Wild Blue Yonder
Singles tandem skydiving with Columbus Adventures
By Megan Burkholder |
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"You look a little nervous."
I strained to hear Chris' voice over droning wind. Someone in our cramped five-seater Cessna had cracked open a window to keep air circulating on that hot, hazy midday. As a tandem instructor does, Chris straddled my hips from behind, and continued.
"We tell jokes when we see people get nervous. Tony, tell the muffin joke." Tony, a solo jumper, sat scrunched beside me, facing the back of the plane, his knee resting on top of mine. He told the joke, which I had already heard, ending with, "Holy sh*t, a talking muffin!" I humored them with a smile, but I wanted to feel my nerves, rowdy butterflies in the pit of my stomach: the unyielding, heavy jolts that make you feel alive - the kind you only get when you're about to jump out of an airplane.
Our Cessna climbed to a predetermined jump height of 10,000 feet. Chris ordered me onto my knees.
"When we open the door, you are going to put your right foot onto the step and grab a hold of the plane with both hands." I had time to repeat his instructions in my head once, the fear tightened in my chest. Dan, a solo jumper wearing a helmet cam, opened the door to a furious blast of air. Chris shouted, "Okay, step out!" I slit the incessant wind with my foot to reach the step. My hands clenched the plane's frame, "Okay, step with your left foot!" No time to argue how absurd it felt to be standing on a step underneath a plane's wing at 10,000 feet. I pulled my other foot out of the safety of the plane. "Now let your hands go. Ready, set..."
PHREEOOM!
I let go and Chris let go; harnessed together, we fell hard. Our bodies dropped at 200 feet per second, slicing through an infinite dimension where there's no time to use your brain, for a short eternity.
Chris, monitoring his altimeter, motioned me with two thumbs up to pull our chute's cord. I saw my signal, but nothing registered. Chris recognized my oblivion and pulled our cord; my spine jolted from sudden deceleration. I could hear now, reason returned, and I recognized earth. I put my hands through the toggles to steer our canopy left and right, around in long circles, while the ground approached. We aimed toward the small grassy circle next to the runway. "Pull the toggles all the way down. Feet up!" Chris barked at the very last moment. As our butts hit first and bumped along the grass, our canopy landed smoothly behind us.
Adventure Girl, Megan Burkholder, landing safely after her tandem skydiving jump.
Photos: Daniel Smith
My skydiving jump was another outing of Columbus Adventures, a singles club founded by Daniel Hutchison. Hutch, as he is know around the club, served a tour in Iraq in 2007 as an Army Combat Medic. The following year, he continued his service in Indiana, where he trained soldiers for combat. This past January, Hutch returned to Columbus. "In the current economy I couldn't find a job. All my friends were married and didn't have time to socialize. I saw there was nothing like this in Columbus, so I dipped into my savings to start [Columbus Adventures]," he said.
Hutch launched the web site in March and says membership is strong. He credits a portion of his success to military experience.
"The army taught me discipline, to utilize my time well and be responsible," he said. "I have no fear. This is nothing compared to what I saw overseas."
Nilay and Cheri, both members of Columbus Adventures, joined Hutch and me for the skydiving excursion. Nilay recently moved to Columbus from Philadelphia, and has participated in kayaking, a cookout, the Irish festival, and bowling.
"I joined to make new friends," he said. "When I first got here, I spent a few weekends doing nothing. I was searching online when I found Columbus Adventures."
Cheri proclaimed her favorite adventure to be rock-wall climbing.
"It was a personal challenge. My other friends were not into it and you need another person to climb. This gives you the opportunity to be with people who like the same things you do," she said.
This was Cheri's fourth time skydiving and she beamed as she butt-landed.
"It was awesome! He spun me around a couple times and made me a little nauseous," she laughed.
When asked if he'd skydive again, Nilay proclaimed, "Definitely!" But they'll have to wait for Hutch to schedule another Columbus Adventures skydiving trip. Until then, Cheri and Nilay must relish in the upcoming activities such as kayaking, rappelling, billiards, an ice cream social, zip line, and cave touring.
Where can I be an Adventure Girl/Boy?
Columbus Adventures
For singles only! It's the perfect place to meet like-minded men and women for friendship and/or a relationship. Membership ranges $17-$28/month. Most adventures are additional.
(614) 323-8618
www.columbusadventureclub.com
Skydive Columbus
$229/tandem jump, discounts offered for groups of 2 or more.
(614) 302-3768
www.skydivecmh.com
Originally Published: September 1, 2009
