Babes Skydiving Adventures
Babes not only fly airplanes,
they have also flown their bodies
"Flying is to riding in an airplane, as swimming is to riding in a boat.
To truly understand the experience, one has to step outside the vehicle."
- Unknown
CarolT Exits an Otter
While definitely not for everyone, there are a certain few that seek adventure beyond what is considered "normal". To them, life is enjoyed with intensity. They shrug off the occasional comment about leaving a "perfectly good airplane", and experience body flight.
CarolT and instructor in "droguefall"
leapfrog takes "Clarence" for a tandem skydive
The story behind the "flying" pigs - Clarence and Clarice -
began a few years ago in Wichita. There is a fellow that hosts a big cajun-style pig
roast every year, and he would have the pigs delivered to the smoker in the most unusal
ways possible. Every year, he had to come up with a way to top the previous year's delivery.
Pigs were escorted by the police one year, came by ambulance the following year, etc. So
then came the idea to have the pigs "parachute" in.
Dennis, leapfrog's friend and fellow tandem master, received the call asking whether a pig
could be safely parachuted into the barbeque. When Dennis replied "sure", the fellow
then asked if TWO pigs could be dropped in. It then became clear that the fellow was really
asking if it was possible to strap parachutes to the pigs and throw them out over the barbeque.
"We can't do that, but what we can do is deliver them personally
", Dennis replied. When he called leapfrog and asked if he'd like to *fly* a
pig... well the rest is history.
Dennis and "Clarice" skydive over Wichita
Skydivers come together at boogies from all over the world to socialize and skydive,
just like pilots congregate at fly-ins. There are several diciplines within skydiving, and one
of the most common is called "formation" skydiving (formally called relative work).
Formation skydiving involves several skydivers, each flying their bodies to form
pre-determined patterns.
leapfrog is at 4 o'clock in white
Tandem skydiving is a great way to experience the entire realm of jumping, without the added
burden of excessive training. Strawberry, CarolT, and Moxie have experienced the thrill of
exit, freefall, and canopy control... and believe me, their instructors also got a hoot out
of exposing them to the feelings.
Strawberry's Tandem over Colorado
Dennis "drops in to say "hi"
One of the things that I will always take with me from this jump is the fact that Moxie was so comfortable during the entire jump. When the canopy opened, we had time to reflect and enjoy the sight of the airport under our feet.
Dennis flew in to make faces... and Moxie was quick to greet him... :)~
Jason, the photographer, did a great job of staying "up" with us...
- leapfrog