European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 1, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Mike Conway left with  Clark Tow main obit tale. Wet findings place whet people had open minds and were willing to work with  App How by Mary Esch associated press he Cornfields and Woodlands spread in an intricate Patchwork to the hazy horizon but Mike Conway can t appreciate the View. As he stands at the open door of a plane 12,000 feet above the Schoharie Valley near Duanesburg. N.y., Conway hears the Roar of the wind and feels is bluster but he sees Only blackness and he hurls himself into it with an exultant Yahoo skydiving is risky business for anyone but for a Blind person there Are unique problems such As knowing when you re about to hit the ground Conway however is no one to shy away from a Challenge. Six years ago when he was 22, Conway started to lose his sight to a complication of diabetes. A three month series of laser and microsurgical operations failed to repair his Retinas and he was left totally Blind. It was Lough he said in a recent interview. I had to relearn the simplest things like pouring liquid into a Glass i had always been very Independent and suddenly i had to ask Lor help from  copay who lives in Garden City South Long Island n.y., had to abandon his education in fire science and his boyhood dream of being a firefighter. Now he s working on a master s degree in sociology at Adelphi University with plans to teach. Slouched Ort a Raggedy Couch in the clubhouse of the Albany skydiving Center the Blue eyed Rusty haired bearded Conway talked about How he refused 10 Lei his Handicap Slop him from doing what he always had done hiking bicycling Rock climbing or in Yang something he always dreamed of skydiving. He says he quickly lost patience with rehabilitation Counselor whose paperwork and protocol slowed him Down two months after he lost his sight Conway got a Friend to Cut him a makeshift Cane ram a length of electrical conduit pipe so he could teach himself to tap around  thought be was doing Fine until one Day he asked a Man to walk him across a Busy intersection. The Man took it Elbow walked across with him thanked him and walked away Wilh the telltale tick of a Blind Man s Cane. Conway realized with horror that the Man had thought he was offering assistance rather than Ashing by it. It was a classic Case of the Blind leading the Blind. Eventually he got a guide dog. Tessie allowed me far greater Freedom and mobility than the Cane he says. So i started thinking about taking a hike maybe 10  the 10-Day hike turned info a 100-Day trek from new Jersey to Maine along the appalachian Trail in the summer of 1983 Conway Tessie and a sighted Friend Noel Seminario raised about $30,000 for the guide dog foundation of Smtth Lown through hike sponsors. Last summer Conway Rode across Iowa on a tandem bicycle. He s planning an eight Day tandem Bike Lour of Holland for visually impaired riders next Spring. And next summer he says i plan to do a jump a then to raise Money Lor the guide dog foundation maybe Call it a dive for  when a decided two years ago to try skydiving Conway met his first obstacle in trying to find someone willing to give lessons to a Blind Man. He was turned Down at seven places before Bob Rollins owner of Albany skydiving in Rural Duanesburg said he would let him try. Jump masters Mike Clark and Ted Langenbahn started him with tandem jumps. In which the student is buckled to the instructor s harness and slavic Lina dives in which the Parachute is deployed by a line to the air plane. A Blind teen Ager had earlier made Novice jumps like that at Albany skydiving. But after a few jumps Conway wanted to try accelerated free Falls a More advanced skydiving technique thai had never o Rollins knowledge been tried by a Blind person my jump mailers said they d train me but Thoy said they would never be Able to fully release their hold on me says Conway who must always jump Wilh a partner. After live dives however Conway was doing so Well the jump masters did take their hands away. Because the Roar of the wind drowns out voices and Conway can t see the usual hand signals the instructors developed Tactual signals two firm squeezes anywhere on my body Means pull the ripcord Conway says. I also have an audible a time Ter in my helmet that chirps if 1 Haven t released the Chute by the time i gel to 4,000  with 22 jumps behind him he s Learned the feel of Correct form during free All. When you re stable you eel Iho wind just evenly sliding around  he has advanced to free fall Bacilli Sand sequential formations Wilh four to six divers. Landing is one of the scariest parts of the dive for me since i can t see the ground Conway says. I be in jello sense it through facial vision when i m walking i can feel things through differences in pressure wind and sound. But it does t work for  Conway suffered three compression fractures in his Back when he landed hard and fast on his fourth jump. A radio taped to his helmet was breaking up and because the tape covered his ears he could t hear the instructors who were Yelling to him on a bullhorn. Now he gels Landing instructions Over a radio attached to the shoulder of his jumpsuit. Although he is unable to enjoy the spectacular View of the rolling Farmland As he plummets from the plane. Conway says there Are other sensations that make skydiving an irresistible thrill. The moment you step off you Start to accelerate to 120 Mph. The wind is roaring past  he says. There s a really intense feeling of Freedom just Boonying through the air. Then when you re under the canopy everything s suddenly real quiet just the sound of the canopy rippling in the Breeze. You re just cruising Down maybe doing some spirals he said. Because i used to see. And i be seen Aerial photography i can visualize How things look where the horizon is Down Here there s always something i can run into the sink a Telephone Poe. Up in the air you re free from earthly  when he is not jumping from planes or trekking by Bike or Boot Conway devotes time to helping others overcome their physical limitations and advocating broader opportunities Lor the handicapped. He writes for Pyramid an advocacy newspaper for the handicapped and lectures Young people on the philosophy of creative risk taking like skydiving and mountaineering. There s an old saying that minds Are like parachutes they Only work when Hoy re  Conway says. Most people think Hal because you re Blind your Aims and legs Don t work right either. The main obstacle i laced in learning to Skydive was finding a place where people had open minds and were willing to work with  sunday March 1,1987 the stars and stripes Paga 13