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SKY
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The parachuting school has a very formal program and takes its responsibilities seriously to the 8000 new students it gets each year. Says Paton, "Even with their increasing abilities we still regard our divers as our children. They've maybe left home but they're still our kids." In contrast to skiing where only 2 percent stay with the sport after trying it for a day, more than 5 percent of those who jump once at Perris stick with skydiving. Parachuting is safer than it used to be mostly because of the development of the square parachute yet it still demands complete attention for this mental vacation that jumpers claim they get from their daily cares. |
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| So the question hovers in the
air like a jumper in an up-draught: why do sane people jump from perfectly
good aircraft? The Perris instructors can only repeat what their students have told them. One student said, "It's always been on the list of things I want to do before I die or disappear." Another said, "You leave all your worries behind when you jump: You're flying. You're floating. No stress. No pain." And yet another said: "For 60 seconds you have attained total freedom, something so few ever accomplish in a lifetime. And I'll do anything to have that moment." There are 35,000 active jumpers in our country who belong to the United States Parachuting Association headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. Three and a half million jumps are recorded annually in the United States and 100,000 of those take place at Perris. The average North American jumper goes out the door about a hundred times a year -- and at all ages. Truesdell (Smitty the Jumper) Smith logged his 216th jump at Perris a few years ago at the age of 87. |
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Wanna try it? Perris Valley Skydiving can be reached at 800-832-8818 or at skydiveperris.com. It's an one hour drive from San Diego up Interstate 15 to Interstate 215 North, exit Ethanac West, then do a right on Goetz Road. The airport is 1.5 miles on your right. It will be the site of the U.S. National Championships of Formation Skydiving in October 2000. |
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