Greg Windmiller is far from at ease in the air.
In the discipline of skydiving known as canopy piloting, he is among the world's best. He swooped down to the ground in 2.093 seconds at the 2009 World Cup of Canopy Piloting, breaking his own world speed record he set the year before.
But in a sport where speeds can reach up to 90 mph, danger is never far away, which keeps Windmiller on his toes.
"I don’t think anybody is ever completely comfortable in what they’re doing [in canopy piloting]," he said. "They have a high respect for the sport, the discipline and the practice and focus that goes into. [That] makes us comfortable, but we never get completely to that level. You always have to maintain a level of respect for the sport. The day you stop respecting it and the day you start feeling comfortable in it ... [is] the day you open yourself up to being a statistic."
Windmiller, a U.S. Army Golden Knight, equates race car driving to canopy piloting, where becoming complacent in the cockpit not only makes someone a hazard to himself, but to others as well. Nevertheless, Windmiller loves the sport.
That's why he'll be competing in this week's canopy piloting national championships in Rockmart. A top-eight finish clinches a spot in the world championships later this year in Dubai.
As usual, Windmiller's shoulder is sore. It's been bothering him for the past year and a half. However, he refused to use that as an excuse this week. Besides, he's never listened to his body before, so why start now?
"My body has told me numerous times to stop and I’ve refused to stop," he said. "I’ve broken my tailbone three times in the last four years, but I think I drive on for the love of the sport. I always feel like there is more I can do. There are more things I can win and there are more people I can touch and teach."
At the time same time, he doesn't want to one of those guys who hangs too long. Windmiller's objective is to go out on top. Whenever he does decide to move on, he can say he has had a hand in training the next generation.
"There are a lot of people I work with in coaching and I see them on a daily basis getting better and better," he said. "And hopefully one of these days an individual I’m coaching will beat me, kind of like the old Jedi thing where ‘the student becomes the master.’ I think that’ll say more about me than my wins."
Those victories still say a lot, according to Jim Hayhurst, who always knew that Windmiller would be a successful skydiver. Currently the United States Parachute Association's director of competition, Hayhurst still competes in classic skydiving events, style and accuracy. When Windmiller was up and coming, he started in the classic ranks alongside Hayhurst before switching over to canopy piloting.
"I could see from the beginning that he was going to be a world-beater," Hayhurst said.
Impressive as his aerial abilities may be, Hayhurst vouches that Windmiller is every bit as gifted as a public speaker, an ambassador for the sport with the seminars he teaches on skydiving safety.
As proud as Windmiller is of his accomplishments, skydiving helps the first sergeant stand together with his fellow soldiers and offer the public a different facet of the military.
"There are people overseas right now, who are basically our brothers and sisters, that are fighting for our freedom," he said. "This is a job I’ve been chosen to do to represent the Army in this country, so I’m trying to give back. ... I’m trying to show the Army in a positive light."
2012 U.S. National Skydiving Championships of Canopy Piloting
When: June 14-16; beginning at sunrise each day
Where: Skydive the Farm, 1195 Grady Road, Rockmart
Tickets: Admission is free
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