Aussie Bigway Record: Record Camp

May 28, 2015: Aussie Record Camp Day 1 – shit is getting real

I am going to start proceedings in the opposite order tonight, because well hey change is as good as a holiday and it’s my blog so I will do whatever I want.

Achievements:

• Carsten – 4000 jumps
• Skye – Aussie and USPA starcrest achieved (while not part of the record attempt Skye has been around the dz getting some jumps in with the local organizers and also with a bunch of Aussies today)

Beer fines:

• First cutaway – Kathryn (good work on getting rid of the malfunctioning canopy and also kudos out to the other guys on our load that followed the freebag, main canopy and Kathryn to different locations, all close together – great team work looking out for each other)
• Greg Jack – picking up the wrong grip in the formation
• Greg Jack – picking up the same wrong grip again in the same jump
• Greg Jack – saying fuck during a television interview

You are on fire today Mr Jack!

With the formalities out of the way, it’s on to serious business. The formation for what will be the new Aussie National Big Way Record is posted and everyone is cramming in to take photos of the slot lists, formation and plan for today. I think I mentioned before, when we get to the dirt dive we have to know who we are docking on and where we are in the formation.

Unfortunately not all of our team mates were slotted into the formation and it is truly heart breaking that everyone has not been included in the first plan for the record formation. There is a lot of empathy for our team mates who have missed out and also the coaches who have made some really tough decisions. Today was a true test of resilience and character building for many of our friends and they represented and showed truly what the Australian spirit is about by getting involved in other organized jumps as a group and helping Skye achieve her Starcrest. Words on a page really don’t express how much we want them to be on the jump with us!

The plan for today is to split into the sectors of the formation which will be docking in. The base group is off with Dan, Mark and Tom and the sectors are split into two groups, one with Larry the other with Doug. My first two jumps today were in Doug’s group. I am on a whacker line toward the outside of the formation, so I am in an area that requires a really good stadium approach and a large amount of range to slow fall. So for the third day in a row I don a borrowed jumper turned inside out to use the fleece for more drag. I feel like I have wings! I am also hot as fuck, it’s a good 25 degrees today and I have my jump suit and jumper on! The slot is still a challenging one and uses all of the technique I have learned to be comfortable in docking on the formation.

After landing from the second jump and being picked up by the dudes in the trucks in the landing area I am met by Kate at the fence line to the packing area: I am changing groups and will be joining the base group on the next jump. New slot to learn and visualize new information. Luckily for me there is video to watch to absorb the information quickly as we are on a 20 minute call for the next load. The change is from a two plane formation to a three plane formation and I am a front row diver out of the left trail plane. Thanks to the guys in my plane for feeding me information during the dirt dive and making sure I got in the right plane in the right position!

I used the first jump in the new group to get a feel for fall rate and movement further out in the formation. I was starting to go flat as I was a bit stretched by some of the movement and had no more arch left in me to counter it. Quite amazingly, for the first time I am borrowing a weight belt and am putting an extra 3kgs of weight on to increase my fall rate range. I expect as the formation builds that this extra weight may increase if I stay in the same slot. So my flying went from one extreme to the other today, never in my wildest dreams did I expect to need to wear weight to maintain the fall rate!

I think I’ve said this for the last three days about the last jump of the day, but again it was our best as a team. It is our fifth jump and we are going to 16500 feet above ground (18000 feet above sea) as we have been since yesterday which means we are on supplemental oxygen from about 12000 feet. Combine that with the heat which has finally increased and the challenge is really there to maintain our mental focus.

We achieved a complete 48-way as a team on our last jump. It was a really important achievement today as the other sectors now have an opportunity to start viewing video and putting together their visualization of the entire big way skydive. The video of all our jumps has been posted on www.skydivingphotography.com, just follow the link to the Aussie a Big Way Record page. The camera crew are doing an absolutely stellar job of making sure they are on all our loads ready to go and providing great video footage for our debriefs. The team are out and about getting many great photos of us as well! We were also lucky enough to have Norman Kent join the camera flyers today, one of the legends of our sport with many many years of experience as a skydiving videographer.

