Kendall Park Resident Jumps 8,000 Feet for 90th Birthday

When Kendall Park resident Aaron Rosloff told his friends that he wanted , they thought he was a bit crazy. But a few weeks ago, Rosloff did just that, experiencing the joy of skydiving from 8,000 feet while raising money for the South Brunswick Food Pantry in the process.

"I'm not crazy about heights, in fact I get nervous about being on a six-foot ladder," Rosloff said. "If I watch a movie with a scene at the top of a tall building, like the Empire State Building where the cars below look like cockroaches, my stomach gets tight.  But when you jump from a plane, there's no perspective, just open space and the scenery down below. So I have no problem looking down when I'm in an airplane. Jumping from a plane is the same way. What I felt when I jumped from the plane was just that I really hope the parachute works."

Rosloff successfully completed his jump July 3 at the Williamstown Airport. He decided to try and turn his milestone day into a means to also help the less fortunate, by using his jump to benefit the South Brunswick Food Pantry. He said the fundraiser brought in about $2,000 from people donating for his big leap.

"I really want to thank everyone who said they pitched in money in honor of me," Rosloff said.

The World War II veteran was inspired to jump from a plane based off of his experience in the Air Force as crew chief for a maintenance crew during the war. 

"For me there was a special treat before I jumped when I found at the airport an old World War II plane that it was my job to look after for 3 1/2 years during the war," Rosloff said.  "There was a plane in good condition built in 1944 that was just like the plane that was my job to make sure it was safe to fly. I got into that cockpit with the stick between my knees and it felt like I was back 65 years."

However, the main thrill of the day was dropping thousands of feet during the smooth landing to the ground with his friends, Rosloff said.

"You take a short course before you jump with an instructor and of course the moment we went up I forgot all of the instructions," he said. "But the instructor made everything okay. Before we jumped I asked him what his day job was and he said this is what he does. He said he'd jumped with 12,000 people before, so I figured he wasn't suicidal."

Rosloff said the jump was a thrilling moment that can't really be described, only experienced.

"The chute opens and you're jerked from about 100 miles per hour to a slow fall, and with these (instructors) it's like they're flying a glider," he said. "They're so good at what they do, 10 people jumped at the same time and we all landed a within a few feet of each other. It was such a great experience, I'm hoping I get to do it again."

Click here to view a slideshow of pictures from Rosloff's skydiving adventure.