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We're headed up, up and away!
For a bird's eye view of East Central Iowa.
Is parachuting from an airplane at
13, 000 feet on your bucket list?
If it is, head to Brooklyn and SkyDive Iowa.
[music]
Our area here is about 10 acres.
We have a blacktop runway that runs a half a mile.
And gives us a nice little three acre landing area.
Dan: Well how did you personally get into this
and when was your first jump?
My first jump was in 1979, and my first jump was exactly like
everyone else that arrives here.
It was an event.
Friends got together and found where we could go and tried it
you know and in my situation, that one event
turned into a hobby....never turned back.
Dan: Well, I have never had the slighest desire to jump out
of a functioning airplane.
But, when Gene Becker told loved ones that he had the winning bid
for a sky dive, two more family members signed up.
I was able to tag along as the family took their first leap.
He kind of talked to the rest of us and I was the first to jump
on board and say I would love to do it.
I ended up hearing that my uncle was going to be jumping out of a plane.
Found out when the date was and wanted
to come down and jump myself.
SkyDive Iowa offers several jump options.
with the most popular being the tandem-jump.
Before heading more than two miles in the air,
everyone gets training.
There's a video that walks you through it and then the
instructors take you through standing positions.
And then they go lay you on your stomach and talk about body
positions to be in...how to pull your feet up.
Dan: Did they show you where the rip cord is???
And how to pull it?
Ahhh....no, they've got that all under control.
Yes they showed us where the ripcord is and, although,
I'd like to think that I'm not required to remember that
as I'm falling for the first time.
I think they've got that all under control.
Dan: Safety is a very important consideration.
How do you accommodate that?
Safety begins, you know, in the hangar here.
Umm...with the equipment, the packing, the inspections,
and stuff like that.
It's time-consuming, most of our time in this industry is spent
dealing with safety issues.
And it's not just with the parachuting but the airplanes too.
Dan: Gene and his family have completed the training
and are off to the tarmac.
Just liked to give you a send-off.
Okay.
Okay.
See you on the ground.
Remember...pull the rip-cord when they tell you.
I am just going to do everything they told me about.
Okay and I will see you when you land.
[music]
It was great.
Oh at first, at first it seemed pretty fast,
and the wind, a lot of wind
'cuz I suppose you're traveling down pretty fast.
Everybody thought I couldn't handle this but it was just like
I'd done it before.
Do you think your grandpa's pretty awesome?
Yeah...better.
Would you like to do this someday?
Maybe
Heck yeah.
The view, the wind, just to be falling like that
...it was great.
It was incredible.
It was just an amazing experience.
I think being able to experience something with my father-in-law
and with Steve jumping on-board.
But just that whole family experience of it.
I loved every bit of it and can't wait to do it again.
If you're looking for a unique airborn view of our state,