The most supreme dream in skydiving has been realized.
On Feb. 8, 400 of the planet’s best skydivers united in a single formation over northern Thailand, shattering their previous mark and setting a seemingly insurmountable world record.
“Anyone who was a part of this will label it as the best experience of their life,” said Pueblo doctor Ben Massey, a cardiac anesthesiologist who designed an oxygen-distribution system that provided crucial oxygen to the 400 jumpers before they leapt en masse from Thai military transport planes at nearly 25,000 feet. “I was just a small part of the bigger part. The commitment of the Royal Thai Air Force made this happen. With luck and prayers we answered their commitment and did something truly amazing.”
Thailand’s 60-year monarch fancies skydiving, and the country’s air force devoted its resources to helping the 12-year- old World Team reach its audacious goal. The air force’s effort included providing C-130 Hercules aircraft and pilots, who flew in tight formation at 25,000 feet while losing their entire payloads in seven seconds, setting a piloting record themselves.
The World Team, a 31-country army of the world’s most accomplished skydivers and photographers, is no stranger to world records. The creation of Montana skydiving guru BJ Worth – an aerial stuntman in James Bond movies – the World Team has set four world records for the largest freefall formations, including the 2004 record of 357 jumpers in Thailand.
Estes Park’s Jim McCormick was part of each world record.
As a motivational speaker, McCormick’s role in the unbelievably complex jump has myriad metaphorical connections to life and work.
“All of your instincts are saying, ‘Don’t do this,”‘ says the 49-year-old skydiving legend. “One of the challenges of skydiving is that it is counterintuitive. But if we want to perform at the highest level, a great deal of what we need to do is counterintuitive.
“If we don’t take risks, we don’t accomplish many things.”
Risk was high during the three weeks the team spent in Thailand preparing for their monarch-honoring feat. Jumpers have died twice in previous attempts at the world record, both during the hyper-sketchy disbanding of the formation. Videos of the jump make the dissolution of the formation appear similar to the frenzied scurry of a stirred ant pile. But, in fact, the disassembling was one of the most highly orchestrated parts of a very precise operation.
“The scariest experiences are always during that phase,” McCormick said.
The operation was a scientific, engineering and athletic marvel. Precise timing of the jumpers, who leapt from five planes simultaneously and instantly reached 200 mph, was critical. The jumpers divided into 10 language-specific sectors, which became 33-person wings spinning from a 70-person center. They jumped for several days, slowly building the formation. On the second attempt on Feb. 8, 399 jumpers united but one was unable to join, eliminating the possibility of a world record, which requires every airborne jumper to be in formation.
McCormick and Massey deflected all praise to the Thais. Without their military support, the world record would have been impossible, both said. The military moved its entire C-130 operations to Udon Thani in northeastern Thailand and spent three weeks flying the jumpers in addition to its regular operations. The effort was designed to honor the country’s 60-year monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
“This is more than a world record,” McCormick said. “This is a Thailand record. It could not have happened without them.”
Skydive stats
400 Skydivers in formation, a world record.
90 Seconds of freefall needed to set up the formation.
4.25 Seconds in formation.
120 Seconds of freefall for the entire jump.
24,800 Altitude, in feet, of the planes at the time of the jump.
5 Thailand Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft used in the jump.
80 Jumpers in each plane.
1.9 billion Value of the planes in dollars.
7 Seconds required for all the skydivers to leave the planes.
2 Tons of bagged rice in each plane to balance the loss of weight from 84 leaping riders.
1.5 Wingspans separating each of the five planes.
200 Miles per hour reached by the skydivers in the first second out of the plane.
2.2 million Number of cumulative lifetime skydives among the 400 skydivers.
68 Number of female skydivers.
45 Skydivers “on the bench” as backups to replace ill or injured skydivers.
357 Skydivers in formation in the previous record, set in 2004.
3 Attempts needed to unite 400 skydivers Feb. 8.
100 Percent of airborne jumpers needed in the formation to set a world record.
35,000 Dollars in jet fuel spent for each attempt.
65 Age of the oldest skydiver. The youngest was 20.
960 Skydivers floating above Bangkok airport Feb. 11, setting the world mass freefall record.
60 Years his Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej has ruled Thailand. The Royal Air Force’s orchestration of the jump was to honor the world’s longest reigning monarch.
