If there is one rule for thrill seekers, it’s that there is no age limit.
Twelve residents of Zionsville’s Hoosier Village retirement community proved that when they took to the skies — then promptly fell back to earth — during an Aug.12 skydiving outing at Frankfort Municipal Airport.
The group participated in tandem jumps with instructors from Skydive Indianapolis.
“We have an adventurous population,” said Luke Haskough, life enrichment manager at Hoosier Village. “A few said they’d go if I arranged a trip. We’ve done gliding every year for the past five years, but this is the first time we’ve gone skydiving.”
Rose Conrad has called Zionsville home for 30 years. She moved to Hoosier Village two years ago and said events like skydiving are simply ways to keep adventure alive while also coming home to a comfortable environment for seniors.
“I thought it was a pretty cool idea,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to skydive. I’ve always loved a little adventure in my life. I like ziplining, I like roller coasters. For my 65th birthday I went to Universal in Florida and had to ride that big steel coaster one more time.”
The residents who took the leap ranged in age from 70 to 89. Bill Latimer was the oldest of the group. The outing was his first time skydiving.
“Why did I lose my freaking mind?” Latimer joked. “But I couldn’t resist it, I just had to do it. I’m excited to be exhilarated with the jump. I was in the service and we had parachute trials jumping, but it was on a string. When you’re close to the surface, it looks scary. But when you’re up in the sky and you look down, it’s just unreal; stepping out into something unreal.”
The outing included an instructional video before the participants were outfitted in proper gear. Tandem skydiving involves exiting a plane at 13,000 feet and free falling at 120 mph before the instructor pulls the chute. Instructors at Skydive Indianapolis are USPA-certified and take responsibility for pulling, steering and landing softly and safely while the tandem partners enjoy the ride.
For the seniors who took part, the jump was a once-in-a-lifetime event that they simply couldn’t pass up.
“If I don’t do it now when I have this opportunity, I probably never will. So, here I am!” Conrad said. “I want to see the earth from up there unrestricted. Not inside a plane looking out a little window. I just want to see the earth and feel free and fly. That’s what I want.”
