Jumping Out of a Perfectly Good Airplane, March 20, 2004, by Elisabeth Shoop

From MemoryArchive

Who: Elisabeth Shoop
What: Skydiving
When: March 20, 2004
Where: DeLand, Florida

I think that human beings have always envied the birds. In ancient mythology men tried to fly; Da Vinci sketched a flying machine; Air travel is our major modern form of transportation. Humankind has always been fascinated by the sky. As an individual, I am no exception. Ever since I was little I wanted to fly. When I was about 5 years old I used to try to jump from couch to couch, and pretend I could fly. I loved the swings; I felt like I was soaring. I always stare out the windows on airplanes. Therefore, when my father offered to take me skydiving, or to quote my Psychology and Law Studies teacher from high school, “jumping out of a perfectly good airplane,” (he used to be a paratrooper) for my 18th birthday, of course I accepted.

My birthday was in November, but the weather wasn’t very good that year. So I didn’t end up going until March of the next year. Finally, the chosen Saturday arrived. There were only a few clouds in the sky and the air was crisp with springtime. So my dad, sister, grandmother, grandfather and me (Mom was sick) drove over to an airfield in DeLand, Florida.

“Skydive DeLand” is one of the skydiving capitals of the world. It is home to competitions and events. I was going on a tandem jump since I had never done anything like it. A tandem jump is when a very experienced staff diver is strapped on to your back to tell you what to do.

I was so excited, and not nervous at all. Honestly. We got into the small plane with a skydiving team from Germany and a couple individuals. The plane started to rise and I watched the world fall away. We jumped from an altitude of 13,000 feet. The first minute or so was just a freefall. I really don’t know how long it was; time was irrelevant. It was so cold and fast. I don’t even know if I was breathing. They said it would be around 120 miles per hour, but until then, I had no idea what 120 miles per hour really was. When the parachute opened, I was back in reality. The opening is really an amazing feeling. I was going so fast, and then I just stopped. I was jerked upwards, but then I looked around. It was absolutely breathtaking. DeLand is near the Atlantic coast of Florida, so I could see the ocean. I could see for miles in every direction. Looking out an airplane window is limited; this was a 360 degree panorama. Then, my instructor took over. He whirled us around, and we spun and twisted; we even went through a cloud. But, like all good things, there had to be an end. I mean, the ground kept getting closer, I couldn’t stop that. We touched down in a perfect landing. It was the greatest thrill of my life.

By the way, the entire time, another diver was shooting video and stills of my descent. Both the pictures and the video are excellent. I still can’t believe it was me. However, a little over a year later, I saw in the news that the photographer had died in a diving accident. That made me really sad. But he died doing what he loved. It's not going to keep me from wanting to jump again.