ther and daughter team given the jumps as Christmas gifts , everyone is keen to share the experience together . But the wind is becoming even more worrisome .
The wispy clouds above appear to be moving at an alarming rate and the wind speed readings from various sources are in conflict . Rather than guess , the pilot Owen Brown and Stoll decide to take the Cessna up and make their own readings . Brown – an accomplished pilot at 24 – started flight training in Connecticut while still in his teens .
At first , the engine of the battered Cessna is reluctant to turn over ; the cold morning and the heavy prop a hindrance .
“ All skydiving planes I ’ ve known have a character ,” he says about the Cessna ’ s chipped paint and quirky nature . But soon enough the prop rotates and the engine turns over , rumbling to life loudly like a badass drag racer about to launch off the starting line .
Stoll climbs into the cockpit and he and Brown taxi up the runway , take off nimbly and soon disappear into the blue above . They return with ominous numbers . The gusts are at 18 knots at 1,000 feet , 25 at 2,000 and a whopping 40 knots at 4,000 feet .
“ We ’ re sorry ,” Stoll explains to the clients reluctantly , “ It would be unsafe to jump today . It ’ s not often I would be afraid of my own chute – wind can be fun – but this is different .” And although they are disappointed , the prospective jumpers are also quite visibly relieved and more than happy to reschedule for another , hopefully better , day .
A few days later the wintery skies clear in the afternoon just long enough for two new clients to be taken up for their first sky dives . They , too , received the jumps as Christmas gifts and giddily submit to Stoll ’ s thorough training before suiting up with harnesses and parachutes for the tandem jumps to come . Each jump is videoed from beginning to end , so after the two men partner up with Stoll and Harmon , the cameras start rolling as they walk to the plane . There is virtually no wind at all today .
After takeoff , the Cessna climbs steadily to more than 10,000 feet until it ’ s nothing but a speck in the sky , then makes a double pass over the drop zone before another speck and then another , drop out of the bigger speck . At 5,500 feet , two colorful chutes unfurl and then clearly , from 5,000 feet above , the sounds of whoops and hollers emanating from a place of pure bliss fall from the air and tumble to the ground well ahead of the skydivers themselves . Obviously , judging from joy above , this time , the jump was nothing but a breeze .
20 GREENVILLE LIFE