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Saturday, July 10, 1999
By TONY ZIEBOL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- Donning a black and gold U.S. Army Golden Knights sky diving suit, a black army cap and even black Nike tennis shoes, Brown County administrator Charles Enter was ready to go. Ascending into the clouds in a C-31 Army plane, he was grinning like a child opening his Christmas presents, awaiting his tandem jump with the best skydiving unit in the world. One of the Knights had already jumped to check the conditions for his teammates who were to follow. Finally receiving the green light, Enter, whose back was now attached to his tandem partner, excitedly started to walk towards the open door of the aircraft for a date with the open sky. He never made it to the door. Citing poor conditions, the Golden Knights had to cancel the jump and return to the Mankato airport. Clouds had suddenly blanketed the skies over New Ulm, leaving no holes big enough to jump through. "(The clouds) blocked the area that we needed to exit the aircraft in," explained Golden Knight Bryan Patrick. As a consolation prize, the Knights gave Enter a framed photo of a past tandem jump. They also gave him an open invitation to try it again the next time the Knights were in the area. "Certainly I'm disappointed I didn't get to jump but I enjoyed flying with them," Enter said. The first Knights performance at Heritagefest was also hampered by weather conditions. Again, only one Knight was able to exit the plane despite changing the dive height from 12,500 to 3,000 feet. Better weather is expected for the rest of the performances today and tomorrow. Today the Golden Knights plan to jump into the fairgrounds at noon and 4 p.m., and Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
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