{"id":62294,"date":"2026-05-14T15:35:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=62294"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:35:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:35:35","slug":"wingsuit-night-guinness-world-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/wingsuit-night-guinness-world-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Wingsuit Night Guinness World Record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A team of wingsuiters from nine countries traveled to Libya to attempt something never done before: a night wingsuit formation world record using lights, pyrotechnics, and an MI-17 helicopter over Benghazi.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In April 2026, 20 wingsuit flyers from around the world arrived in Libya with one goal: attempt a Guinness World Record for the largest wingsuit formation ever flown at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event took place at Skydive Benghazi using an MI-17 helicopter, with the team planning a complex night formation jump featuring lights, pyrotechnics, and smoke systems over the city of Benghazi. The idea came shortly after the opening of Skydive Benghazi, when CEO Yasen Saada approached me about organizing a new Guinness World Record attempt. After months of discussions with Guinness officials, we decided to pursue a night wingsuit record, initially targeting a 17-way formation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building the Team<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Five months before the event, I started selecting wingsuit flyers. They had to be highly experienced because this would be a huge challenge, especially at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolito from Colombia and Braden from the USA helped me with the selections, which was not easy due to the location of the event and the current world situation. The media almost never tells the full truth, which made many flyers concerned about the safety of Libya, even though it was completely safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, I brought together 20 of the best wingsuit flyers from nine different countries: Colombia, Venezuela, Poland, USA, Mexico, Canada, Russia, Brazil, and Argentina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Juan Mayer <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Challenges of Organizing the Event<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There were many challenges organizing this event. One of the biggest was shipping pyrotechnics and smoke systems to Libya due to the current global conflict situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of this, I flew to Benghazi five weeks before the event to find a backup plan and see if I could source materials locally. After visiting many stores, I found something similar to what we normally use for night jumps. It wasn\u2019t the ideal option, but after a few modifications, we made it safe for freefall use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People started arriving on the 19th. Everyone was excited to be in a new place, and the atmosphere was incredibly positive. That same day, we went to the dropzone to prepare everything: gear checks, DZ safety briefings, and setting up all the lights, pyrotechnic systems, and smoke equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training Jumps and Night Preparation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

On the morning of the 20th, we arrived at the dropzone and held a welcome briefing where I explained all the operational details of the record attempt. We started training jumps during the day, and overall things went according to plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first jump wasn\u2019t great, but that\u2019s normal. The group needed time to get to know each other in the sky. After making a few small changes, the following jumps improved significantly. That same day, we completed the first night jump successfully. We reviewed the videos afterward and then returned to the hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the second day, we followed the same plan. The night jump went well, but one person was out of the formation. We also experienced some problems with pyrotechnics firing inside the helicopter. There were no safety issues, but we needed to make changes to the firing systems and connections. Another challenge was that two wingsuiters were wearing black wingsuits, which made them difficult to see on the Guinness footage for approval purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Juan Mayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Record Attempt<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

On the third day, we started a little later to allow everyone some extra rest. We completed another daytime training jump while continuing to improve the setup. At sunset, we began preparing all the systems again, testing lights and pyrotechnics repeatedly on the ground before the planned 8:30 p.m. takeoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, we walked through the full jump sequence again and again and held another detailed safety briefing to ensure every emergency procedure was fully understood. After the training jump earlier that day, we decided to attempt a 19-way instead of the full 20-way. At 8:30 p.m., we were fully geared up and ready, but logistical issues with the helicopter delayed the flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, after a long wait, we took off around 10:30 p.m. Even after standing geared up for so long, the entire team showed incredible professionalism. Everyone stayed calm, smiling, quiet, and focused while waiting for the jump. We all knew we were attempting something special, not only for ourselves but for the skydiving community as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the organizer, I was under a lot of stress. I didn\u2019t want anyone frustrated or unhappy going into a night record attempt, but the team\u2019s attitude helped me enormously. And anyone who has organized records knows there are always problems and countless details to fix before things come together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Special Moment Over Benghazi<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As we climbed to altitude inside the helicopter, I looked around at everyone\u2019s faces and genuinely felt something good was about to happen. It\u2019s hard to explain, but when you\u2019re part of a record attempt, sometimes you can feel the energy when things are lining up correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We reached 13,000 feet. I got my lights and cameras ready, and we exited into the darkness. I watched everyone approach the formation smoothly and, yes, after only a few seconds, all 19 wingsuit flyers were flying together as one solid team over the night sky of Benghazi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The formation needed to be held for a minimum of 30 seconds. While filming, I was also mentally counting the time, and we flew it well beyond the required duration. That was the moment I could finally enjoy what I was seeing: 19 wingsuit flyers, lights, pyrotechnics, and the glowing city lights of Benghazi below us. It\u2019s a moment that will stay with me for a very long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Juan Mayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Guinness Confirmation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

That same night, we submitted all video and photographic proof to Guinness and waited for the result. The fourth and fifth days were weathered out, but during the fourth day we received confirmation: A new Guinness World Record had officially been set for the largest night wingsuit formation with 19 wingsuit flyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Days and Thanks<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

On the final day of the event, strong winds prevented jumping, so everyone was invited to the Skydive Benghazi wind tunnel to fly and enjoy the facilities. We ended the event with a final dinner together organized by Skydive Benghazi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I truly want to thank so many people. The list is very long, but special thanks go to CEO Yasen Saada, who believed in this project from the very beginning, along with Tareq Saada and the entire Skydive Benghazi team for supporting us 24\/7. And once again, thank you to every single wingsuiter who accepted the challenge of coming to Libya to make this happen. It was a great example of teamwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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19-Way Wingsuit Formation Team + Camera<\/h4>\n\n\n\n