The 75-Way Skydivers Over Sixty World Record for Largest Formation Skydive

Organizers: T.J. Hine, Roger Ponce de Leon, Rick Poplinger

Record Holders:

Andy Anderson, Michael Anderson, Pat Arthur, Art Barchie, David Benjamin, Betty Bennett, John Benoit, Stewart Brookes, Scott Buethe, Monique Careau, George Conwill, James Crandall, Carl Daugherty, Carlo De Martino, Kim Dobson, Jim Doyle, Valerie Estabrook, Chuck Finley, Nels Forsman, Bill Fridberg, Glenn Giamatti, Gary Greer, William Grimm, Tiiu Haamer, John Hardy, Michael Hare, Dee Hawley, Michael Hawley, Tom Hayes, T.J. Hine, Robert Johns, Ronald Johnson, John Kallend, Peter Kazmierczak, Kevin Keenan, Peter Kramer, James Krogh, Francois Leblanc, Jerry Lehnherr, Richard Luczak, Marshall Madden, William McMurry, Jeff McVey, Raymond Medley, John Mignanelli, Douglas Mullinax, George Nisson, Darrell Ogi, Richard Parrish, Dan Pillasch, Roger Ponce de Leon, Rick Poplinger, Cynthia Raible, Mike Raible, David Robinson, Mike Robinson, Dan Rosenthal, Jeff Saxton, Hank Schraeder, Craig Seasly, Jonathan Smith, Hank Stapel, Larry Stein, Larry Thomas, Mark Thompson, Steve Van Buren, Butch Van Lewis, Kevin Vetter, Ron Wands, Tracy Warrington, Harold White, Casey Wiggins, Paul Wold, Josh Wolfe, Peter Zimmerli

Camera Flyers: Brian Festi and Norman Kent

For the 11th year, Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois, delivered Summerfest—its annual midsummer celebration of all things skydiving—July 28 through August 5. Jumpers from all over the world gathered for a week of blue skies, nightly entertainment and what returning attendees describe as “the ultimate sky family reunion.”

Skydivers are aviators. Our bodies are low-performance aircraft. Under canopy we are slightly higher-performance aircraft. We share airspace with aviators of all kinds. So it makes sense that skydivers were well represented at AirVenture 2018 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The airshow, produced by the Experimental Aircraft Association and billed as “the world’s largest and most significant annual aviation event,” has taken place for more than 60 years. Occurring annually during the last full week in July, the show attracts more than half a million spectators each year.

Photo by Zach Lewis | D-21616

Vanessa Meyer of 4-way formation skydiving team Victorious Secret waves hi to the camera flyer during a training day at Skydive Spaceland–Dallas in Whitewright, Texas.

Photo by Raymond Adams | D-30158

Mariana Franceschetto shoots Greg Crozier as he swoops in from the last jump of the head-down world record attempts at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois.

Brought to you by Niklas Daniel and Brianne Thompson of AXIS Flight School at Skydive Arizona in Eloy. Photos by David Cherry. Information about AXIS’ coaching and instructional services is available at axisflightschool.com.

“The Front Office” is your worldly salvation when it comes to answering questions about jump pilots and piloting. We talk about what exactly pilots do behind the scenes to make your favorite time of week happen. We talk about what they see, what decisions they face and why they might be in a bad mood between loads. We talk about why you are wrong if you haven’t seen “Top Gun.” Mostly, you get a one-of-a-kind inside view from the one seat in the airplane you never get to be in.

A senior parachute rigger received this harness and container for some work, and when he closed the rig following the repairs, he discovered that the main closing loop was more than two inches too long. The main closing pin had no tension on it at all in this configuration. He shortened the loop to the correct length and helped the owner of the rig understand why it is essential for everyone in the airplane and on the skydive to have the proper tension on the closing pin to prevent an inadvertent container opening.

Wikipedia defines target fixation as “an attentional phenomenon observed in humans in which an individual becomes so focused on an observed object (be it a target or hazard) that they inadvertently increase their risk of colliding with the object.” Motorcyclists, automobile drivers and even fighter pilots flying strafing runs during World War II have focused so intently on an impending hazard that they actually maneuvered directly into it. And skydivers fall prey to the phenomenon, too.

At the July 13-15 USPA Board meeting in Milwaukee, the board passed a motion to change the Basic Safety Requirements regarding accelerated freefall student training. The new language spells out the minimum requirements for students who train in wind tunnels before they make their first jumps with only one AFF instructor.

Instructors Tammer Ramini (left and Dan Doyle take and AFF student on his first jump at Skydive Orange in Virginia.

Photo by David Cherry | D-33500

Planning and organizing multi-point big-way formations is not as easy as you might think. Even with a first point already designed, coming up with a challenging but doable second point—much less one that is visually attractive—is tough. But Larry Henderson is someone who can sit down and create smooth dives and make it look easy.

One hot summer day back in 2008, Karl Gulledge, the owner of Skydive Elsinore in California, decided it was time to throw a party. He wanted a big celebration with a water slide; hoop, banana and rubber-chicken jumps; a Slip ’n’ Slide in the landing area; and a party in the evening with a luau theme. And that’s just what the Karlfornia Boneanza—this year held July 27-29—has become.

On the weekend of July 28-29, jumpers at Skydive Suffolk in Virginia worked to set head-down and head-up state records.