Falling for a Dream

For 30 years, Kitty Arvin knew she wanted to jump out of a plane. But for 30 years, her fear of dying trumped her dream of falling through the sky.

But that all changed as she approached her 63^rd birthday. “I didn’t want to be one of those 90-year-old women who gets notoriety for doing something daring at the age of 90,” Kitty quipped. “I wanted to be a 63-year-old woman who did it!”

So, on what Kitty describes as the “first most beautiful, perfect, day of the summer,” she arrived at the Frankfort airport promptly at 10 a.m. to prepare for something she’d wanted to do for three decades: Kitty was going to jump out of a plane. Because she was doing a tandem jump with an experienced skydiver (a tattooed Slovik with a Mohawk hairdo and a good sense of humor), she went through several steps before leaving the ground. Orientation? Check. Waivers signed? Check. Harness fitting? Check. Loaded on the plane and heading up to 1,300 feet? CRAP! “That trip up to 1,300 feet took forever” she exclaimed. “For awhile I thought maybe we were flying to Chicago!”

During that ascent, Kitty second-guessed her decision to choose skydiving over an iPad. “I was given these two options for my birthday gift,” she explained. “By the time we hit 1,000 feet, that iPad was looking pretty good!”

There were a few jumpers who went first, so by the time Kitty made her way to the door she was ready. Sitting on the floor of the plane, she dangled her feet over the side, then rocked back and forth just a couple of times before making her exit. Then, the 60-second free-fall began. “This was my favorite part of the whole experience,” Kitty says. “Free-falling was tremendous. I felt like I was flying. Unbelievable.”

She was, however, surprised at just how windy it was. “You couldn’t get a decent spit if you wanted to!” she exclaims. Once the chute opened, Kitty gently floated to earth. All totalled, she spent a little more than five minutes in the air. Kitty describes the overall experience in one word: Wow.

Would she do it again? “Absolutely.” While she has no date set for her next skydiving adventure, she says she’s more than happy to go with anyone who’s interested in doing it. Any takers?

Stephanie Torr | Director of Business Development