The bar is going to be raised higher again tomorrow with the potential for 7-plane formations from load 1 with over 100 people in the sky together to progress the team toward completing a new Aussie Big Way Record. It is truly an honour and a privilege to be part of such a great team representing the Australian skydiving community.

May 29, 2015: Aussie Record Camp Day 2

Well well well, it’s 0650 and I’m walking from the iHop house down through the carpark into the dz and the sun is shining, the skies are blue and there is not a cloud in sight. This is the weather Dan has been talking about for the last 8/9 days. Finally some good weather to jump!

It is fair to say the feeling around the dropzone is electric today and contagious with lots of smiles and good vibes for the day of jumping ahead. We are now putting the record jump in the air, although we are taking a staged approach to completing it. We are looking to build a 126-way formation which was originally planned to build out of 6 aircraft, but hey when you’re at Skydive Perris and you can put 7 planes in the air at one time, why not?

I am in Charlie plane, I’m pretty sure I posted the formation on my Facebook page, anyway the planes are labelled A to G in an arrow head type shape with D plane being the lead plane, A, B, C on the left and E, F, G on the right (hopefully you can picture this). So Charlie plane is the first trail plane on the left. We are flying in 3 Skyvans (lead and first trail left and right) and 4 Twin Otters (second and third trail on the left and right). On the way up to height my seat in the Skyvan gives me a unique view of the planes flying in formation. Shortly after take off I see Echo plane (right trail) flying up level with our plane. Two plane lengths back and a slight angle below is Super Blue ; and a bit more angle down to three plane lengths back is Grey Shark (seriously sharks can fly). The planes are flying in formation so close together it is truly a sight to behold. It would also be a pretty good spectacle from the ground seeing the 7 planes flying in formation. The pilots here are truly skilled and we are grateful for their excellent formation flying.

We are stacked ready for the exit out of the Skyvan (diving out of the tailgate) and we get the count from Joel in the door: 5..4..3..2..1 Ready! Steady! Spaghetti! and we are piling out of the plane. The Skyvan exit is an interesting one when you’re a diver. As I dive out I first see the horizon then as I start to see the ground the prop blast hits me, I go into somewhat of a head down diving position to the point where I see the plane I just exited back up through my legs and then as I flatten out onto the relative wind I am looking left to identify the base which is flying past me. My slot docks directly on the base in a “zipper” slot. I am there quick smart and our piece is built, once the key is given a stinger docks on my right leg and a line anchor docks on my left leg and the base formation starts to build out. Including the first 90 degree people, we are building a 48-way base on which the ‘whacker lines’ will build.

The jumps today are about the base building so that all of the whacker line teams can see the pictures and fly their slot in the formation without taking grips. It is also important as there are now 126 of us in the sky together that the tracking teams form and track away from the formation together. The track off plan has the first track off wave at 7500, second at 6500 and the third (the team I am tracking in) at 5500. The teams track together until 4500 feet and then split and deploy canopies at 2800. It is designed this way to give us the maximum separation possible between canopies as we deploy.

On break of I turn 180 degrees, high five my zipper partner Jens on the way through to join my tracking leader Dave. As a group we only stay together for a few seconds before splitting and we do a relative slow and short track so we don’t catch up to the groups in front of us.

I flare out, wave off and pitch and I can see six people on my left and four people on my right pitching at the same time (we have good separation, but I am able to see far enough). Then as if someone has hit a switch, everything goes in slow motion: there are canopies opening all around me, above, below, left and right and it is an amazing sight. Senses kick in and my hands go to my rear risers, I am looking up, down, left, right and repeating this to make sure I am not in imminent danger of a canopy collision. Dan tells us to expect the unexpected, so expect someone else to have an off heading opening and be flying directly at you under canopy and you’ll be ready to react to it.

Thankfully all of the canopy flying today was safe, deliberate and flying behaviour was obvious to others around. Everyone had good situational awareness and landed safely.

The sun is shining and there is no stuffing around when we get to the ground, get packed, get hydrated and get into the debrief room to discuss the jump. Although we are jumping 126-ways, we split into a number of groups to debrief the sectors. The quickest and easiest way to get the required information to each group so they do their respective jobs.

