JULY24,1996
The thrill of falling
By Paul Eakins
Kansan staff writer
After 28 years experience skydiving and nearly 2,000 jumps, John Schuman has seen it all.
"I've seen very beautiful moments and the worst. I've seen broken backs, busted legs, and dead bodies," said Schumann, a Lawrence carpenter.
Schuman, 45, said he became fascinated with sky diving at a young age.He spent hours drawing parachuters jumping out of planes. He started skydiving with the K-State Parachute Club in 1969.
Schuman has competed in regional and national skydiving competitions and compares skydiving to body surfing, where the force of the waves holds the bodysurf up.
"You leave the plane and feel a force hit you," he said.
This force acts a lot like the waves of the ocean.
If the skydiver should lose concentration and not maintain a stable position, it's easy to spin out of control. And, like waves crashing against a bodysurfer, the air can take its toll on a skydiver's body.
"One time I spun out hard, and when I landed the entire right side of my face was red from the force of the air," he said.
Once the skydiver has jumped from the plane and gained stability, Schuman said the skydiver or team has about 45 seconds to a minute to do the maneuvers or formations, depending on the altitude the jump was started.
Schuman, who skydives 15-20 times a month, has placed first and second in regional competitions during his skydiving career.
There are several categories of competition for professional skydivers. In the speedstyle, the skydiver attempts to go as fast as possible, usually in an upright position. The fastest average speed set by a skydiver is 320 mph, Schuman said.
In formation flying, called relative work, a group of skydivers hold onto each other in a pattern for as long as they can before deploying their parachutes.
"The hot new thing is 20-way competition," said Schuman, referring to a maneuver involving 20 skydivers. "They try to change the pattern as many times as they can. Top teams can change eight times in 45 seconds."
Schuman and Maureen Gorsuch, a Kansas City-area massage therapist, comprise a free-fly team called City Lights, which competes regularly.
Through the years skydiving has evolved from a way to escape burning buildings to an art form of sorts. For years, skydiving involved falling with one's body parallel to the ground. In the past three years, the invention of vertical skydiving, called free flying, has added a whole new dimension to the sport.
The two must keep their bodies perpendicular to the ground during the entire free fall, which is videotaped by a photographer who jumps with the team. The competition is judged by the video.
As the popularity of skydiving has increased, many people are skydiving for the sheer thrill or the adrenaline rush. However, Schuman takes it more seriously. He teaches private lessons only to advanced skydivers. Three of his former students have placed first in world competitions. Two of those students were in the five Olympic rings formed by skydivers over Seoul, Korea, during the 1988 Olympic Games.
Schuman has begun to do camera work for other skydivers. He also publishes a
monthly skydiving newsletter called Southwind and has done free-lance writing for national skydiving magazines.
Gorsuch, Schuman's teammate, has been skydiving for two years and has 290 jumps to date.
"He has taught me to be really aware, to rely on my eyes," Goursch said of Schuman
Schuman said that skydiving was one of the most modern sports because it allows the athlete the move in every possible direction.
"In free fall, we're truly able to show the athlete prowess of an athlete," he said.
Although skydiving has been getting more coverage from ESPN and the network's Extreme Games, Schuman said skydiving has not been fully accepted as a serious sport.
There are more than 500 drop zones in America, increasing the availability of skydiving.
Skydiving is an expensive sport and Schuman said he spent about $6,000 a year pursuing it.
As a professional skydiver, he has $5,000 of equipment, including a parachute pack, extra parachutes, a helmet with a built-in camera and a skydiving suit.
Schuman said four nearby skydiving locations were airports in Wamego, Osage City, Lexington, Mo., and Independence, Mo. Each location offers skydiving classes. Learning to skydivive costs $140 on average, which usually includes six to eight hours of classroom training and a jump.
After 10-15 jumps with an instructor, the
skydiver achieves student status and can rent the gear and jump for about $25.
A skydiving license isn't required by law. However, Schuman said about 80 percent of professional skydivers were licensed by the United States Parachutting Association, a private organization. With a license and equipment, Schuman said he could jump for $10-$15 almost anywhere in the nation.
In the past, skydiving was not a realistic spectator sport because the only thing that people on the ground could watch was the landing, Schuman said. However, with the introduction of the video camera in skydiving, the spectators can watch what is going on thousands of feet above them.
Kansan staff contributed to this article.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Above: Skydiving is a passion for John Schuman, Lawrence resident. Schuman, top left, and six others hold hands to form a seven-way formation in a jump over the World War II Memorial Bridge in Lexington, Mo.
Right: Schuman assumes the advanced chute-assis position in a 1993 jump. Schuman has been skydiving for 28 years and competes in national competitions.
MUSIC REVIEW
Asia comeback is weak; Electronic reflects New Order
Review by Andrew Dalton
Asia Arena (Resurgence). Many years ago—well,
the early 80s—a supergroup consisting of former members of Yes, King Crimson and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer was formed. That supergroup was known as Asia.
Released in 1982, the selftitled debut album sold over 3 million copies, reached number one and spawned two top-20 singles
(Only Time Will Tell and Heat of the Moment). The group disbanded in 1986 and refused to release a greatest hits album in 1990. Since then, the band has
undergone numerous line-up changes while residing in relative obscurity.
This album includes nothing similar to the crisp guitar of Steve Howe who left the band after Arie. Geoff Downes is the only remaining member of the original lineup, and the songs revolve around his keyboards almost completely, which is really a good thing. Overall 4 out of 10.
I wish I could say that *Arena* marks a return to Asia's glory years, but it doesn't.
Electronic Raise the Pressure (Warner Brothers). Electronic features the combination of New Order's lead vocalist Bernard Sumner and former Smiths' guitarist Johnny Marr.
The sound erected by these veterans of the modern rock world is similar to the late sound of New Order rather than to anything the Smiths ever did.
Any fan of New Order wishing for a new album should definitely check this out. I found little difference between the latest New Order record Republic and Raise the Pressure.
As with most of New Order's albums, Raise the Pressure features a number of heavily keyboarded
dance tracks mixed in with a few dark, droning songs. The only real difference between New Order and Electronic is the absence of the cutting-edge mixture of dance and new wave.
Where New Order has this,
Electronic comes across
as pure dance pop.
DoverU7.
Vernon Reid Mistaken Identity (Sony). Former lead guitarist for Living Colour, Vernon Reid finally has released the long-awaited follow-up to the now
disbanded Living Colour.
Much of this record sounds like Living Colour without lead singer Corey Glover. Many of the songs are instrumentals featuring Reid's trademark guitar, but
others are a mixture of rap, funk and jazz.
rap, funk and jazz.
On these Reid takes a back seat to other fine musicians, letting them showcase their talent. Fans of Living Colour will enjoy Mistaken Identity where Reid is omnipresent but will probably be turned away from the lighter side of this record.
Also of interest is the CD's CD-Extra capability that can be accessed on CD-Rom drives. Overall 5.