Oberlin students had the opportunity to become daredevils before Fall break as Recreation Center Director Jeff White took a small handful skydiving on Oct. 3.
The group of five left Oberlin at 6:45 a.m. and, after getting lost and making a one hour drive much longer, arrived at the skydiving center. There, the group was presented with three jump options. They could either do a static line jump, a tandem jump or an accelerated freefall jump.
A static line jump requires little training and simply entails jumping out while your ripcord is pulled automatically. It occurs at a lower attitude.
The accelerated freefall takes place at 14,800 feet and requires six to seven hours of training. The diver gets to jump, open the chute and steer unassisted, though two instructors jump with them.
On this trip all chose the tandem jump, a more recent jumping technique, that straps an instructor in to the same harness as the diver and behind them. "We only needed about half-an-hour of training," first-year Jane Garelick said. "The instructor pulls the chute though they let you steer and land."
Once the training was complete, the now technically if not mentally prepared Obies were on their way into the air.
"I was a little nervous," White said. "I had to stand in the doorway with the instructor on my back. He told me to keep my feet together with my hands at my sides so I couldn't touch the rails at the side of the door. The cornfields were the size of a penny."
"I just went up to the door and jumped," Garelick said. "It wasn't really life-changing and it wasn't scary. I was smiling so hard when I first jumped and then the wind kept the smile from coming off."
Both jumpers described the sensation as more similar to flying than falling. "When you jump you're going at the same speed as the plane, which is like 180 mile per hour or something," White said. "It doesn't feel like a roller coaster or anything."
White was still nervous during his free fall. "I was just thinking God! That parachute better open or I'm dead."
"It was a really clear day," Garelick said. "It took about 10 minutes to float down and there were no clouds so you could see very far. I was the last one out of the plane and it suddenly dived down in front of us. It was cool."
The students are thinking of putting together a skydiving club and returning again maybe as often as once a week. "People are interested in going again," White said. "It's a rush."
"We won't have to spend as much next time, now that we're certified or whatever," Garelick said. A tandem jump ran $159, while static and accelerated freefall jumps were $139 and $269 respectively.
(Top) Freefallin': Recreation Center Director Jeff White beams with pleasure as the ground rushes up to meet him and the instructor prepares to pull the ripcord. (photo courtesy Recreation Center office)
(Bottom) Flying high again: Those who participted in the skydiving trip got a bird's eye view of Ohio and were lucky they had such clear weather. (photo courtesy Recreation Center Office)
Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 7, October 31, 1997
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