ElenaBurt

Beth Zinna ’25 and her skydiving instructor soar through the sky during their free fall period. Photo courtesy of Jump Omaha

“Yank that parachute after exactly 45 seconds have passed. Got it?”

Visualizing what it is like to look down at the earth while in a moving plane is something that will only be experienced in a dream (or nightmare) for most people, but senior Beth Zinna got to experience that feeling in real life. 

“It was like looking out of any plane but with the door wide open and wind blowing everywhere,” she said. That’s exactly where most nightmares tend to end—or right after the jump.

Many would be slightly scared, apprehensive or even completely petrified if faced with a skydiving opportunity. 

However, Zinna raced to the planes as soon as she turned 18 to check skydiving off of her bucket list. She got to do this through Jump Omaha, in Plattsmouth.

Zinna decided she wanted to pursue skydiving a year before she turned 18. 

Legally, in Nebraska, you have to be 18 years old to jump out of a moving plane (through an organization). Imagine all of her built up nerves and excitement about to burst as the plane went up, up and up. 

“The scariest part was when I was in the plane and realized I was actually going to jump out of it,” Zinna said. 

She then followed up with the fact that the most exciting part for her was “jumping out and free falling for 45 seconds,” she said. 

As the seniors and probably some juniors know (thanks to physics class), you accelerate at 9.81 miles per hour when in free fall. 

So, picture this: jumping out of a moving plane and suddenly falling from 10,000 feet in the air, speeding up every single second.

“The scariest part was when I was in the plane and realized I was actually going to jump out of it.”

– Beth Zinna ’25

Nothing but you, the sky, air resistance, and a view of the world you’ve never seen before— getting closer and closer as you plummet for what must feel like a century without that employed parachute. 

Overall, Zinna said that she was “definitely more excited than nervous.” 

The landing, requiring focus and correct technique,  can be just as frightening as the jump. Zinna said, “the guy told me to keep my legs up, otherwise I would land on them and get dragged.”

Zinna said she is glad that she did it, because the experience was incomparable to any other roller coaster ride or zip line glide. As it was “thrilling” for Zinna, it was also “surreal,” she said. 

“It changed my life because now I want to do a lot more adventurous things.”