Debrief done and we are on a 25 minute call. Gear up and out to the landing area to dirt dive with everyone. Again the usual deal, we are building pictures of the jump so we can visualize what is going to happen. Exit, stadium, radial, levels, slot, dock, maintain fall rate, fly with the formation, leave with tracking group, deploy, land safely. Easy right? I may have mentioned I am wearing extra weight in my slot, well I increased that by another kilogram today to take me up to 4kgs. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would need weight.

We managed to get in four jumps today improving our performance as we went with more people in the formation outside of the 48-way base being given permission to dock. We built and flew the base formation beautifully on the last jump of the day allowing other sectors to also dock. Meaning that we are well on track towards reaching a completion of a 126-way jump and setting a new Australian record. We have tomorrow and Sunday left to jump, so time is running out.

Achievements for the day:

• Janelle – 200 jumps (which is absolutely staggering and she is on the 126-way formation, good on ya mate!)
• Sandy – 900 and did it as a nudie jump!
• Priit – 1100
• Al – 6600
• Uwe – 1700
• Ben – 10800
• Tracey – 2500

Wow!! Congrats to all the mentioned skydivers, there are some serious numbers up there!

Beer fines:

• Andy – first chop
• Last person from each of the formation loads to sign the check in sheet (you know you were last so don’t be a stingy prick and by some beer)
• Two downwind landings that were opposite the signaled pattern – yeah you definitely owe beer for that!
• Dan – dropping the F bomb four times in our first debrief with the camera/media crew present, then also at the end of day wrap up. Good on ya Dan!

To finish, a quote which sums up the culmination of the last three years of planning and preparation:

‘Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success’

– Henry Ford

May 30, 2015: Aussie Record Camp Day 3

Day 3 of the camp and today is the day! I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, the vibe around the dz is electric! Seriously we are going to do this today. The dirt dive is serious, we can see the pictures, visualization is hitting an all time high. Everyone is now allowed to pick up grips so we can build the formation.

The first jump of the day was a real positive start to the day, although we didn’t complete the formation the mood is good. Dan keeps reminding us that it’s all about the bass, Meghan Trainor was right… but to get a record once the base is building consistently it is all about the whackers (the funky lines in the formation that build the arms of the sectors to make us look like a big fan).

We are pumped, jump number two is going to be it. I talk to lots of people between the jumps, it’s interesting hearing their perspective on how we are tracking and the stories of previous record attempts and what jump we are going to break the record on. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be on jump two, there was some exceptional skydiving and the jump overall was great, but a couple of collisions and shallow stadium approaches saw a couple of people go low. In the formation I get a really interesting perspective: I am one of the first to dock on the base in the middle and so get to see some great visuals of the sectors building around me and it is heart breaking to see one of our team go low. The debriefs are kept short and sweet we have a quick turn around for the next attempt.

Jump three and we are going through the up and down roller coaster of emotions. Seriously! We are so intent on nailing the jump and everyone is so focused, but there are some minor errors in how the fall rate sits for one of the sectors and one of our team goes low. We are getting so close!

The next jump was one of the best jumps we had flown as a group. From my perspective, there was so little pull, push, lift and movement in the formation it felt so smooth and it was flying so well. We were so close, but unable to pull it off! That was jump four. It was late in the day and the available sunlight meant we had only one jump left in us. A sunset load poses a number of different challenges for us, which we had already experienced on smaller group formation loads at sunset. Jump run is straight east to west, so the pilots are flying into the sun. There are seven planes in the air, so they have to fly slightly further apart (although their version of further apart is still bloody close!). As soon as the key is given and everyone exits their plane, half of the formation is looking directly into the sun so this poses problems when trying to act out the visualization. The colours are so different and this distracts some jumpers. Play of the day goes to Oz in his words, “I saw the guy I was docking on and I started back sliding out of the formation just hoping I wasn’t hosing anyone else and then had to come back through the whackers and was like, excuse me coming through, excuse me coming through”. Nice one Oz.

