{"id":45,"date":"2015-05-27T15:45:29","date_gmt":"2015-05-27T15:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/magazine.hmc.edu\/spring-2015\/?p=45"},"modified":"2017-08-08T11:03:42","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T18:03:42","slug":"flight-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.hmc.edu\/spring-2015\/flight-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Flight School"},"content":{"rendered":"

A novice flyer stands atop a trapeze<\/strong> pedestal, anxiously gripping the bar. \u201cListo!\u201d he shouts, indicating he\u2019s ready to take off. With a \u201cReady, hep!\u201d in reply, the inverted catcher swings to and fro, timing the arc, calculating the contact. The flyer takes a deep breath and leaps uncertainly from the pedestal for a first adrenaline-fueled swing. One swing, two swings, then the flyer\u2019s moment of truth: letting go. Catcher and flyer connect in mid air, the flyer releasing not only the bar but that fear, now conquered.<\/p>\n

This aerial dance plays out ad infinitum at Twin Cities Trapeze Center in St. Paul (TC2 for short), where on nights and weekends Jake (Walker) Kimball \u201900 lives out one of his life\u2019s passions: teaching high-flying trapeze. Kimball, a manufacturing engineer by day, co-owns and operates one of just two dozen schools in the United States devoted to the mesmerizing performance art.<\/p>\n

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Jake Kimball \u201900 and son, Barlow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

A traditional flying trapeze class is run with three instructors. The most prominent is the catcher\u2014Kimball\u2019s primary duty\u2014who grabs the approaching flyer in mid air. If flyers are the artsy right brains of flying trapeze, then catchers, Kimball says, are the left\u2014a great personal fit. \u201cI think I picked up a lot of things like height and timing by way of intuition and technical mindset,\u201d says the\u00a0engineering alumnus. \u201cI can look at what a flyer is doing and assemble their maneuver or trick into components, and each component may add or subtract the amount of time it takes them to get to the catch point, or may add or take away height.\u201d A lot of the catchers Kimball knows are highly technical people\u2014engineers, software developers\u2014 and motorcycle enthusiasts, like him.<\/p>\n

A second instructor on the ground, called a linesman, operates safety lines connected to the flyer\u2019s harness\u2014much like a belay in rock climbing\u2014controlling speed and height. The third instructor accompanies students up to the pedestal, checking safety belts and lines, handing over the trapeze bar and installing and removing risers to adjust for student height.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s called \u2018working the board,\u2019\u201d says Kimball. \u201cIt\u2019s probably the most psychological of the three positions.\u201d That person holds students by their safety belts right before they jump off the platform. \u201cSo they\u2019re the one that literally talks them off the edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sound scary? It\u2019s more popular than you might think. Since opening TC2 in 2012 with business\u00a0partner Katie Kimball, Kimball has instructed hundreds of flyers, from adrenaline junkies and adventurous children to aspiring circus professionals and regular folks in need of a reset. He\u2019s caught more than 1,000 since 2004. And for first-time flyers, he says, there\u2019s one special commonality: presence.<\/p>\n

The trapeze summons physical acuity and mental focus that many beginners are surprised to find they possess, he says. \u201cOn their first jump on a flying trapeze, nobody\u2019s thinking about their phone.\u201cThey have to be present in a way that no other activity has made them be,\u201d says Kimball. \u201cTrapeze brings out deep things from people.\u201d For many, it\u2019s visceral, like conquering a fear or demon. The joke in trapeze instruction\u2014though there\u2019s truth to it, he says\u2014is that instructors should earn honorary degrees in practical psychology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk with people when they\u2019re very afraid,\u201d says Kimball. \u201cPeople have told me, \u2018I knew I had trust issues, but not this bad,\u2019 or, \u2018I thought I had dealt with this issue, but clearly I haven\u2019t.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

To control that fear, Kimball and the other instructors employ constant communication:\u00a0during ground training, on the ladder climb, even while they\u2019re swinging (\u201cespecially while they\u2019re swinging,\u201d says Kimball). It\u2019s about letting students know it\u2019s OK to trust the catcher, that what they\u2019re about to do is physically possible, instructing new flyers on timing and technique and helping them turn their fear and anxiety into an artful, fulfilling experience.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had people say, \u2018I can\u2019t do that,\u2019 \u2026 and three seconds later do exactly what they thought they couldn\u2019t. It\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Jake Kimball ’00<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMost get farther than they expected,\u201d he says. For some, it\u2019s nothing short of a transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cCountless people say, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll be able to do that.\u2019 They might be referring to climbing the ladder or making a catch. I\u2019ve had people say, \u2018I can\u2019t do that,\u2019 while swinging back and forth, and three seconds later do exactly what they thought they couldn\u2019t. It\u2019s incredible.\u201d
\n\"feature-6-body-3\"Given his predilection for trapeze and motorcycles, Kimball says he is often mistaken for a daredevil. But he views himself as \u201ccautious, calculated and risk-averse.\u201d In fact, he admits he took his first class at Oakland\u2019s Trapeze Arts in 2003 only to appease his then-fianc\u00e9e. He didn\u2019t expect to become hooked. Months later, he wasn\u2019t just flying\u2014though that will always be his first love\u2014 but also catching, working the board and developing a mastery of the overall mechanics of the rig. Kimball devoted years to teaching in the Bay Area\u00a0before finally moving to Minnesota and opening TC2 in a portion of the old Hamm\u2019s Brewery.<\/p>\n

Professionally, Kimball has worked in manufacturing and new product introduction engineering for much of the past 15 years, engineering concepts from design to final product, testing protocols and helping to develop highly technical instructions for product assembly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s work that proved useful in starting TC2, since the giant indoor rig had to be constructed with utmost care and understood piece by piece. With the guidance and assistance of longtime friend and Oakland Trapeze Arts owner Stephan Gaudreau, Kimball designed and engineered the TC2 rig from the ground up.<\/p>\n