December 2, 2010 — A group of 41 women jumped head-first into the record books.
They jumped from 16,500 feet, then linked arms for 50 seconds as they joined to hold formation and set the new world record for the largest women’s head-down freefly formation, according to the World Records Academy. The November 26 jump more than doubled the Guinness world record set two years ago.
The jump took place at Skydive Arizona, a skydiving resort located between Phoenix and Tucson where the women had been holding training camps to prepare for the world record attempt. American aerial photographer Norman Kent, who also jumped, captured the jump on film using a head-cam rig.
Organizer Amy Chmelecki said the experience was exhilarating. "We have been planning and training for this record for the past two years and have gathered together our crew using ads on Facebook, MySpace and sky diving magazines," she said. "Nothing though is quite like the feeling of the whole event coming together to know that we have smashed the record by a factor of times two.”
According to the World Records Academy, the women opened their parachutes at 6,500 feet and hit speeds close to 200 mph during their dive.
Kent said this was a dangerous jump because of the speed and the exactness of the skydivers to get into position. “There is the misconception of terminal velocity out there. You can increase your speed as you fall and you don't necessarily fall at a constant speed. That is the struggle for the ladies of this record. To all match up and fall at the same rate at the same time during their 50 second to 1 minute fall.”
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The female skydivers jumped from 16,500 feet, then met and linked arms for 50 seconds, as seen below, as they set the world freefly record. Photos credit: Barcroft USA
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