The heavens have always fascinated humans, from our detailed analysis of the stars' movements to early attempts at flight such as the horse-drawn zeppelin. Take to the skies with today's Groupon: for $159, you get a tandem skydive from West Tennessee Skydiving in Whiteville (a $225 value).
West Tennessee Skydiving's tandem jumps infuse thrill seekers with adrenaline as they plunge an exhilarating 14,500 feet through the air while safely fastened to a trained instructor. Guests start their aerial experiences at the company's private airfield, where a 20-minute instructional video and 20 minutes of hands-on training impart the finer points of jump protocol, safety precautions, and fairy-dust application. Skydiving duos then board a climate-controlled airplane, where students latch onto instructors at four separate points on their gear before the pair hop out the door in tandem. For one minute, aeronauts accelerate through the clouds, reaching speeds of up to 120 miles per hour before releasing the parachute. Then, for five leisurely minutes, guests and their instructors gently cruise back to terra firma, witnessing scenic aerial views and birds' secret handshakes along the way. Upon landing, instructors conclude the four-hour adventure by debriefing jumpers and granting them a skydiving certificate.
The attachable instructors have an average of more than 1,000 jumps under their belts, with specific training in tandem dives. With this Groupon, participants also receive 10 percent off videos documenting their descent from suit-up to four-footed landing ($100 per video). Fleet-fingered editors splice the footage and set it to music within 30 minutes of the jump, affording guests a chance to see their faces as they zoom through the air at speeds comparable to those of an over-caffeinated cheetah.