Above: Members of the team display the unfurled flag. Photo by Elliot Byrd.
Steve Curtis, Jariko Denman, Nick Kush and Rook Nelson fly the flag in freefall. Photo by Joe Jennings.On October 5, Skydive Benghazi in Libya set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Flag Flown in Freefall (171.46 square meters/1,845.58 square feet). When Jariko Denman saw this on Instagram in November, he shared the post and asked, “Who’s down to break this record?” which ultimately set the project in motion. He was put in touch with entrepreneur Jared Isaacman who supported and participated in the project.
Denman’s personal skydiving adventure had begun only a few years earlier. One thing he’d learned in endeavors prior to skydiving is that great achievements are never the product of singular effort—they are born from individual skill and work focused by the goals of a team, pooling strengths and talents, combining them with grit and audacity to achieve what at first seems impossible.
Denman made calls to experts with the necessary skydiving experience. Steve Curtis engineered the plan to get an 80-by-40-foot flag out of a roughly 6-by-6-foot opening. It needed to deploy safely and look amazing. Sara Curtis, his wife and Arizona Arsenal teammate, provided the background support needed to execute the plan in less than one month.
Steve Curtis then enlisted the expertise of skydiver Sterling Becklin of ECS Composites to engineer a rigid leading-edge solution, to allow the 3,200-square-foot (297.29-meter) flag to unfurl immediately on exit while allowing the jumpers to hold on and fly their portions of the flag into place. It would also hold the flag’s shape and prevent warping. This was a challenge that the Benghazi skydivers had to work hard to overcome with strong flying, and the challenge grew as the flag size grew. Becklin’s engineering team was immediately excited and paused work on other projects for the 10 days they had to get something designed, built and shipped to Arizona.
Along with expert engineering, it would take strong flying in freefall. Steve Curtis and Rook Nelson were responsible for flying the outside handles into place, with Denman and fellow U.S. military veteran Nick Kush on the inside two. Even with the high level of experience on the jump, the theory on how to fly the flag involved an element of guesswork.
On December 7, after just one less-than-successful rehearsal jump with a smaller, similar apparatus, the team boarded Skydive Arizona’s Huey for the short flight to their own Area 51 with the actual flag. As the helicopter climbed to 10,000 feet and prepared for the jump run, expressions of concerned confidence transformed into focused determination. This determination extended not only to the four skydivers holding the flag but also to Jack Lane, who captured the moment on camera while under canopy, and Joe Jennings, who filmed in freefall using his oversized wings. Additional participants joining the jump—Sean Gustafson, Isaacman and Tim Sheehy (who is a Montana State Senator)—took their positions to exit from the port side door. Timing and focus were critical for the entire team.
At the 3-minute warning, everyone took their places on the skids and moved the flag into position for exit. Once ground crew gave the go ahead and pilot Shawn Hill gave clear to drop, Steve Curtis gave the count. The entire team stepped off into the almost dead air of a 30-knot helicopter exit. As they dropped into freefall, the flag unfurled smoothly, locking into place at several hinge points along the leading edge. After roughly 20 seconds and 3,500 feet, the fully unfurled flag flew straight. The team was able to internally celebrate the accomplishment for about 1,500 more feet before breaking off at 5,000 feet to track away and deploy.
The team poses for a photo after the successful jump. Photo by Elliot Byrd.
Upon landing in the Arizona desert, having successfully eclipsed Libya’s milestone, pride and excitement swept over everyone. It was a perfect summation of what skydiving is: a sport to foster incredible friendships, accomplish challenging things and work together to make every day as special as it can be for everyone around us.
The organizers submitted the jump to Guinness, and it has been ratified as a Guinness World Record for Largest Flag Flown while in Freefall.
Jariko Denman D-43820
Raeford, North Carolina