Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 July 1889 — How It Feels to Drop 3,000 Feet. [ARTICLE]

How It Feels to Drop 3,000 Feet.

"How does it feel to let go of the balloon when you are two or three thousand feet in the air?” said Thomas F. Grinly, the parachute jumper. lam sure I can .not Jell. One comes down so rapidly he hardly has time to analyze his feelings. Macclain, my partner, compares the sensation to that of being upset in the river. We cut loose from the balloon almost mechanically, a,nd before we realize we ore loose, we have shot down a couple of hundred feet, and thereafter the remainder of the descent is easy. It does nbt jar you until when you strike the ground, if you strike on your feet.’ In fact there is less jarring to the system than if you jumped off of a six-foot high fence. Neither is there any appreciable difference in the air to the height which we attain. It Is a great deal purer, though, but not as rarified as you would suppose.—WashTngtOhPiSSL