The planning and preparation to overhaul the long-standing state record 40-way (set at Emerald Coast back in 1996) began literally a year before it came to fruition. Before this can be truly appreciated it must also be realized that not too long ago this dropzone was in a rusty antiquated hangar flying a slow, old King Air. Skydive Alabama is now located in a brand-new custom-built hangar with all the facilities in the world. In the last few years the DZ has grown and abounded in every respect and now constantly flies a Grand Caravan while supporting at least three annual multiple large turbine events! Yes this is Skydive Alabama we are talking about: yes, 15,000 feet above the heart of Dixie the plan was set!
Joseph’s Dream
Joseph Wood had a dream to smash the record. Between tunnel camps, 4-way training and high level open competitions, he would always return to the beautiful, littlest big dropzone, Skydive Alabama. This is where the number-crunching, formation design, Plan Bs, Plan Ds and all sorts of contingencies started to take shape. And, of course, the after-jump dinners! Anything that Joseph is involved in tends to have an extra touch of class and elegance, and this event was to be no exception.
Preparation
With a touch of fall crispness in the air, registration began at 6:30 am. Fifty people from all over the US, and even one from as far as the middle -east, rolled in bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. With the usual DZ formalities out of the way, everyone gathered for a safety briefing. DZO Paul Rossouw laid out the DZ-specific landing issues, as well as rules to make the event as safe as possible. Joseph made some introductions and slowly everyone realized that there were a large number of very skilled skydivers in this crowd. Plane captains were Fortson Rumble and Louis French, headed up by Joseph as overall organizer.
At 8am the dirt-dive began in earnest for the first intentional ‘no-grip’ jump to assess fall rates and make any final changes before the first record attempt. The exit through build was walked forwards and backwards multiple times to see the traffic flow and eliminate any problems. This was then repeated in full gear so people could acquaint themselves with the colors and site pictures of who would be around them. Finally around 9:40 am the Casa and the Super Twin Otter fired up in unison and the smell of Jet A added to that familiar tingle of excitement for spectators and jumpers alike!
First Load – No Grips
The first load was heavy with a planned fall rate of ‘extra lead please’. The Casa was slow and heavy with extra fuel and the Otter had the power pulled way back keeping up easily. At 11,000 feet Joseph had everyone take two relaxing breaths to calm the nerves. At 12,000 feet the oxygen flowed through the hoses as we all settled into what was to become a comfortable routine in the spacious Casa. At 15,000 feet the huge tailgate opened to reveal the Otter seemingly within arms-reach right outside. The super floaters took their positions as the 6-way chunk inched towards the edge of the tailgate. With a quick shake, Joseph initiated the count and the 6-way launched perfectly as the trail plane spilled its load alongside. By 9,000 feet the formation was built but still intentionally gripless. A look around made a few in the base smile as they realized it had gone very smoothly and traffic had flowed just as it should; another testament to Joseph’s touch of class.
Break-off was in three waves starting with the outer teams at 6,000 feet, the middle groups at 5,000 feet and then finally the base at 4,000 feet. Under canopy the pre-declared landing direction was safely adhered to, as the huge landing area was almost consumed by canopies and people. Skydive Alabama’s ground crew raced up and down taxiways in vehicles returning jumpers to the hangar.
The video looked great! Everyone was in place and the only changes that were made were to move three of the late divers from the Casa to the Otter for a better climb rate. The second load was put on a call. Everyone suited and geared up, you could feel the energy as people gathered for the first real attempt. Another few walk-throughs spread the formation out over the asphalt. The team captains did some last minute fine-tuning and the sound of four big turboprop engines signaled time to go.
Second Load
The climb to altitude was peaceful as once again the groups readied themselves to make it happen. Oxygen flowed and eyes closed to recreate the vivid site pictures of the dive. The red light signaled the tailgate coming down and the cool air was refreshing. Once again the Otter was right outside and extraordinarily close. The 6-way chunk took their position in the door; shake, shake, shake, ready, set, and go! Another great launch and two huge planes spilled their passengers into the sky. Almost within an instant the first divers were docking on the base. At 9,000 feet the formation was mostly built with just a few of the last divers making their final approaches. And there it was; just over 8,000 feet and the formation was built!
State Record
Smiles were starting to appear in the base and just about anywhere you looked. It was held for a full nine seconds and then at 6,000 feet the first wave of trackers turned in teams and made a beeline for their escape. We all went into the debrief room to watch the video and pray for all grips to be in place. As we watched and re-watched the video the two FAI judges double- and triple-checked everything. It seemed to take forever, partly because the stills camera had not worked so they only had the video as evidence. The jumpers waited anxiously. And then with a bunch of shouts it was official! The long-standing record had been broken on the first attempt!
Sequential Attempts
Elated at the news and the quickness of the achievement, everyone started talking about the possibility of a new sequential record. Joseph in his usual fashion had already planned for this. As if the record had not even happened, the organizers immediately started rallying the troops and briefing the new sequential dive. As if things had been too easy, the group spent the rest of the day nailing the first point but just couldn’t quite get the second. As the day went on, the task seemed further and further from being a possibility.
Fine Dining
The evening brought about a wonderful spread of fine dining on Skydive Alabama’s huge viewing deck. It was decorated in an amazing splendor of true southern style. With cotton stems, pumpkins, squash, burlap, balloons, and the perfect amount of soft lighting, the atmosphere was set for celebrating our first victory. We had a low country boil with fresh shrimp brought from the Gulf just for the event, as well as pecan pie, ice cream and a champagne toast to finish it off.
Sequential State Record
The sequential was finally realized on day 3 when everyone suddenly seemed to jive and it came together very quickly even with time to spare. The final tally was a 41-way two-point sequential and a 47-way, both new State Records.
What’s Next?
The plan is to go to three aircraft and a 65-way in 2015. Big-ways are a great testament to what can be achieved when there is true teamwork. Not just the jumpers but everyone from manifest, packers, pilots, airport management, dropzone staff, organizers and every volunteer who jumped in for no reason at all other than to be helpful.
