FLYIN’ HIGH, FALLIN’ FAST
By Natalie Jackson
Looking for an adrenaline rush? Look no further. The Malone Parachute Club, located at the Franklin County State Airport in Swanton brings a new view – a view from above – on our beautiful county.
The Malone Parachute Club began in 1971 when the original owner, Larry Sargeant, decided to share his love for skydiving with others in Malone, New York. It didn’t take long for Sargeant’s first-class club to form into a non-profit organization that offered lessons and trainings to interested people.
After 31 years in Malone, the club moved to Clinton County Airport in Plattsburgh, New York. After another five years, the club moved to our local Franklin County State Airport when the Clinton County Airport closed in 2008.
Today, the Malone Parachute Club has shared ownership between five adventurous members: Barry Waling, Dick Swanson, Dave Swanson, Jeff Lambert and Kent Wood.
Because it is a not-for-profit corporation, the members are all volunteers whose work and contributions to the club enable them to jump without traditional fees. Proceeds from student training and experienced jumpers go toward maintenance of the club aircraft and student equipment.
Members and students come to the club from all over, including around Vermont, Canada, and New York.
Waling, a member who made his first jump in 1976, is one of the oldest members of the club. He has been associated as a member/owner of the club since 1983.
At the age of 63, Waling says he has made about 2,400 jumps with the club.
Just like any other first-time jumper, Waling was nervous as ever when he took his first jump out of the plane in Malone. Although Waling is always cautious of the safety regulations when jumping, he says he is nowhere near as nervous jumping today, as he was the first couple of times.
“You need to keep an edge in order to remain safe,” Waling comments. “If you get too complacent about any adventure activity, then you’re more likely to lose track of the important details or not recognize some of the risks.”
The Malone Parachute Club typically serves approximately 100 students, or first-timers, per season. They will train jumpers at all levels of experience, from a first-time student through all of the licensing proficiencies set forth by the United States Parachute Association (USPA), including the expert, or “D license.” The club also has about 20 experienced jumpers who frequently come back for more, many of whom have been coming back for years.
Each skydiving season lasts about seven months here in Vermont. Obviously dependent upon the weather conditions in the area, the club is open most weekends from April through October.
As one of approximately 300 Group Member Drop Zones of the USPA, the Malone Parachute Club follows all Federal Aviation Regulations and USPA Basic Safety Requirements, emphasizing a safe training environment for student progression and consistent guidelines for experienced jumpers.
With this in mind, newcomers can ensure that each Instructor and Coach of the club has been tested, certified and rated by the USPA. Each member must maintain proficiency (and submit annual verification) in order to conduct training of student jumpers.
For safety purposes, the USPA sets minimum altitudes for jumpers of different experience levels. For example, the minimum height a student can jump from is 3,500 feet, whereas a very experienced jumper can open his/her parachute at 2,500 feet. At the Malone Parachute Club, the highest they allow people to jump from is 12,500 feet. Because the club’s plane, a Cessna 182, is a small aircraft and does not supply oxygen, it is not able to fly above 15,000 feet in the air.
Many of the members of the club and regular jumpers agree that once you take your first jump, you just want to go again and again. Many of the members of the Malone Parachute Club have traveled to different places in the United States to skydive. In fact, several of them plan to attend Summerfest at Skydive Chicago, an event coming up shortly that allows skydivers from all over the world to get together.
Some of the regulars have also traveled to Maine, Florida, and Puerto Rico.
A Personal View from Above
With the experienced jumpers at the Malone Parachute Club, I felt completely confident that nothing would go wrong when I took my first jump on Sunday, July 24th.
“Some staff at drop zones everywhere will hand you a form and say, ‘Here, sign your life away,’” Waling said half-jokingly, after I had signed the registration papers of course. “As in any adventure activity, there are inherent risks that must be explained to participants. At MPC we emphasize to students that our focus is managing and reducing those risks while maintaining a ‘fun’ atmosphere for learning.”
At this drop zone though, I felt very comfortable with the volunteers and the risks I was about to take.
I pulled up to the airport, more nervous than I had ever been in my life. I even skipped breakfast and didn’t drink liquids at the risk of throwing up or wetting my jumpsuit in front of everyone.
Upon arriving, member/owner Jeff Lambert explained each piece of equipment I would be using thoroughly. Not only was there a backup to the parachute I’d have (a reserve or emergency parachute is required equipment for every jumper), but there was also a computerized altitude sensing device (AAD) that would open the reserve automatically if the main parachute never got pulled.
Because this was my first time skydiving, I jumped tandem with one of the regular jumpers at the dropzone, Steve Bond. All tandem instructors must have at least 500 jumps, pass a tandem instructor certification course, and be in good health and physical condition.
Despite my nerves, Jeff and Steve made me feel completely safe. In fact, I felt so safe that the more they talked to me, the less I felt as though jumping out of an airplane was a big deal.
Lambert began skydiving 16 years ago with Malone Parachute Club. After 1,700 jumps he claims, “My favorite part is working with the students. It never gets old watching a person experience their first skydive… After a few years of jumping it becomes much more peaceful and calm.”
Bond has a total of 600 jumps within his ten years of skydiving. “My first tandem I almost passed out because I got a little dizzy. That doesn’t happen anymore, though”, Bond said. Although he felt dizzy after the landing, Bond said his first jump felt so awesome that he just wanted to do it right off again. In fact, the next weekend he returned to take lessons and was jumping on his own shortly afterward.
Steve asked me before going up if I was nervous. When I responded saying yes, he replied “Good. I think I would be nervous if you weren’t nervous!”
After being walked through the use of each piece of equipment and practicing my exit jumps, my nerves had calmed down. It wasn’t until we reached 7,000 feet up in the air and they began triple checking my equipment that I realized how scared I was. After Steve had attached himself to me in the plane, I knew there was no turning back, for when he jumped, I was going down with him.
I felt a little relieved that somebody was responsible for the jump because if I weren’t attached to him, I probably would have turned back and missed out on one of the best experiences in my life. At 11,500 feet in the air, we fell for approximately 30 seconds before Steve pulled the parachute. My favorite part was the free fall. I told Steve beforehand I would probably mess something up if I pulled the chute, so I let him.
After looking over the county, Lake Champlain, Montreal in the distance, and even finding my own house, I am thankful for the excellent opportunity. Malone Parachute Club made me feel safe and thrilled throughout the entire experience.