On three shout fuck: 1..2..3.. FUCK!!!! This was the start of our wrap up for the day. There is no better way to get the frustration out! As a team we were so determined to make the record today, the coaches wanted it so badly for us as well, but it just wasn’t to be. Sometimes we forget how Larry doesn’t always agree with how much us Aussies cuss, so everyone goes silent and Larry brings out his best FOOEY! 1..2..3.. FOOEY!! We are going to have a slightly later start in the morning because believe it or not, skydivers are not the only ones using the sky over Southern California so it is difficult to get our needed 21000 feet above sea (19500 above the ground) early in the morning.

Saturday night was the celebration dinner and banquet with drinks and some great food. There was also a great duet of an Eagles classic by Al and Pam, we really enjoyed the in depth stories told by our mate Pam and this one was a cracker (but it’s one of those ‘you have to be there’ kind of stories so I won’t bore you with the details).

Achievements for the day:

• Shirley – 2700 jumps
• Alistair- 600 jumps
• Robo Pop – 4350

Beer fines:

• Yukari – chop (which was packed in record breaking time by the guys at the loft…she had her reserve packed and rig ready for the next jump which was a 70 minute call)
• The 5 people who checked in last from each jump…you guys know who you are so pay up

The day was a great day, but in the words of Mark everyone just needs to ‘get the fuck in’ so we can build this record! Tomorrow is a new day and we are going to do it!

May 31, 2015: Aussie Record Camp Day 4

Ground Hog Day. Let me take you back 5 years when the only things that concerned me were what time the Curtin Uni pub opened and how hungover I’d be for work on Saturday. Little did I know that thousands of kilometers away from my mediocre world there were records being set in the world of skydiving. The day was crisp and the sun was shining and the first load went up and produced a complete 106-way formation. A new Australian record! What an achievement. The team debriefed and Dan was heard saying “hey wouldn’t it be cool if we did two in a row”. Well they got three more people involved and then the new Aussie record was a 109-way. What a feeling of elation and joy! The team again debriefed and discussed the jump and Dan said “you know what would be absolutely crazy and insane, let’s go up again and do it for a third time!”. And do you know what, they did… a new Australian big way record 112-way. Also an unofficial world record for 3 completed record attempts in a row.

So here we are, it’s Sunday, the very last day of the record camp. Day 12. We are starting a little later today, but that doesn’t stop the early bird from catching the worm or shower time in the bathroom as the case is in the iHop. The house is busy and bustling and it’s time to make a record, or at least shower and be clean enough to make a record! Despite the temptation of ridiculous amounts of alcohol being made available to us at the bar last night, most people took it reasonably easy. A combination of 5 jumps going to extreme heights yesterday that required oxygen on every jump knackered us. But Taran was still seen to be making every effort to salvage as much beer from the team room before we were locked out for the night…”just get me a garbage bin, we have to fill it with beer!!!” I really appreciated the enthusiasm, you remind me of me. But anyway down to business, we have a record to set!

Jump 1: we are amped! One thing I have not touched on much is how sharp the axe has been throughout our training camps and even more so in the record camp. Everyone was putting in 100% of what they had to give despite the shitty weather and days on standby and Matt Holmes summed it up perfectly by saying, “unfortunately, this meant the P3 team didn’t get to see 100% of the players in different slots and in desperation had to cut many exceptional skydivers due to time running out. It was too late to move people about and the ruthless axe didn’t discriminate. It was less about skill difference and more about crappy timing for those that missed out”.

Regardless, we still had our entire team right there cheering us on. We didn’t quite complete the formation on jump 1, so Ground Hog Day is over, we are now creating a new history with whatever happens on the next jump. We continue flying our consistent form of the camps so far by being consistently consistent and then inconsistent. Two steps forward and one step back, jump 2 was unsuccessful. Devastatingly this means we have gone from our original 127-way to a 119-way.

Jump 3 and spirits are high. The base has been building consistently and there is no reason to think that it won’t keep building… until we strike some communication problems on exit and the right trail plane leave a clear 3-4 seconds before the base exits the lead plane…immediately there was some serious ground to catch up. Unfortunately it did not happen. What a moment of absolute desperation. Dan has told us time and time again over the last few days “you are running a marathon” and fuck me dead it feels like a bloody marathon right now! Unbeknownst to all us Aussies, the coaches had a good laugh at the exit of jump 3.. If you have been following www.skydivingphotography.com and have seen the video, you would have to laugh too.

Before I go any further I would really like to thank all of my plane buddies on Whiskey Alpha (the Charlie plane), including Nic, who when I was on the ground asked her numerous times which plane she was on… Only to realize that she was sitting pretty much opposite me in the plane for 9 jumps (sorry mate). I was unsure of how our plane would go at first because well, rum and whiskey is not a great combination – but it seemed to work.

All laughing aside, it is now late Sunday afternoon. It is the last day of our record camp and it is now the last jump we are going to make as a team at Skydive Perris. You want determination, well look deep into the eyes of every single Australian and every Friend of Australia in the jump as we gather all hands in for some final words of inspiration from Dan BC. Not only do we get every person who is going to be on the jump into the huddle, every single Aussie, supporter, friend or family is invited in to get involved because let’s face it, we would be nothing without the people in our lives that support us and believe in us! We have the skill, the technique, the ability and the determination to build this thing. There no is more mucking around it is time to just get the fuck in! and build it! Did I mention on every other day we saved our best jump until last?

When we leave the dirt dive to go out to our planes, we are given somewhat of a guard of honour with every person not jumping, lined up throwing out high-fives as we walk out to our respective planes. We move out to our planes and stand in the shade under the tail and wing as we wait for the call to board. I put my earplugs in and put my booties on. Helmet in hand because it is hot as fuck and everyone is sweating bullets. As our plane taxis onto the runway the tail is still up and we see Super Blue pull out behind us, closely followed by the Skydive Arizona Twin Otter, Grey Shark and Gypsy Rose (all Twin Otters). As we see 5ODA taxi up the runway the tail door goes down, locked in place and we are ready for take off. We are climbing up to 19500 feet above ground which is 21000 feet above sea level and we are on oxygen from 12500 AGL. Before the oxygen comes on, it is all hands in at 10000 feet with our plane Captain Shane (not the pilot) for a final few words of inspiration. We then sit back and relax for the rest of the climb to height.

Even on the ground, the well wishes are there. The guys that pick us up in the utes and bus are out in position. Pete is one of the drivers. He knows we are on jump run and about to drop so he radios through to his buddy in the other ute to say he will be off the radio for a minute. He gets out of his ute, and starts dancing around in the dirt doing a good luck dance for us, kicking up dust and busting a move. It is not just a team of Aussies trying to get a record here, the entire team at Skydive Perris are behind us and want us to succeed!

“2 minutes” is the call around the plane as the pilot gives the signal. We stand up, secure the seats in the upright position and relax. Red Light. The tail gate door is opened by Tom and Joel. Green Light. Joel confirms radio communication is clear and the floaters stack up their exit in front of me. Next to me is Netty (another WA gun) and we are ready for the count from Joel: 5..4..3..2..1..ready..set..go! I run forward two steps and dive out of the plane, my first vision is of Whiskey Alpha’s tail, then quickly look to my left and identify the base. I turn left and fly directly at my slot, there is no one between me and the base, time to intercept! LSD (no you sick bastards not drugs) Level, Slot, Dock and it happens in quick succession, Jens (Yens) and I dock to complete the zipper and I see the other zippers close from my peripherals. Arms are locked in and I am solid as fuck! Our stinger docks on the key from the base, the line anchor takes his grip on my right leg and we are flying well. In front of me and to my left I see the most beautiful picture as the whacker lines approach on their stadiums. As I see people dock, the base is still flying so smoothly. I distinctly remember the feeling of smiling widely as I saw smooth approaches and the formation flying around me. On my right I see Dan start to kick to initiate break off, the outside wave tracks off. 1000 feet later, the second wave goes and then at 5000 feet I turn to my left, high five Jens and join my tracking leader Dave (with a high five) and the three of us track off straight over the top of Norman Kent! Jens got the money shot… but our job is not finished, not by a long shot. It is time to fly with 118 other people in the sky under canopy. Focus is on getting to the ground safely now. Two feet on the ground and an amazing feeling comes over me, if you’ve ever seen me grin, well I have a serious smile going on. On my right another jumper lands his canopy, it’s Steve Baker (a fellow West Aussie). All I can hear from Steve is “Rummy, I think we’ve done it” and with both our canopies in tow we run at each other for the first of many celebratory hugs! We collect our canopies and start the walk back to the packing area (at this point who gives a fuck how long the walk is, we are confident we have just broken the record). As we get to the grassed landing area right next to the runway, I can see the 7 planes turning onto final in formation, they are about to give us a final salute in a flyover. I stop still where I am and wait, the planes led by 5ODA in a right echelon formation fly directly over my head at 100 feet! The noise, the buzz and the sight of this is just amazing and I feel like jumping out of my skin!

In the distance I see people starting to celebrate, so weight belt and all I start running toward the packing area and I am greeted by team mates, friends, supporters and family members with high fives and hugs and more high fives and more hugs! The jump may not be official yet (from the judges in Australia) but as a team we just knew from the way the formation was flying that we were looking at success. The utes, trucks and bus are pulling in honking horns to celebrate. Before I can even get my rig off I am hugging and embracing every person I can get my hands on. As quickly as I can I ditch my rig and am running around the packing areas celebrating the best jump I have ever been on. There are more people arriving from the landing area and I run over to greet every single one of them with a high five and a hug. The spine tingling feeling of success just won’t go away and I have the biggest smile on my face. There is a short delay as we wait for the judges in Australia and we gather together on the creeper pad waiting eagerly for the announcement.

Greg Jack jumps up on stage and confirms that we have just set a new Australian record, 119-way formation complete! The camaraderie amongst the entire team is truly amazing, from our coaches, mentors, fellow skydivers, friends, other jumpers and supporters it is truly heart warming to know how much everyone was on our side in the pursuit of success.

Achievements for the day:

• Kaylene – 1000 jumps (on the record jump, fooey’ing awesome)
• Ryan – 700 jumps
• Trip – 10300 jumps
• Amber – 250 jumps (what, wait? Yeah that’s right mofos)
• Kelly – 2300 jumps
• Doug – 750 jumps
• Stretch – 5600 jumps
• Kathryn – 249 jumps (on the record jump, yeah that’s right…this is awesome!)
• We pretty much the Bomb Shelter out of food
• Oh yeah and we had a complete 119-way record

Beer fines:

• The Bomb Shelter – for running out of food… I mean I know we are all skinny Aussies, but who runs out of food?
• Everyone who checked in last from every single load on the day
• Everyone who made their largest formation jump and new Aussie Big Way Record (yeah I include myself in that)

There is so much thanks to go out to people that it would be too hard to for me to name them all now, but massive thanks to Greg Jack and other organizers and mentors for getting us to Perris. Thank you to all of the P3 coaches, Dan BC, Kate, Larry, Doug, Josh, Tom, Mark – seriously you guys rock and we (the entire Aussie team) are better skydivers for having you guide and coach us.

For me personally I would like to thank Shirley (WA state mentor) and Dixie (old fart) for both being mentors to me, believing in me and providing me with much needed advice and guidance in my personal journey to Perris.

 I am sitting on the plane from L.A. back home as I write this and I am thinking of just how fortunate I am to have had this experience. The achievement is awesome, but it could not have been made possible without the 118 other skydivers who were part of the formation and the entire Australian team that travelled to Perris.. It is amazing to think how well our entire team came together, performing under incredible pressure given that it was the last jump of the last day, I don’t know of any other sport that requires so many people to perform at their very best at the same time when there are so many variables and things that can go wrong, but with the right guidance and direction we did it. On reflection, having an Australian record is pretty fucking awesome, but the fact that we achieved it as one massive team makes it all the more satisfying. The record is a moment in time, but the journey, the camaraderie (especially the iHop crew, the nightly beer debriefs Higgo, Joe, John, Barnsy, Mr Baldwin), the emotional ups and downs, the celebration of achievements (and beer fines), the belief that our coaches have in us (thank you for the kind words Larry) and the true Aussie have a go spirit are the things I will treasure most about my time spent at Perris. If you are ever looking for a bit of inspiration then look no further than a quote from our friend Mark on his 300th jump sometimes you just have to “get the fuck in”. See you again in 2018 for another crack!

Rummy