Category: Skydiving

Sorry for the lack of new posts the last week but I’ve been at Skydive Chicago getting checked out to fly the Twin Otter.  While I was there a large group of jumpers were attempting to set a new world record for the largest linked formation of skydivers in vertical flight.  Which means they were all falling head first holding hands, not as easy as it sounds.  The plane I was getting checked out in was part of the six plane formation used to haul 142 skydivers up to 18,000 feet for the record attempts.  As a rookie Otter pilot I wasn’t allowed to fly the formation loads but I did get to ride along on one of the attempts.  Actually the view from the ground was spectacular, and the sound of 142 skydivers falling through the sky at 180 Mph was incredible.  On Friday they successfully linked 142 jumpers together but when the judges reviewed the video they found that one jumper had the wrong grip, it must be perfect.  The next day the organizers cut a few of the jumpers that weren’t doing so well and went up with 138 for one more try.  With just seconds to spare the last jumper took his grip and set a new world record.  The party that night was epic.

 

Black Betty and the jumpers landing after one of the sunset record attempts.

The look on my son’s face will let you know how much he liked his first tandem skydive. He wanted to do back flips out of the plane, pull the ripcord and do lots of spins under canopy, I was more than happy to oblige him. After the back flips, which would’ve been a lot easier if he’d arched a bit more, number one son spent the remainder of the free fall geeking the camera until pull time. When I tapped him on the shoulder, my signal that we are about to die if we don’t slow down a bit, Connor pulled the ripcord and proceeded to scream with joy as the parachute opened. We got lucky and had a nice cloud to fly through before the boy started spinning the canopy so much that I was getting just a little dizzy. We had a good stand up landing and then I got the best present a father can receive, a big hug and a very sincere “Thanks Dad!” It was great to skydive with my son and from his reaction I can safely say there will be many more.

This has been the year of WWII vets coming out to the drop zone for one last jump.  Today Cluade came out to get current on his parachuting skills.  His last jump was from a B-17 over Belgium.  After spending 11 months in a German POW camp I guess he just lost interest in the sport for a while.   It’s good to have him back.

Red Bull’s Long Jump Set For This Summer.

As the Red Bull Stratos project continues preparations to break Joe Kittinger’s long-standing freefall record with a jump from a balloon at over 120,000 feet later this summer, the team this week released an animation of what the experience will be like for skydiver Felix Baumgartner. The video shows the balloon and the capsule suspended beneath it climbing through the atmosphere into the blackness of space, with the Earth’s curved surface far below. Baumgartner pauses on the capsule’s threshold to take in the view before leaping off. Red Bull says Baumgartner may reach supersonic speed on his descent.

 

No date has been set for the jump, but a 90,000-foot test jump is expected to launch from Roswell, N.M., sometime in the next few weeks. “After that one is completed, we hang out waiting for the right moment to do the BIG ONE!!,” Baumgartner posted recently on his Facebook page. Kittinger’s record of 102,800 feet was set in 1960. He was an Air Force test pilot working with the space program. The Red Bull team has been working on the project since 2005.

 

Boy oh boy I’d give ANYTHING to be able to take that ride.  I love high altitude jumps and have  jumped from 20,000 feet three times.  One time was in a Cessna turbo 206 that took a full day to get up to altitude.  We took off just after the sun had dipped below the horizon, climbing out we got high enough to see the sun again, essentially sunrise, then as our climb rate dropped the sun set again, hence it too one full “day” to get to altitude.  Click on the link for a really cool animation of the jump.

This 4th of July I finally got to do the jump I’ve been trying to put together for years, a night jump over the lake in Menomonie where they put on a great fireworks show every year.  The jump was a big success with me and 18 of my friends jumping out of the Twin Otter from thirteen thousand feet over the lake.  The view was everything I’d hoped for with the fireworks going off beneath my feet and reflecting off the water for a cool mirror effect.  We flew around for twelve minutes or so watching the big show along with all the little private ones going off across the countryside then landed at the municipal airport that was only two miles away.  We packed up our parachutes, flew back to the drop zone and jumped back in, capping off the night by having three jumpers land off.  A lot of the jumpers were a bit nervous about doing a night jump into somewhere unfamiliar but after having such a great time I  think this is going to be a yearly event.  The video isn’t very good because I kept looking around to keep from running into the other jumpers.

 

A little hybrid action for Luke’s 100th jump.

Step 1:  Climb outside the aircraft.  Remember to hang on tight, it’s windy out there!

Step 2:  Let go while keeping your camera sight aligned perfectly on your subject.  What could be easier?

Step 3:  By adjusting your body position, adjust your free fall speed to precisely match that of your subject.  Don’t forget to push down on the camera switch with your tongue to take still pictures or you wont get paid.  You are now ready to make big bucks as a free fall cameraman!  But beware, so many chicks will dig you you’ll have a hard time keeping them straight.

My instructor Dustin looks just a little more relaxed than his passenger Fred.

More great wingsuit footage but with a unique angle shot with home made drones and UAV’s.