the deafening noise of the free-fall faded away. Using two toggles, we gradually spiraled in to a sliding landing near the runway. Struthers had arrived sooner and was able to film the landing and the grin I had acquired.

The whole experience lasted only a few minutes from leap to landing, but adrenaline levels probably stayed high for much longer.

“It’s a long minute,” said Hagerty of the free-fall. “But it’s a fantastic minute.”