©This story is property of The
CyBurr, the online version of The Burr,
Spring 2004
Up, up and away
Five
Story by Gareth Price
Flying for the first time can be a
traumatic experience for many people. The landing can be particularly tough
when the plane begins to shake violently, descending towards Earth at high
speed
Josh Neal, a
junior fine arts major, found an unusual way of dealing with his first
plane ride and, in particular, the landing. He simply jumped out before it
began its descent.
Neal was part of a group of five
“I guess I’m just a thrill seeker,”
Neal said. “I’ve never even flown before so it’s kind of like two things at once.
I’m a little nervous but I’m sure it will be a rush.”
Preface to the plunge
It is here that the five students
received their training to make their first skydive.
“A tandem skydive is an
introduction to what it is all about,” said Sherry Butcher, who co-owns the
center with her husband Tim. “It’s amazing how many people just jump once
though. I can’t imagine just jumping once.”
Tim opened
the center at the
Sherry
estimates that 2,500 people jump for the first time each year at the center and
most come away thrilled with the experience. She said the tandem dive allows beginners
to enjoy the experience without worrying about being in control.
“Once or
twice some people have gone up in the plane and changed their mind after doing
all the training,” said Sherry, a short blond-haired woman whose size masks her
steely resolve “We don’t delve into their decision.”
For the
five students from
“I’ve been
very, very nervous and excited,” said Emily Flickinger,
a junior in human development. “I haven’t
been sleeping much. Last night I didn’t sleep at all because I was so excited.
Seeing the plane got me really nervous.”
Flickinger, who seemed more highly strung then the rest of
the group, said that she went bungee jumping once and loved it so much she had
to take the next step and jump out of a plane.
“I think
I’d be too afraid to do it by myself though,” Flickinger
said.
Other
members of the group had rather different reasons for making the leap.
“All of my life I wanted to be a skydiving instructor and, if I like this, I’m going to go on to do the accelerated freefall and keep doing it,” said Erin McGatha, a freshman in nursing. “I’m sure I’ll be nervous when I get there and see everything, though.”
I’m fine – for now
The accelerated freefall is where
the skydiver jumps alone and, according to Sherry Butcher, requires a lot more
responsibility on the part of the jumper.
McGatha certainly looked the most composed of the group
and, when it came time to make the jump, she still didn’t appear fazed.
“I’m a little bit nervous but it
still hasn’t quite hit me yet,” McGatha said. “I’m
excited just waiting to get up there. It will definitely hit me in the plane
when I have all the stuff on.”
The
training procedure prior to jumping was very basic for the tandem jumpers.
After they had been fitted with their outfits, which resembled jogging apparel
from the early 1980s, the five were taken through the positions they should
adopt when making the leap.
“Good arch
and body position,” said Peter Andexlinger, a
skydiving instructor, loudly to the group. “Don’t grab our hands remember.”
Nearly
three hours after arriving in
“Right now I’m fine,” said Tony
Baldwin, a freshman in aviation who wanted to make the leap before he turned 19
in a week’s time. “I’m looking forward to it, but I’m sure I’ll be scared when
I get up there.”
Alongside
another party from
To be a flying bird
Once the jumpers were on board, the
plane slowly made its way a few hundred yards along the farmland, toward the
main road running through this part of
Ten minutes
later the plane became visible once again from the thick cloud cover and small
figures began to appear with parachutes hovering above them. The first to land
were the accelerated free fallers, skydiving alone, who came whizzing over
onlooker’s heads at tremendous speed before pulling a cord that halted them
immediately and allowed them to land elegantly in the small field. Shortly
afterwards, the tandem skydivers started to fall toward the field, before
landing with a little less grace on their backs to comfort the students .
“It was the
most incredible moment of my whole entire life,” said Flickinger,
who was among the first to come running away from the landing area with a huge
grin on her face.
Flickinger said that the most difficult part of the jump was
when she first left the plane and the wind was so cold that ice was forming and
striking their faces. The parachute instructors estimated the temperature to be
15 °F, with a wind chill of 100 mph.
“It felt
like someone was stabbing you with needles,”
Neal was
completely taken aback with the whole experience.
“I could not believe when we first jumped
out,” said Neal, visibly still shaken from the jump. “It was a real surreal moment. It’s hard to
describe what’s going through your head right then. It’s just so overwhelming
you don’t even know what you are thinking.”
Neal was
struggling to regain his hearing 30 minutes after jumping and lost a contact
lens when he first left the plane. However, he was still too excited about what
he had just accomplished to care, and even the plane taking off filled him with
delight.
“Watching
the plane come off the ground and watching everything get smaller was something
I’ve never experienced before, so that was really sweet,” Neal said. “Just
seeing everything from that altitude was just amazing.”
McGatha’s composure prior to take-off left her a little as
the plane took the skies.
“I was scared to death watching the other people fall in front of me,” said McGatha, who immediately called her boyfriend to describe the experience.
Floating and burning
McGatha
said that it felt like she was floating toward earth, rather than falling. She
said that the instructor told her they were falling at 105 mph but she said
that it did not feel that fast. Despite the fact that the cool temperatures
made the experience somewhat painful, McGatha intends
to jump again soon.
“It hurt so
bad because the ice was hitting your face,” McGatha said. “But this is definitely one of the best
things I’ve ever done and I’ll probably do it again if I get the money.”
Baldwin and
Mike Herpy, a sophomore in architecture, were part of
the second group to jump. After being forced to wait anxiously while their
fellow Kent State students jumped first, they finally got the opportunity to
soar through the sky about 30 minutes later.
Upon
completing his dream prior to his 19th
birthday, Baldwin relayed the experience.
“He (his tandem partner) got us
through the door and it was pretty cloudy, you couldn’t see a whole lot, you
could barely see the ground,” said Baldwin, a tall, slim student who remained
remarkably laid-back after completing the jump. “We sat there for two seconds
and then we were out. We did a couple of rolls, kind of flipped around for two
seconds, and then, three seconds into the fall, there was ice hitting our
faces. It didn’t feel like you were falling. It doesn’t even compare to
anything I’ve done before. That was the most fun thing in my life.”
Baldwin, who described the flight
more systematically in comparison to the excited chatter of the other jumpers,
said that it was very strange seeing those jumping before him drop out of the
plane. He said that he just saw their feet dangling for a split second before
disappearing out of the door. However, he said that this just added to his
excitement and he felt no nervousness prior to the leap.
Herpy
said that the closest thing he had ever done to this was parasailing. However,
he said that this was the most amazing experience of his life and that
parasailing didn’t even come close. Like the others he was certain that he
would make the jump again.
Once the pastime of daredevils, the sport of skydiving is quickly
becoming more mainstream, with over three million jumps being made in the
For five
“It was
just the biggest rush,” Neal said. “It was amazing.”
E-mail: gprice1@kent.edu
©This story is property of The
CyBurr, the online version of The Burr,