Above: Photo by Kay Cottingham Robinson.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said that, “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.” On November 1, 41 “works of art” arrived at Skydive Paraclete XP in Raeford, North Carolina, to show the “accidents of nature” how to skydive. The second annual Skydivers Over Sixty and Jumpers Over Seventy Assault on Records event attracted 41 diehards who came, made skydives, rekindled old friendships, met new friends and tried to set some records! The attendance was an increase of 25% over last year’s turnout Looks like old skydivers don’t fade away, they keep coming back!
On day one, the group split into two loads headed up by organizers Scott Latinis and Rick Poplinger. The day’s objective was to ascertain skill levels and proper placement for the formation loads that were scheduled for the following day. The day started with news that one of the jumpers had a propane leak in his camper and was rescued by a fellow jumper who went to see why he hadn’t shown up. The leak was found and fixed but the jumper decided, wisely, not to jump, get some non-propane-fueled rest and be ready for jumping the next day. The rest of the group made five productive practice skydives, and everyone was enthusiastic about attacking records the next day.
When the second day rolled around, everyone was ready for the actual record attempts. Many were excited as Paraclete XP, led by Jeana Billings and Kirk Verner, rolled out the CASA as one of the jump planes. However, Mother Nature waged vengeance and it stayed cloudy and non-jumpable all day. Billings and Verner leapt to the rescue and organized flights in the wind tunnel, as well as coaching, to keep everyone busy. Two groups each got in 30 minutes of fun and interesting examples of how 8-ways should—and sometimes shouldn’t—be done. All had fun and their bruises will heal ... eventually! Then everyone headed back to the DZ for a taco dinner courtesy of the event.
On day three, Mother Nature smiled on North Carolina, and the group headed for the planes to attempt the records. On jump one, one of the jumpers lost his helmet in freefall and was diagnosed by a medical attendee as having suffered a concussion. He didn’t remember what happened, and no one collided with him, so it must have been just one of the native North Carolina flying snipe that got him. The group made four attempts that last day but were unable to achieve the records they hoped for. Nevertheless, as one jumper extolled, “Coming together and jumping with jumpers that have had a common bond for more than 50 years was the cake … a record would have just been a bit more icing!”
Rick Poplinger D-31583
Houston, Texas