ChasingBlueSky 0 #1 July 28, 2004 www.saukvalley.com/284849240195476.bsp A picture of Dave C with the student is on that page. At 93, Lansing man takes to the skies When you are 93, there's not much you haven't done in life. But Larry Baker, who hit that milestone on June 14, found something so unusual and so much fun, he did it twice. Wearing a leather helmet that appeared borrowed from Red Grange, Baker climbed into an airplane one recent Saturday afternoon in Ottawa. He waited until the plane reached a height of 13,500 feet, then stepped out and plunged toward terra firma at the breathtaking speed of 120 mph. First barely visible to observers on the ground, Baker and instructor Dave Cicciarelli, to whom he was securely harnessed, slowly came into view when their white-and-pink parachute opened at 5,500 feet. About five minutes later, they floated to the ground and made a safe landing at 25 mph. Baker, of Lansing, was barely able to contain his enthusiasm while dusting off his bright green jumpsuit after his first skydiving attempt. "It was wonderful, beautiful, great! I'm ready to go again," Baker said. "Everyone in their lifetime should try it at least once. It's a must." Four hours later, Baker made his second jump. Baker got the idea six months ago when he heard of a 92-year-old man who had skydived. "I figured I'm the next in line," he said. Baker is the oldest person to have jumped at Skydive Chicago, which opened in 1993 in Ottawa. Baker, who saw the Chicago skyline far in the distance, marveled at his experience. "Jumping out was the best part. It's like flying on your own. That's a terrific feeling," Baker said. "You're falling pretty fast, you know. That wind knocks the breath out of you." Before his first jump, Baker sat through a brief how-to class taught by Cicciarelli, who has jumped more than 12,000 times in 17 years. "I've never been hurt," Cicciarelli told the first-timers. "What happens to you happens to us, and we have plans tonight." After the class, Baker said he was "more excited than nervous." Although 14 people have died in accidents at Skydive Chicago in the past 11 years, and Baker had to sign an extensive release form, he wasn't worried. Part of his confidence was due to an automatic activation device that deploys the parachute at 5,500 feet. "I heard the chance of having an accident is 1-in-86,000," he said. "I look at it this way: I'm 93. If this was my last day, so be it. At this age, I haven't missed too much. It's been a very good life," Baker said. Baker has been retired for 28 years from his job at U.S. Steel South Works. He got a job there — at 55 cents an hour — after he graduated from Bowen High School in Chicago in 1928. He worked at the steel mill for 48 years, built his own house on a private lake in Lansing, and outlived two wives. "They would think I'm nuts," he said of what his wives would have thought about the skydiving. "My daughter did, too." Baker's only child, Jeanette Harris, 65, also of Lansing, was not overjoyed when she learned of her father's plan. "He had a heart attack three years ago, he broke his left leg two years ago and has a titanium rod in there, and he has brittle bones," she said. But Baker said their preliminary visit to Skydive Chicago proved there was "nothing to it." BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS_________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattjw916 2 #2 July 28, 2004 AAD deploys at 5500?!! That can't be right... can it? Someone should slap his daughter though. I am sure she is just being concerned, but WTF, he not going to live much longer anyway! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChasingBlueSky 0 #3 July 28, 2004 QuoteAAD deploys at 5500?!! That can't be right... can it? SHHH! You are about to start a rant here about how the media never gets anything right! Or maybe he just told the reporter wrong. It's still a nice story. Quote Someone should slap his daughter though. I am sure she is just being concerned, but WTF, he not going to live much longer anyway! Remind me to never place my estate in your hands to make decisions!_________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattjw916 2 #4 July 28, 2004 lol, and I wonder why people say I am "insensitive" NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeth 0 #5 July 28, 2004 How cool! And at my DZ, I love it! "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WILDBILLAQR 0 #6 July 28, 2004 Note to self- Must but 2nd Cypress so I dont need to pull anything. Need to set 2nd to fire @ 5500ft. Should be a real energy saver---------------------------------------------- "Thats not smoke, thats BUCKEYE!!" AQR#3,CWR#49 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,648 #7 July 29, 2004 QuoteAAD deploys at 5500?!! That can't be right... can it? Someone should slap his daughter though. I am sure she is just being concerned, but WTF, he not going to live much longer anyway! Maybe he mistook the TM for the AAD.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
