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.

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“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.”

“It didn’t feel like you were falling.”

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.

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Once the pastime of daredevils, the sport of skydiving is quickly becoming more mainstream, with over three million jumps being made in the United States each year. Even former president George Bush joined the frenzy in 1997, when he made his first jump since bailing out of a crippled Avenger-torpedo bomber in World War II.

For five Kent State students the sky will probably never look the same again.

“It was just the biggest rush,” Neal said. “It was amazing.”

Gareth Price (gprice1@kent.edu)

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