Keith Kettell, a U.S. Army veteran who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and is a member of the nonprofit Round Canopy Parachuting Team, jumps for the adrenaline rush and kinship with fellow parachuters. Photo courtesy of Keith Kettell

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Jumping out of a moving airplane is a white-knuckle thrill. In three to four seconds, your parachute opens, and you start floating down. In two minutes, you’ve dropped 1,500 feet and landed on solid ground.

“When the parachute opens, there’s peace and quiet. There’s no one in the air but you, and the whirr of the airplane is gone,” said Keith Kettell, a U.S. Army veteran who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and is a member of the Round Canopy Parachuting Team – USA (RCPT).

Kettell, 66, and others in the group perform in air shows to educate the public about World War II paratroopers and those who followed.

Like Kettell, many RCPTers are veterans who parachuted during their military careers. The organization has more than 800 U.S. members. Some jump in Normandy, France, on D-Day every June (200 last year) to honor the soldiers who on June 6, 1944, parachuted behind enemy lines from a C-47 airplane, the Tico Belle, into Nazi-occupied France. In fact, in air shows, these parachuters jump out of the actual 1942 Tico Belle.

Adrenaline junkie

Kettell jumped for 16 of his 25 years in the Army, including six years in special operations deployments to the Middle East, Africa and Central America. Now a physician assistant, he jumps around a dozen times a year with RCPT.

Why does Kettell jump out of airplanes? “I’m an adrenaline junkie,” he said. “I get a thrill, the same thrill I got in 1980, now 45
years later. I still get that little butterfly in my stomach.”

In the Army, Kettell carried a parachute, reserve parachute, 70-pound rucksack, medical equipment, a weapons case, food and water.

Today, with RCPT, he carries a parachute and a reserve parachute and wears a helmet, a 1942 Army uniform and brown jump boots.

Kettell is also a jumpmaster, the person in charge who gives commands and scouts for the release point. When over the drop zone, the pilot turns on a green light, and Kettell yells to the team, “Green light, go!” One by one, the parachuters propel themselves out the open door.

Parachuters train to avoid landing feet first and instead make contact with the ground with five points, he explained: the balls of the feet, calf, thigh, buttocks and side.

He’s landed in rivers and lakes and can float for 30 minutes with the flotation device under the harness. “I always have a backup parachute, but I’ve never used it,” Kettell said.

In his 45 years, he’s had one broken ankle and a few scary moments, like two parachutes almost becoming entangled and once landing in a pine tree.

This hobby is much more than jumping, Kettell says. It’s about camaraderie. Some veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder, and being with former colleagues feels safe. Those who can’t jump help the ground team.

“It gets them back in the groove. I jump so I can hang out with these guys. One week is worth six months of therapy,” Kettell said.

Support group and more

In many ways, RCPT is a “veterans’ support organization,” said parachuter Rick Randall of King George, Virginia.

“I don’t hang out with these guys because we jump. I jump because I get to hang out with these guys, many from the Washington, D.C., area. I track success not by jumps, but how many veterans we save from suicide.”

Randall, 55, was an Army infantryman and drill sergeant for eight years but didn’t train in the Army’s jump school. After serving, he took lessons in what’s called “static line parachuting,” RCPT’s method. One end of a line is attached to the airplane, while the other end is attached to the folded-up parachute. The line pulls the parachute out of a bag, the pad separates from the parachute, and it opens.

In training, Randall had to do 35 jumps before he could perform in an airshow. People between 18 and 65 can get the training and can continue for as long as they are physically fit. The number of women in trainings is increasing, now around 10 percent.

Randall started jumping because “I wanted to prove I could do it,” he said. “I realized there’s something I’ve been missing since I took off my Army camouflage uniform. It has given me a level of trust I have had not had since I got out of the Army.” He’s done 200 jumps.

Is a 90-second, 1,500-foot jump frightening? “It can be,” Randall answered. “It’s not a natural act. Students are told, ‘If you are not a little bit afraid, you need to rethink whether this is a good idea. Don’t get cocky.’ It’s exhilarating.”

Skills and maneuvers

Round parachutes, designed for maneuvering precise landings, are used in the military and by RCPT. (Skydivers, who jump from higher altitudes, use square parachutes.)

The round canopy parachutes are “steerable,” Randall said. “They move forward 10 to 13 miles per hour, and parachuters can turn them somewhat, steer to a direct point,” he explained. “I can go anywhere within an 800-foot circle from 1,000 feet.”

To learn how to land, Randall practiced jumping into a sand pit from a table, which is much harder than real-life landings from airplanes. He had a few eventful landings: one in the mud and another on an airport runway.

Parachuting for fun may be baffling to some, but it’s a way to conquer fear, take on a new challenge and free your spirit. And this group of parachuters has formed a strong bond. “You’re literally trusting everyone out there with your life,” Randall said.

“I haven’t felt kinship like this since I got out of the Army, and I didn’t realize I had been missing that.”

Upcoming events

Aug. 16: RCPT Wreath Laying Ceremony, Arlington National Cemetery, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Sept. 13-14: Joint Base Andrews Air Show, with military and civilian aerial demonstrations (jba.af.mil/Air-Show), including the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron “Thunderbirds,” U.S. Army Parachute Team “Golden Knights” and the U.S. Naval Academy Parachute Team.

For more information, including parachuting videos, see rcptusa.org.