thedrifter
06-29-08, 08:54 AM
June 29, 2008
Flying high
It's not a bird. It's not a plane. It's the Gravity Devils.
Herman Fuselier
hfuselier@theadvertiser.com
Imagine jumping off the tallest slide at the water park. Now multiply that by 1,000.
That's the way Jason Romero describes skydiving, a sport he has enjoyed for almost eight years. Romero says no drug can compare to his addiction to jumping out of an airplane with a parachute.
Romero, 25, did not try skydiving until he left the Marines. But he needed only nine months to spend all of his military savings chasing a thrill at 7,000 feet.
"The first 10 seconds is like there's no gravity," Romero said of his jumps. "It's like you're in outer space. When you get out (of the plane), you can actually fly your body. It's not just falling in a straight line.
"You can fly forward, backwards. You can spin around. We can do just like a bird does, except we're falling a whole lot faster."
Romero is a member of the Gravity Devils Skydiving Exhibition Team. The four-member, Lafayette-based group will show off its skills Friday during Freedom Fest 2008, a Fourth of July concert and fireworks show at Cajun Field.
Romero, Corey Soignet, Dustan Daigle and Jacques deMoss have been skydiving for five years or longer. They formed the Gravity Devils in April and have been busy performing demonstrations from Lafayette to Baton Rouge.
Soignet dove into the sport in 1996. His brother bought him a jump with a trainer, called a tandem, as a Christmas present. He is now approaching 500 jumps.
"It's a taste of true flight," said Soignet. "If you're riding in the boat, it's not called swimming. Riding in the airplane isn't flying. If you want to fly, you got to get out."
The only thing Romero and Soignet enjoy more than skydiving is talking about its safety record. According to the United States Parachute Association, 27 fatalities occurred in 2005. That's out of 2.2 million jumps. Only 18 deaths occurred in 2007.
Skydivers can only jump in designated areas called drop zones, which are cleared of aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration. Gravity Devil members are looking at starting a skydiving school, with a jump zone, near Jeanerette or south Lafayette.
Divers jump with a main parachute and a reserve, in case of a malfunction. Some also use an automatic activation device that deploys when an unconscious diver reaches an unsafe speed or low altitude.
Soignet works as a certified FAA rigger, who packs all reserve parachutes for jumpers in designated areas. Those reserves must be packed every 120 days. A diver who cannot show proof of such is not allowed to jump.
Soignet packs reserves for skydivers and aerobatics pilots stretching from Texas to Mississippi.
"The most dangerous part about skydiving is the car ride to the airport," said Soignet. "Statistics-wise, you're more likely to be injured in a car accident getting to the drop zone than the actual skydive."
Ellie
Flying high
It's not a bird. It's not a plane. It's the Gravity Devils.
Herman Fuselier
hfuselier@theadvertiser.com
Imagine jumping off the tallest slide at the water park. Now multiply that by 1,000.
That's the way Jason Romero describes skydiving, a sport he has enjoyed for almost eight years. Romero says no drug can compare to his addiction to jumping out of an airplane with a parachute.
Romero, 25, did not try skydiving until he left the Marines. But he needed only nine months to spend all of his military savings chasing a thrill at 7,000 feet.
"The first 10 seconds is like there's no gravity," Romero said of his jumps. "It's like you're in outer space. When you get out (of the plane), you can actually fly your body. It's not just falling in a straight line.
"You can fly forward, backwards. You can spin around. We can do just like a bird does, except we're falling a whole lot faster."
Romero is a member of the Gravity Devils Skydiving Exhibition Team. The four-member, Lafayette-based group will show off its skills Friday during Freedom Fest 2008, a Fourth of July concert and fireworks show at Cajun Field.
Romero, Corey Soignet, Dustan Daigle and Jacques deMoss have been skydiving for five years or longer. They formed the Gravity Devils in April and have been busy performing demonstrations from Lafayette to Baton Rouge.
Soignet dove into the sport in 1996. His brother bought him a jump with a trainer, called a tandem, as a Christmas present. He is now approaching 500 jumps.
"It's a taste of true flight," said Soignet. "If you're riding in the boat, it's not called swimming. Riding in the airplane isn't flying. If you want to fly, you got to get out."
The only thing Romero and Soignet enjoy more than skydiving is talking about its safety record. According to the United States Parachute Association, 27 fatalities occurred in 2005. That's out of 2.2 million jumps. Only 18 deaths occurred in 2007.
Skydivers can only jump in designated areas called drop zones, which are cleared of aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration. Gravity Devil members are looking at starting a skydiving school, with a jump zone, near Jeanerette or south Lafayette.
Divers jump with a main parachute and a reserve, in case of a malfunction. Some also use an automatic activation device that deploys when an unconscious diver reaches an unsafe speed or low altitude.
Soignet works as a certified FAA rigger, who packs all reserve parachutes for jumpers in designated areas. Those reserves must be packed every 120 days. A diver who cannot show proof of such is not allowed to jump.
Soignet packs reserves for skydivers and aerobatics pilots stretching from Texas to Mississippi.
"The most dangerous part about skydiving is the car ride to the airport," said Soignet. "Statistics-wise, you're more likely to be injured in a car accident getting to the drop zone than the actual skydive."
Ellie