Skydiving Santas

Feet out. Climb out. Go!

By Beth A. Klahre 14,242.

That’s exactly how many times Bob Mehl has jumped out of an airplane. Mehl says, “To me, jumping is like walking down the street. Just another day. Depending on the weather and how much time I have, I jump up to 25 times in one day, but sometimes just one or two. In reality, I jump as much as I can!” Mehl has jumped in over 22 states from California to South Carolina and in over 12 countries including Africa, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Canada.

A Family A air

Mehl started skydiving in the 1970s when he was just 16. He didn’t jump again until 1974 in the U.S. Army. Skydiving is in his blood. “My uncles were in the 82nd Airborne Division specializing in parachute assault operations and in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II, and they jumped on D-Day.” Today, Mehl jumps at Skydive Coastal Carolinas, a commercial skydiving center owned by Brian Strong, at Cape Fear Regional Jetport on Oak Island. Mehl’s wife Leslie is also a skydiver and instructor with 3,000 jumps of her own.

Photo by Beth Klahre Skydiver Bob Mehl prepares to jump out of a perfectly good airplane owned by Skydive Coastal Carolinas. Intrepid reporter Beth Klahre went along for the ride.

Photo by Beth Klahre

Age is Just a Number

The Oak Island dropzone, the place where parachutists take off and land, is open seven days per week. Nearly 30 skydivers jump on any given weekend. Ages range from16 to the 90s. There are 70 percent males and 30 percent females involved in the sport at Oak Island.

Training for Safe Jumps

It takes six hours to learn everything to jump safely for accelerated freefall, plus passing a 25-question test. It takes about 30 minutes to train for a tandem jump with a skilled jumper. Military training for jumping requires three additional weeks to learn to pack a parachute.

Mehl’s credentials are impressive. He is a licensed United States Parachute Association instructor and examiner, qualified to train others to be instructors and examiners. He is also a certified United Parachute Technologies tandem examiner and a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) master rigger qualified to pack reserve parachutes and maintain equipment.

Mehl also holds a FAA commercial pilot license with 7,500 hours of flying time and divides his time between jumping and flying the King Air turbine airplane at Oak Island.

Close Calls…

In all those jumps, Mehl describes only a couple of close calls. “In the military, my reserve didn’t open properly and I spun into the water. It’s not a soft landing when you hit the water wrong. In sport jumping, I was hit in freefall by another jumper and knocked out for a short time.”

Photos above and below by Timothy Wood Above, a skydiving Santa lands on the Oak Island beach in the 2020 Santa Jump, see below. Below, a Santa talks with kids a er the jump.

…But Still Jumping

Yet Mehl continues to jump. He understands and accepts the risks of not having control over all the aspects of skydiving that can result in broken bones, getting hit by an aircraft in flight, plane crashes, and even death. “The sport, as with any sport, is not for everyone,” he says. “I enjoy the jump, both freefall and canopy descent. Most dropzones are social clubs, too. We get together after a jump day, have a meal and a drink.”

Mehl is quick to add that both sport and military jumping is a lot safer today due to automatic opening devices in the reserve chute and greatly improved equipment. To any senior who has skydiving on their bucket list, Mehl advises, “Do it! Make sure you talk with your doctor first.” He recommends a tandem jump, but accelerated free fall with two instructors or instructor-assisted deployment of the parachute are also good first jumps.

SKYDIVING - IS IT ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

Then put your feet out. Climb out. Go!

For more info, contact:

Cape Fear Jet Port (Airport) 4019 Long Beach Road, Southport Call 910-457-1039 to make sure it’s a good day for jumping! ….And don’t miss Skydiving Santas who will land on the beach on Oak Island Dec. 4 for the fourth consecutive year. Head to the shore near the Lazy Turtle Bar and Grill, 601 Ocean Drive to watch the holiday fun. Time of jump to be announced.