Drop Zone

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When we visited my mom in Florida a new restaurant had just opened at the very small airport in town. They served fresh local food, a varying menu depending on what was available locally that day, and opened to rave reviews.

 

That alone would have beckoned us to visit, but the main attraction is this: you can sit out on the deck while you eat, watch sky divers jump from a plane, fall through the sky, and land just a few yards from your table.

 

Before we even sat down, we looked up into the sky full of a dozen or more colorful canopies that had just been released from a small plane at an altitude of about 12,500 feet. Jumpers at this airport have an incredible view of the Atlantic Ocean and coastline from the sky.

The divers fall at the rate of 115 mph for about a minute before their chute opens and soon we could make out the the forms of the divers themselves as they floated toward the earth.

 

Some did complete flips over and over in the air, to the applause of those watching.

 

 

A first jump, a tandem jump where you are tethered to an instructor, costs about $200. If you want a video to prove you did it, it costs a lot more!

Solo jumps for the experienced cost about $25 per jump and they make about 10 jumps per day.

The beautiful canopies cost upwards of $2500.

 

 

 

My sister and I both thought we would like to try it, although I probably would have to be (gently, I would hope!) pushed out of the plane when it comes right down to it. There are only 8 deaths out of a million jumps per year, comforting statistics, I thought, until I was reminded that I am a person who can trip over the toe of my own shoe.

Best to stay on the ground, I guess, but it sure was fun to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy