POPS 42 way Australian Record
& 54 way Notable Event
Australian Skydiving Magazine (ASM) Article written by Scott Clark 2012
Late May 2012 saw 60+ Aussies (including partners) rally to Greg Jacks call for another attempt at breaking the Australian Large Formation record. In the last few weeks prior to departing it became obvious that the numbers would not be available to go past the 112 way of 2010. Whilst disappointing it quickly became accepted that this was a great opportunity for Australian skydiving to grow by taking away the pressure of a record and putting in place some other challenges. Aussies have never shied away from a challenge, have we?!?!?!
People started to arrive enmasse around 28/29 May 2012 and launch straight into some warm-up jumps. Soon we had some 12 – 15 ways going and everyone was getting familiar with the DZ. A couple of people were already at the DZ having completed the very successful “Perris Wheel” 151 Way jumps the previous week. Soon it seemed that there were more Australians than Americans at the DZ and everyone was catching up with old friends and making new ones. The vibe was very Australian …. Laid back but ready to go!
CAMP ONE:
Day One saw the entire contingent cram into a debrief room and go through the meet & greet process. Each person had the opportunity to stand up, introduce themselves and state their goal for the camps. The P3 coaches needed no introduction but they also took their turn & it soon became clear to anyone that wasn’t previously sure that we were in very good hands. The experience of Dan BC, Kate Cooper-Jensen, Tony Domenico, Larry Henderson and Mark Brown, coupled with the camera team of Craig O’Brien, Terry Weatherford and George Katsoulis and most ably supported by Jen Domenico as Administrator makes P3 a formidable skydiving machine!!
We had a hugely varied amount of experience in the room which ranged from a couple of people with 200 – 300 jumps and those with many thousands of jumps. Overwhelmingly, the goal of everyone was to be safe and take whatever learnings they could back to their home DZ to spread the bigway message. Then, almost seamlessly, we were split into 4 groups with each of the P3 coaches and dirtdiving 12 Way jumps. Almost without fuss we found ourselves on the Twin Otters heading to 12.5k agl for some freebuild fun.
The next two days were similar as we fell into the routine of jump, hydrate, pack, hydrate, debrief, hydrate, dirtdive, hydrate and jump again. Everyone was moved around into different slots with different coaches in an effort to challenge the various skillsets. P3 have a “no fault” approach to this type of training camp where everyone is encouraged to step outside of their own comfort zone. In fact, the coaches demand that mistakes are made as this provides opportunity for people to learn and change old habits. So, if you were ever going to go low on a formation, if you were going to take a hard dock or you were going to be too conservative, this was the best environment to do so. The coaches never missed a chance to encourage and praise someone who was prepared to “have a go”, very Australian of them!! Each and every jump was meticulously debriefed using at least one camera angle and more often two or three cameras. The coaches allowed everyone to comment on their own performance, which created a self awareness in all of the participants resulting in better performances across the board.
Soon we were becoming better skydivers almost by osmosis.
After three days of continually better jumps culminating in some two plane formation 26 Way dives we had a day off. The risk was of course that “those damn Australians” would drown all of the good work by the P3 folks in a haze of Coronas …… A risk they had to take!!
CAMP TWO:
The first day of the second camp started with something totally unexpected …… Dan BC stood in front of the crowd and told us to forget all the niceties and controlled behaviour of Camp One. We were a little stunned until he fleshed out the plan for the day. 14 Way speed stars with (almost) no rules!!! Ohhhh yeah, now this is a game that Aussies can play. The idea was to gain some approach speed plus aggression and learn when & where to throw out the anchors. The coaches played base and actually devised a formation but slots were out the window, first in best dressed. It made for a really fun day where we actually learnt heaps, although more than one person asked that if they needed to go head down to reach the formation did they need a FreeFly Crest???
Day Two was back to normal with the addition of some of that aggression learnt on the previous day. Two plane formation loads again but the trail plane was moved from left to right a couple of times to let people see the different picture.
Day Three got off to a slow start due to the “June Gloom” which occurs from time to time at Perris. Only three jumps were made but the quality was on the improve and we were running 28 Way formations with completions on almost every jump. The errors being made were nowhere nearly as “bad” as the previous days and really came down to individuals focusing on every jump. It became clear to everyone that bigway success is about the entire group focusing all of their energy into that one jump at the same time – then being able to go and do it again …. and again …… and again …… and again.
Another risk was taken and we were granted another day off, I’m sure there are plenty of stories that could be told……
CAMP THREE:
At this time if we had been on a serious record attempt, then the start of this Camp would have been the time when serious game faces went on and the “no fault” atmosphere would have disappeared. Instead, we were split into two groups – POPS (Parachutists Over Phorty Society) and PUPS. It was decided by popular vote that Aussie POPS would dedicate a single day to trying to break the existing POPS Record by attempting a 42 Way. Meanwhile the PUPS did some pretty cool 16 Way jumps under the tutelage of Larry Henderson. Higher altitudes also meant the introduction of O2 into the mix. The POPS group was doing some really nice jumps and some fine-tuning by the coaches delivered what everyone believed to be a new Australian POPS Record with Aussie Top POP Robbo settled into the base.
The whippersnappers crashed a POPS debrief and “distributed” adult diapers which was pretty funny, especially when Kate Cooper-Jensen insisted on wearing hers over the top of her jumpsuit for the next few jumps. A payback was definitely in order and the arrival of 16 baby dummies seemed to fit the bill. The 42 Way POPS record was confirmed by Deb Hobbs the next day.
We settled back into a single group on the second day and started to run some 57 Way completions from 16.5K agl. We came super close to a 2 point 57 Way but the key was given just prior to the first point being complete. The absolute highlight of this day was that Kate Cooper-Jensen finally did her 10,000th jump which resulted in a full-on Australian style gunging. Each of the 10 women took great pleasure in hitting Kate in the face with a pie, followed by a bunch of blokes dousing her in warm Fosters, then several cans of silly string were let go and finally she was thrown in to the pool. The Americans were gobsmacked by this but we thought it was hilarious.
The last two days of the camp was taken up by running four plane formations loads attempting 54 Way sequentials. The group was unfortunately reduced to 54 due to a couple of injuries. The planes in use for these jumps were a Skyvan as lead and three Twin Otters in trail. One of the Otters was damaged in an incident involving a local 4 Way team, luckily only minor injuries. This meant that the second Skyvan was pressed into service as the left trail plane, you gotta love a DZ that can trot out a second Skyvan at will!! The biggest problem was that Larry Henderson had to squint out of the window of the second Skyvan to key the exit as we were effectively blind.
With the second last jump of the camp we achieved a 54 Way 2 point jump, which was a fantastic feeling. Then the coaches did it again … as in 2010, they laid a challenge right at our feet, “Could we do it again??” This meant we had no choice but to go back to height and have a crack. I am very happy to report that on the very last jump of all the camps we completed a 3 point 54 Way skydive!!!! That’s right a 3 point 54 Way meaning that we had just created an unofficial Australian Record by jumping the largest sequential RW formation in Australian skydiving history.
Consider this ….. The exit altitude was 17.5 agl (19k amsl) with first break-off at 6.5k agl. That meant we only had 11k of working time to not only put together 54 jumpers from 4 planes but to also key the second point, ensure that point was built and then key the third point prior to break-off.
The poolside fun and games went on for many beers …. Errr I mean hours.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Tracey going hard and having 2 chops in 2 jumps.
- A day of extreme carnage during an improvised Aussie 2 Way Tunnel Comp.
- A variety of balloon jumps completed on days off.
- Big Andy losing his helmet in freefall and still making his slot– its very hard to take up a dock with one hand holding your helmet on!!
- The opportunity to jump with one very “flamboyant” Venezuelan man – Vladi, you really were the life of the party!!
- Beef jerky, Hawaiian BBQ, Corona, Modelo Especial, Winco, Hana Sushi Restaurant, Jimenez Mexican Restaurant, Applebees Restaurant, Joes Crab Shack, Panda Express and Sizzlers again!!
- Trying to correct the American accent to properly pronounce “Robbo” instead of “Robo” (as in Cop).
- Standing seriously close to the runway whilst an Italian jet did a really low high speed pass.
- The Show & Shine car and bike show.
- Trying to get Bart to leave the Firemen alone (you had to be there!)
- Good friends, new friends and old friends.
- The noise during a successful debrief.
- Having two Skyvans and two Twin Otters do a Victory pass over the landing area after the final jump.
- Watching people extend themselves and achieve beyond their own expectations.
Most people did in the order of 50 jumps in the 2 weeks at Perris which means everyone that participated came away a better skydiver than when they started. The atmosphere at the DZ when it is taken over by Australians has to be experienced to be believed. Everyone from Melanie Conatser (DZ Owner) down to Tim the guy driving the pickup truck loves having Aussies at Perris, which they displayed proudly by wearing team tee shirts.
The ability of the P3 organisation to draw the best out of participants is unbelievable. So, if you have any inclination to jump in a formation bigger than a 12 Way then you must get yourself to Perris and get coached by P3, they are the best at what they do. A huge thankyou to the entire Perris Valley Skydiving organization, the P3 team, the camera team headed by OB, the pilots and our tunnel coach Christy Frikken and her team.
Of course, all of this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the vision and hard work on this side of the Pacific Ocean and that has been done by Greg Jack. The amount of work that goes into getting an event such as this to happen (let alone on the other side of the world) cannot be underestimated. Greg has worked tirelessly to ensure the smallest detail has been attended to so the camps could run flawlessly. Assistance to Greg has been provided by Shirley Cowcher, Kelly Brennan and many others – Thankyou all!!
So, get your bums over to Perris and we will better the current 112 Way Record. See you all in 2015 …………..
Note: The above 3pt 54way is listed as an Australian Notable Event. The FAI Sequential Record rules were not written and published until 2013. The FAI Sequential Record Rules were officially accepted into the Australian Sporting Code in 2016.
