Page 32 - Panama City Living Magazine

ADRENALINE
Travis Alexander, Skydive Panama City packer and licensed jumper
a more intellectual approach. I want to understand the entire process to get through it, to understand it.” The army veteran professes, “Once you do it, once you are out of the plane in two or three seconds, when your mind realizes, 'Oh that’s it,' then you can enjoy it; then it is so exhilarating. All the fear is gone; you’ve already gotten through the hard part. You freefall for 60 seconds. Freefall is fun; under the canopy is quiet and peaceful.”
Jason Dodd is a scuba-diving instructor living on the Emer- ald Coast who comes to Skydive Panama City, at least twice a month. He loves the adrenaline rush, but like many of his peers, he thinks of it as a release from the stress of everyday life. It’s not only the rush, and the beauty, and the high you feel after- ward, but the relaxation that subsequently comes after the day of jumping is done.
During a brief weather hold, a safety halt in operations that can be a factor at any time, I spoke with Youssef, an active duty pilot in the Air Force who is working his way up to a solo skydiv-
Jumper Mark Mussell with Skydive Panama City staff members Sonny Honnen and Mike Prindle
32 • March—April 2020 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com