By: Joshua Nypaver, JCSU Webmaster
Editors Note: This column is meant to give you a birds-eye perspective from an U.S. Army Golden Knights airplane. The webmaster, along with some local Charlotte journalists, served as invited guests on a campus flight Tuesday, November 18, 2008 as part of a promotional tour to raise awareness about the Army's ROTC program. JCSU is currently trying to build an ROTC program.
It's cold. Probably because we're 14,000 feet above Johnson C. Smith University's campus with the cargo doors open. On the ground, the temperature hovers somewhere in the mid-60s, but up here the temperature has dipped to the mid-30s. That, however, doesn't begin to describe the bone-chilling cold rushing in from the wind created by the open doors. This is not your typical flight and not a typical plane. This is a C-31A "Friendship" Fokker F-27, one of the two planes used by the US Army's elite skydiving team, the Golden Knights.
The plane is flying somewhere around 4,500 feet above the Queen City, (Photo by: Joshua Nypaver)
Media and other guests are strapped in next to the Knights. The seats are not the cushioned seats with tray tables normally found on aircraft. Instead, canvas and metal seats run along the outside walls of the plane so riders sit and face each other, forming a long aisle between the two rows. We're back here because this is where the doors are, and presumably, the action.
| Staff Sgt. Noah Watts explains what the narrator does during the Golden Knights performance. Click to watch video. |
The plan is fairly simple. One of the jumpers acts as the narrator, today it will be Staff Sgt. Noah Watts. He will jump and land before the others, radio up to tell the other jumpers about the conditions on the way down, and grab a microphone to describe to the audience what the rest of the jumpers are doing.
Since he jumps first, he is involved with the pre-jump checks. Once the plane is over the Irwin Belk Athletic Complex he tosses out several spooled cylinders of fabric made from parachute material. On release, they unfurl and flitter down to the ground allowing him to see what effect the wind will have on him when he leaves the plane.
The crew uses hand signals to let the pilots know the markers have been dropped. Teamwork is essential to their mission. They say none of them could do it alone. They need a pilot to take them up and spotters to tell them about wind conditions. The guys also rely on each other. As soon as the plane began its ascent they donned their helmets, turned and checked each other's packs to make sure chutes were properly packed. They literally trust each other with their lives.
Safety is paramount to the Knights. As soon as they lift off, the crew turn and check each other's chutes. Photo by: Joshua Nypaver