Cathedral parishioner lives her thrill-seeking dream

Courtesy Photo/ Bill Warfield

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Jolina Warfield parachutes strapped to an instructor, floating like a bird in flight, an experience she would like to repeat.

SALT LAKE CITY — Jolina Warfield always dreamed of parachuting to experience what it would be like to fly like a bird and see everything below. So on Sept. 18, for her birthday, her children and grandchildren gave her the opportunity to do just that through the Ogden Sky Diving Center.

"I’m not going to tell you how old I am, but I did celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary a few years ago," said Warfield. "I’ve thought of doing this quite a bit, but never really did anything about it. I’ve always said I would love to do it if I just had nerve enough to step out of the airplane. That’s the hard part."

When the plane was at 6,000 feet, the instructor told Warfield they were at the halfway point, and she felt a bit scared, she said.

"When we were at 12,500 feet he had me sit with my legs hanging out the open door. That was my scariest moment," said Warfield. "Just before we jumped, the photographer was outside the plane hanging on to a handle above the open door. I didn’t think it was possible to do that; you only see that in the movies. The photographer jumped. I was strapped to my instructor and we just kind of scooted out of the plane that was traveling about 120 mph, which is considered jumping speed."

Warfield got the courage to follow her dream after her son went parachuting for the first time last year. "We all contributed toward his jump and that is what really made me decide to go through with it – I said ‘it’s doable and I really want to do it,’" she said.

This isn’t the first thrill-seeking experience for Warfield and her husband. "We’re not your run-of-the-mill couch potatoes. We’ve gone up to Park City and rode in a bobsled, zip lined and really enjoy thrill rides," said Bill Warfield, adding he didn’t join his wife parachuting because he was facing back surgery and couldn’t see landing just to be rushed off to the hospital.

Bill Warfield listened to the instructions Jolina received on the ground, and then watched a video of her jump. He was impressed at how "she never hesitated or shuddered, she just got on the plane and experienced it," he said. "She held her head back and put her hands on the straps. When they go out, they tumble once and end up on their bellies. The instructor would tap her if he wanted her to hold her arms out or bend her legs up."

"I actually don’t remember the tumble," said Jolina Warfield, who was able to guide the parachute by pulling on the straps, but said she was a little shy to do too much of that. "My instructor spun us around, and that was a lot of fun," she said. "To be in the air, free, and maneuver things the way you want to, was really a lot of fun."

Warfield said the reactions she has received after her parachuting experience have been mixed. "People either would love to do it or simply would not dream of doing it," she said.

For her, though, there was no doubt about the experience. "I would have turned around and got right back on the airplane and done it again," she said. "I would really love to do it again. The freefall is fun and that’s the reason I’d like to do it again. For me it was kind of like ‘Wow, this is strange, I’ve never been here before.’ I would like to experience it again to really get a feel for sailing to the ground. We really did sedately sail down for the landing."