Desert Skydiving in Arizona

A View from Above

By Gregory T. Jones

Skydiving in the desert

From a rapidly descending view, there exists a very different world. Unlike the view from an airplane window, the rushing ground gives the earth a pulse. Even the immense becomes more vivid and tangible. Aphid trucks crawl along highway vines. Jeep trails are fallen strands of hair. Mountains are tousled bed sheets and waning splashes of crimson paint. The Colorado River is a geoglyphic serpent, coiled and waiting, held back by a cracker-thin dam to the east. The white noise of the wind covers any sound of the industrial age. For 60 seconds, the civilization below does not exist.

The southwestern deserts have become an ethereal mecca for skydivers. With almost 350 days of clear skies, our location draws jumpers from around the world, almost guaranteed the experience of doing what they love best.

Skydiving began very far away from the deserts. It originated in France about 1797, when a traveling grifter named Andre-Jacques Garnerin performed a hot-air balloon show, said to be topped off by parachuting from a height of 700 meters. His act traveled all over the countryside. Garnerin's plans often changed after collecting the money, however, and even the balloons rarely made it off the ground. Angry patrons tired of being swindled contacted the authorities and he was confronted with an ultimatum -- either jump from the balloon, or go to jail. He succumbed to the pressure of officials, agreeing to put himself and the balloon in the sky. Fortunately, his balloon exploded just as he leapt, offering further incentive to jump. And though he landed a mile away from where he expected, Garnerin is officially credited with the first successfully performed skydive.

From the time of that first attempt, the sport remained idle for about 150 years. Only a handful of daredevil types had ever even thought of attempting it. The powers of the sky have been a passionate thought in the minds of scientists and philosophers for hundreds of years, however. In the 17th century, Galileo studied the mechanics of falling objects and drew the first meaningful scientific conclusions on flight before being sentenced to house confinement for his remaining years.

Newton continued on this path of understanding, struggling to describe the force of mutual attraction -- gravity, that brings all things back to earth. Then old Einstein came along in the 20th century. Speaking on his theory of special relativity he said, "the happiest thought of my life...[is that] for an observer in free-fall from the roof of a house there is during the fall – at least in his immediate vicinity – no gravitational field." Now, falling from heights higher than 10,000 feet, jumpers eagerly volunteer to perform the ultimate expression of Einstein's greatest thought.

Dropzone Life at Skydive Arizona...

The motorhomes and tents set outside the airport began to rustle with groggy eyed skydivers heading for the showers or a strong cup of coffee. The sky was already buzzing with circling props. I lay back on the hood of my car watching the sky through binoculars. Every twenty minutes a dozen or more chutes burst open and trafficked themselves to the ground. From three thousand feet above there was the static ruffle of canopies filling with air. Nylon-suited marionettes dangled by strings, adjusting themselves in the hands of the sky. The jumpers swooped along the ground, and on touching their feet to earth again, the sky released its hold.

In the staging area just off the runway a young woman was getting ready to jump. She slinked into her black sheened jumpsuit. After stepping into her rig, she lifted it to her shoulders, and cinched tight the blue nylon straps before tucking them out of the way. She pulled the two straps of the altimeter onto her left arm, one around the wrist and the other in her palm, then centered it on the back of her hand. Turning the small dial on the top calibrated it to read zero, ground level. She inspected the main and reserve pin seatings. The pilot chute was secure. The placements of her cutaway and reserve handles were good. Walking through emergency procedures, she practiced main chute cutaway and reserve pull motions. When the announcement of our load came she grabbed her helmet and goggles and we headed to the plane.

Bench seats lined the gut of the double prop Otter. As a formality we strapped on a slack waisted seat belt. The aircraft climbed a steep angle. It was difficult to see anything clearly through the smudged plexiglass windows. The thin wrinkled man sitting to my left said, "Hey, you have a good jump. Okay?" It was a sincere enough tone to have lead me into a cult. I nodded accordingly with an oblivious daze. The Italian man across the bench from me held his hands together in a mumbled prayer. The plane banked into the head wind, back towards the drop zone over 13,000 feet below. Jumpers were already staged at the door. The green light flashed. In a linear fashion, everyone began throwing themselves out like humpbacked lemmings. Standing on the threshold, the last edge we would feel for the next sixty seconds was the one we were about to step off. Head up, arched back, within two seconds only the horizon and blue skies were left.

Free fall picture

In the last 30 years, skydiving has gained tremendous momentum, particularly in the Southwest. The largest skydiving center in the world is in Ely, Arizona. There are also clubs, conventions and web pages all revolving around the sport. The largest of these organizations, the United States Parachute Association, (USPA), currently has more than 35,000 recreational skydivers registered. Representing jumpers since 1946, it is the only national skydiving association in the United States. This makes the organization responsible for issuing skydiver's licenses, certifying skydiving instructors, sanctioning national competitions and their most important function -- keeping the sport safe.

Skydiving is not the extreme, dangerous sport it is often made out to be. Technical yes, but not extreme. Skydivers are expected to acquire knowledge and make a continuing effort to add and improve that knowledge. They must stay alert and aware of their surroundings, and know their limitations. Emphasis is placed on practicing and preparing for both the expected and unexpected alike. Exercising good judgment, keeping all options open and evaluating risk factors are all crucial skills to be learned. But these are just the basics. The safety requirements on equipment, instruction and training fill volumes of books. It is a precision sport, and highly regimented to keep the maximum level of safety.

Navajo shamen dreamt of having wings, and painted themselves in pictographs flying above the birds. Galileo drafted prosthetics designed to help humans glide into the sky. Now, in this day, we able to realize their dreams. There will be many who never try skydiving, justifiably arguing that "exercising good judgment" means not jumping out of an airplane to begin with. But for those that want to experience the world from a different view, in a different way, nothing can be so enlightening as jumping from a perfectly good airplane. And if Einstein was still around, there might just be one more wild-haired eccentric standing at the door beside you.

photos from Skydive Arizona

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