The Less Firma, The More Terra - Terra firma, or solid ground, looks mighty far away to these scared youngsters, who certainly don't appear to be paratrooper material. They got more thrills than anticipated during the first 30-foot free drip before the parachute was slowed down by air resistance on the 250-foot-high parachute jump tower at Coney Island's famed steeple-chase Park here. A photographer, perched on a 'chute stopped 50 feet from the tower's top, caught the terrified expressions with a long lens, including the boy's "what got me into this?" look. The parachute tower was first introduced at New York's World Fair in 1939. August 03, 1954. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).