May 2. By Suzanne Fulton. On Sunday, April 24—an absolutely gorgeous day, three Cornelius men and one woman—all over 60 years of age—fell out of an airplane and swooped around for 10,000 feet harnessed to an instructor and a parachute.

After diving out of a perfectly good airplane, they somersaulted and performed other exciting maneuvers in the sky—all captured by wrist cameras issued by Piedmont Skydiving.

It’s not that kayaking, pickle ball, travel, dancing, card games, grandchildren and cruises were old hat for these folks, it was the  discount. Ed Vanek’s wife Terry had found the deal  on Groupon. She said knew he’d jump at the chance.  Three neighbors in Bailey’s Glen active adult community made the commitment as soon as they heard Ed talk about going.

Recalled Stuart Patch, “at a February event in the ballroom, I heard Ed state that he was going to use the coupon, so I expressed interest in skydiving with him.  Skydiving has been on my ‘bucket list.’ In a few minutes, Sandy Shore and Richard Zuber said they wanted to join us.”  

After the experience,  Zuber said, “It was pretty exciting. . . Once the chute opened you could see forever!”

Patch remembers the “sensation of the speed and wind against us” during the free fall.

Sandy Shore claimed she had wanted to dive since her teens. She was not fearful and experienced “a feeling of peace” during her descent. “It was amazing,” she said.

She explained that the landing was easy, aided by a training session on the ground before they went airborne, not to mention pants to help  them land properly on their posteriors.