All Eyes On: Craig Shorten

Craig Shorten might be known to many as the Dukum Inn owner, but he has a passion not all know about: life in the skies.

For some people, skydiving might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to check off their bucket list, but Shorten has taken the mile-long plummet more times than he can count.  The La Plata native discovered his love for flying and tandem skydiving at a young age.

"I took my first plane ride at 9 years old," he said. "I guess it never left me."

Shorten earned his pilot's license right before he moved back to Kirksville in 1986. He then earned his pilot instructor license in 1993, making the hobby a family tradition.

"My wife and I got our plane before we got our house," Shorten said.

Shorten's wife, Gina, is a pilot who flew until she was eight-months pregnant with their daughter Chade. Chade, 16, said she went up in a plane at just two weeks old.

"She's just about ready to fly on her own," Shorten said.

Shorten said there aren't many people who are willing to learn to fly between the hours of 3 and 6 a.m. — often the only time he ever has available.

Shorten said the minimum hours needed to become a licensed pilot include 20 hours with an instructor and 20 hours individually. Shorten said he hopes to have his daughter licensed by the time she's 17.

Chade said she loves what her dad does and hopes to make it a profession herself. Shorten also has shared another hobby with his daughter, when he first took Chade tandem skydiving in 2009.

Tandem skydiving is when an experienced jumper assists the student, not only coaching them through the entire experience, but are attached to them throughout the ride.

Shorten said tandem skydiving allows people to become involved with a sport to which they would not otherwise be introduced. In small planes like Shorten's Cessna 182, he takes his skydivers up approximately two miles high. Shorten said people are normally a little anxious, but he tries to keep his jumpers calm before their jump.

"I tell people to take three deep breaths," Shorten said. "Head up, elbows back, knees bent."

Shorten described how a jumper doesn't feel a falling experience. Skydiving is a completely different feeling than bungee jumping, he said.

"Gravity works the same for everyone," Shorten said about the time he took his 80-year-old accountant skydiving.

Jumpers fall for a mile and parachute the other half, which generally translates to a 30-second fall.

Chade said it was one of the most exciting things she has ever done.

"You just need to be open to it," she said. "And don't close your eyes. You'll miss out."

Shorten has taken many of his employees for the thrilling free fall.  Logan Peckosh, 30, however, doesn't plan to be one of them.

"Craig's a nice guy, but you could never convince me to jump out of a perfectly good airplane," Peckosh said.

Although Shorten puts in his hours at the Dukum Inn, he still finds time for flying.

Shorten has participated in the Kirksville Air Festival for years and signs many up for tandem jumps at the Air Festival. Shorten plans to jump and land in The Square during the upcoming St. Patty's Day Parade.

(Additional reporting by CC Wang)