WHY DO WE TAKE CHANCES?

The Imperial Flyers are without doubt the only flying group that has had a masters’ thesis written about them. It was done by Lisa Hofsess as part of the requirements for her degree in kinesiology at Iowa State University in 1984. It tested Kenyon’s vertigo theory about risk takers. The question the research asked was whether trapeze flyers were seeking to be out of control and were seeking vertigo when they were pursuing the activity. The concept had previously been tested on sky divers. Lisa’s population was the Denver Imperial Flyers. The control group was a YMCA aerobic exercise class. The two groups answered the test questions differently; flyers are different from non-flyers, it seems. She gave each person in both groups a battery of tests and gave the flyers a set of items in an interview protocol. The results demonstrated that being out of control or being dizzy and disoriented were undesirable feelings for flyers. The flyers expressed without exception that they wanted to be in control of their bodies and their perceptions during the activity. Although they wanted to be at the limits of what they were able to do, none of them felt that they were putting themselves in excessive danger. They were in considerable agreement about the most important elements of the activity. Both males and females reported mastery (a sense of accomplishment, achievement or challenge) as the most enjoyable aspect of flying. They reported the thrill or excitement of flying as another enjoyable aspect. They also said that there was something aesthetically beautiful about trapeze that non-flyers were unable either to see or appreciate. One called it the “beauty of the moment.”

In responding to the question of what they would most miss if they could no longer fly, most people said that they would miss the social experience, that is, spending time with the group of flyers, even though these were people they may not have associated with under other circumstances. They said that in the group there was trust, mutual support and affection. They made frequent references to “family” in the interviews. One respondent said that the flyers were like a “tribe,” and suggested that perhaps they should wear feathers.

Alton Barbour, 1961, on Julius Ginsberg’s catch trap.