Father & Son Tandem Skydive

Sky-High Celebration For Father's Day

by Dale Gumm

On June 17, 2001, I celebrated a special Father's Day with my son, Daniel, in the beautiful blue skies over Bardstown, Kentucky. This jump was sixteen years in the making and one I will never forget.

Most children grow up watching cartoons in the morning before they head off to school. But Daniel would sit mesmerized for hours watching skydiving movies and video clips from Aerial Allstar Skydiving Team exhibitions. When he was three-years-old, he wore a toy parachute backpack stuffed with an old pilot chute attached to it. Much to his mother's distress, he would leap from the stairs yelling, "Ready, Set, Go!"

When he was a toddler, he traveled with me to the Greene County Sport Parachute Center, where I taught static line and tandem students how to make their first parachute jumps. He was at the drop zone when I took my father for his first jump. Daniel would become the third generation of Gumms to make a parachute jump.

When he became older, he worked as ground crew for the Aerial Allstars Skydiving Team at air shows like Thunder Over Louisville. It was only natural that he wanted to skydive when he turned 16-years-old. So, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, the Gumm family, including Grandma, drove to the Greene County Sport Parachute Center Drop Zone for Daniel's great adventure.

I have made over 4,000 skydives and nearly a thousand of those have been tandem jumps. However, I must admit I was a little nervous about taking my own son for his first skydive.

After signing the liability waivers, I trained Daniel and some other first-time tandem jumpers. As I trained and watched him, I couldn't believe how much and how fast he had grown up right in front of my eyes. Time is just like freefall it's gone in the blink of an eye.

After twenty minutes of training in the hangar, I started gearing Daniel up for his jump. Marc Gambrel, an excellent skydiving videographer and long-time friend, would be freefalling with us to capture Daniel's jump on film. After a practice exit from the aircraft, it was time to mount up for the skydive. The chariot awaited!

Daniel really didn't seem too nervous as pilot Bob Boswell rolled the DeHaviland Beaver down the grass strip for take-off. I believe I was more nervous than he was at that moment. The plane climbed slowly towards our exit point two miles high over the scenic drop zone. Jimmy Gambrel, Marc's father, was also jumping with us. I reflected how special this was -two father and son pairs on the aircraft making jumps on Father's Day!

At 7,500 feet I started fastening Daniel's harness to mine. As I cinched his body close, I started to feel a little anxiety in him. I checked and rechecked his harness connections. Everything was good to go. I had some time to reflect again on my wonderful years as a tandem instructor and how I love taking tandem students on their first magical journey to experience the pure adrenaline rush and total wonderment of skydiving at 120 miles per hour. My tandem passenger is the most precious cargo in the whole world, and I am totally responsible for its safe delivery. The passenger has literally trusted me with their life.

Now I realized that the passenger attached to me was not only precious cargo, but also of my own flesh and blood - nothing like a little pressure to keep you on your toes. All of a sudden we were at 11,000 feet above the drop zone and nearly time to jump. I placed my hands on Daniel's shoulders and told him that I loved him and would take very good care of him.

Marc yelled "Cut" to the pilot to slow the engine down, and his father, Jimmy, dove out the door. Marc climbed out and hung onto the wing strut to film our exit. Daniel never hesitated as we moved together to the door. I yelled, it'sssssssssss Showtime!

All of my years of tandem experience kicked into high gear, and I was on high alert and ready to dive out the door. The cameraman gave me a nod and it was, "Ready, Set, Archand we took that leap of faith together out into the wild blue yonder.

Daniel remembered his training and we were stable very quickly, so I deployed the small drogue parachute. The drogue slows the tandem pair down to about 120 mph and serves as an anchor to prevent tumbling. I knew Daniel was having a great time because he was waving at the cameraman in freefall. I could see him signal with thumbs up and could feel his body relax underneath me. We were both yelling and screaming for sheer joy like two amusement park junkies riding the tallest, baddest roller coaster in the world. For 45 seconds, Daniel and I freefell as one through the sky oblivious to anything else around us. We were father and son and would be forever closer after this unique bonding experience.

I gave Daniel the signal and we pulled the ripcord together and watched as the canopy blossomed overhead. At first, Daniel was at a loss of words. This is also not uncommon - I usually get one extreme or the other. Some passengers yell out and scream in gratification. Others take a moment to catch their breath before they can express the thrill and ecstasy of their skydiving experience.

For another four minutes, we soared like two eagles under giant wings as I gave Daniel the scenic tour of Bardstown. It is so quiet under canopy that it is almost surreal. You don't even feel as if you are moving. It was so clear we could see the Louisville skyline.

The last part of a tandem experience should be a good, safe landing, preferably on or close to the target. As Daniel and I positioned the canopy for the final approach, I could see the entourage of family and friends waiting below by the windsock. Working together, we were able to fly the canopy onto the pea gravel target for a perfect standup landing.

There were many cheers, congratulatory hugs, and Kodak moments after landing. Daniel grinned from ear-to-ear as he shook hands and realized what he had just accomplished. I was very proud of him and how well he handled himself under the pressure. This was a Father's Day that will be etched in my memory forever.

Cost of the tandem jump: $165.00.

Cost of tandem video with photos: $65.00.

Value of the experience to father and son: Priceless!

A special thanks to Greene County Sport Parachute Center owners and forever friends, Ken and Cindy Heismann, for allowing Daniel to make his jump at age 16. The drop zone policy requires that students be 18-years-old before making their first jump. Also, a special thanks to Marc Gambrel for filming Daniel's first parachute jump.