Terminal Velocity
I thought that I’d be nervous, but the excitement overrode any fears that I had. Coupled with the fact that I would be surrounded by the best, I felt very secure. However, through my 12 years as a wing walker I always lived by one rule: “Don’t let go.” On January 21 I broke that rule. At 13,800 feet, I found myself leaning out into the cold wind over Yuma, AZ. It wasn’t a feeling I was unfamiliar with, as I’m used to the wind in my face at over 140 mph on top of a biplane. But knowing that at any moment I was going to have to break free of the airplane was a bit unsettling. I was comforted in knowing I was securely strapped to one of the best, Mike Elliott, a U.S. Army Golden Knight and Tandem Instructor who also jumped President Bush. I was in the very best of hands, but it still did not take away the apprehension and small fear that was stirring inside me—not the fear that I would be falling from over two miles in the air, but of stepping into the unknown. As I stood there strapped to my instructor I flashed back 17 years when I was stepping out of a biplane on my very first wing walk. This was foreign to me and I had no idea of what to expect and no clue what sensations were about to engulf me. It was completely overwhelming.
When asked if I was ready, I cracked a nervous smile and said “Sure.” Of course my answer would not have made a difference, as I was already committed to make this jump. The door rolled up and there we were leaning out into the cold wind. Before I could think twice I found myself careening out into the biting air. To say it was cold would be an understatement. The temperature on the ground that morning was around 50 degrees and with the temperature dropping for every thousand feet, it was freezing. The initial sensation was the shock of the cold wind against my face. I thought I would have a fear of falling and even imagined that I’d be nervous about the chute opening, or not. But all I felt was the wind. Not once did I think about the chute. I’ve seen these soldiers pack and jump many times and knew their impeccable safety record. As we hurdled to the ground at over 120 MPH the adrenalin rush quickly distracted me from thinking about the temperature. The ground appeared to not move at all. I just felt the enormous wind in my face. Did I happen to mention there was a lot of wind? What I found so comforting were the friendly faces around me.
I was very lucky that day. On my jump were two photographers and four other jumpers who joined us, all just for me. I felt honored. In what only seemed like a few seconds into the jump I felt a hand grab each one of my wrists as two of the team joined up. There we were, all eight of us falling from heaven in a world I had never known. I was on sensory overload and tried to remain fixated on the camera in front of me as told. It was all too much to take in and I’m sure I missed a lot. But, I didn’t have to remember to smile; that was automatically fixed on my face from the moment we stepped off the plane. In the video you can see me say something, but for the life of me I can’t remember what came out of my mouth. It was that much of an overload.
I never saw Mike wave the others off for our deployment, but as quickly as they came, they were gone. When the chute opened it was not a jolting pull; it seemed fairly gentle as our chute blossomed out into the air. What changed so suddenly was the transition into the beautiful silence as we floated toward the ground. At this point I was actually able to look around and enjoy the scenery, taking in a little more than I could during freefall. It was heaven. I was finally able to hear Mike as he was able to give me verbal instructions, which of course is impossible in 120 mph winds. He had warned me before the jump about having to loosen up the tandem harness for landing, but it didn’t change the uncomfortable feeling I had as we lost our very tight connection. I gasped a little at the fear of becoming unattached and falling towards the ground that was now getting closer. But I put my trust in Mike and tried to override that fear. The calmness and beauty of the moment was suddenly shattered as we suddenly started to spiral out of the sky. I knew what we were doing; I had seen the Knights do this before to lose altitude, but it was more aggressive than I thought it would be and threw me a little off because I was unprepared. Mike asked if I was okay, and after a few spins I told him I’d had enough. I wasn’t sick or even scared, just a little uncomfortable in the harness.
Then came the moment that made me more nervous than anything: the landing. As we got closer, the ground began to rush up faster and I did not know how this was going to turn out. Would it be hard or soft? We swooped over the grass and I waited for him to say “Stand up, stand up, stand up,” or “Slide, slide, slide,” as he told me in the briefing. He never did as there was no time. It all happened so fast. Before I knew it we were on the ground in what was a successful but awkward sliding landing. As I stood up I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face and was ready to do it all over again. Thank you, Mike and the rest of the Tandem Team for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime.
By Jane Wicker - jwtigergirl@braemarnet.com - www.beautyonthewing.com. Visit Jane’s website to watch the video see the entire series of pictures from this jump.