
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 9, 1994                   TAG: 9404090090
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ORANGE                                LENGTH: Short

`SUDDENLY IT'S VERY QUIET AND PEACEFUL'

Dave Wolff was flying high on his 30th birthday, thanks to a gift from his sister.

Instead of sitting down to cake and ice cream, Dave and Theresa Wolff took a flying leap from an airplane.

"The scary part is when they open the door of the plane," he said of his first sky dive.

After that, there's no time for fear.

"When you let go of the plane you count to five," he said of beginners' sky dives. "But by the time you get to two the chute is open, and suddenly it's very quiet and peaceful."

The Wolffs are among the 300 to 400 newcomers who try sky diving each year at Skydive Orange, a jump club operating out of the Orange County Airport.

Ned Wulin, president of Skydive Orange, said that no more than 3 percent of those who try the sport stick with it.

Deb Wiker, 31, of Lake Ridge, also took the plunge in Orange County, making her first visit to the airport in November.

She said the experience more than lived up to her expectations:

"It's better than the best roller-coaster ride you ever had in your life."

by CNB