YOUNGSTOWN, N.Y. — For many, seeing a total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime event, but one group of thrill-seekers is looking to make it even more exciting by flinging themselves out of a plane 14,000 feet in the air.
“It's truly just a feeling and sensation that you cannot describe unless you've actually done it before," said Jason Berger, the co-owner of Skydive the Falls.
Berger has skydived about 5,000 times and doing this is literally business as usual.
But now there’s a chance for something new.
“One of our jumpers [...], he did the eclipse a few years back in Oregon, and he said how great this event was," said Berger. "He found out [the next time] was April 8 of 2024, coming here, and he was like, 'we have to do something.'”
So 30 skydivers in three planes — some seasoned pros and some first-timers — will make that jump during totality.
“To be in the sky while the sun gets covered by the moon is truly unbelievable," Berger said. "We have our GoPros, [so] whatever footage is going to be something that you can never probably do again.”
Berger himself will be among the jumpers.
“It's going to be sensory overload on normal skydive," he said. "Now on this one, times 100.”
He can’t say how this will rank on his list of jumps, but it’s exciting nonetheless.
“When you get to do something a little bit different, something a little bit more unique, it always brings that enthusiasm back out,” he explained.
With the potential of weather impacting ground viewing, this could be a way around that.
“If we have what's called few or scattered [clouds], we can break through that layer and we'll be above the clouds and then we can go ahead and watch the eclipse from our view above all that," Berger explained. "If it's a ceiling, that's a different story.”
So their fingers are still crossed for good weather.
While jumper slots sold out in under eight minutes, spots are open to watch and even camp out at Skydive the Falls’ landing site.
“They'll get glasses, we’ll have food, and then they get to watch not only the eclipse, but skydivers and parachutes landing right here in Youngstown, New York,” Berger said.
That way, there's a little something for everyone.
“This is going to be an epic event and I think a lot of people will remember it for their entire lives," added Berger."
For more information about viewing the eclipse and the skydivers, click here.