Flying with the U.S. Army Golden Knights
CHICAGO (CBS) — The honor and privilege of a lifetime—that's how Jackie Kostek described getting to jump tandem with the U.S. Army Parachute Team, also known as the Golden Knights. She got to hang out with the team Sunday morning as they got ready to headline the Chicago Air and Water Show.
It is hard not to be blown away by the U.S. Army Golden Knights.
"Our ultimate goal is connecting America's Army with America's public," XXX said of taking Kostek to jump with them. "It's even further outreach that we have the opportunity to. You have a platform here. We like to show you all the opportunities that are available in the Army. I was in the Army for six or seven years. I didn't even know we had an Army skydiving team, and I found out about it later. So it's my opportunity to take you on a jump, to show all of Chicago what you can do in the Army, show the rest of the world what you can do in the Army. The opportunities are limitless."
After a safety briefing, Kostek and the Golden Knights geared up and circled for one final moment pre-flight. Cleared for take-off, the Dash 8 lifted off from Gary Airport, climbing to an altitude of just under 10,000 feet. Who needs a window seat when you can have the whole door? At 10:30 sharp, it was show time.
Kostek's one job was to keep her body position right: head lifted, hands on the straps, back arched, and legs up. Her tandem partner would take care of the rest.
Up out and over the city they went. It was the Windy City like you've never seen it. Thirty seconds of breezy free fall before the parachute lifted them up and away, floating above the high rises and parks of the Gold Coast and Lincoln Park, waving to people on rooftop decks until it was time to zero in on the runway, the sandy shores of North Avenue Beach where a crowd was waiting.
"I don't even know what to say. That is the wildest, I'm like shaking. It was also smooth. I don't think I have words yet. That was one of the coolest things I've ever gotten to do in my entire life. Thank you, guys," Kostek told the Golden Knights.