A group of 13 skydivers made history last weekend at Skydive Milwaukee’s annual Cheese Boogie, setting the state record for the biggest wingsuit formation jump.
The record-breaking jumpers joined skydivers from all over the country in freefall and parachute formation jumps ranging in size from groups of two to 30 at East Troy Airport Sept. 8-11.
While the focus of the event in the past has been primarily on parachute formations, this year a group of jumpers from Wisconsin and Illinois had their sights on setting the state record for wingsuit formation flying.
Commonly known as wingsuiting, the jumpers wore special nylon suits that had wings between their legs and that connected their hands to their bodies.
The suits allow skydivers to reach forward speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.
The 13 jumpers shattered the standing record of six people for wingsuiting in Wisconsin as they braved the plunge.
“We had a lot of fun doing these dives. It took us three tries to get everyone into the right position to meet the requirements of the judges,” said Derrick Krakau, a manager at Sky Knights and participant on the record. “The first dives went really well but one person was a few feet out of position so we went up again to get it done.”
Skydiving records in the United States are tracked by the United States Parachute Association, which is the governing body for parachuting.
The new record has already been certified by the local Safety and Training Advisor, as well as a national judge and should be officially recorded by the USPA in a few weeks.
Skydive Milwaukee is home to the historic Sky Knights Sport Parachute Club, which has been training jump students in East Troy for almost 50 years.
For more information, visit www.skydivemilwaukee.com.
Very cool picture & congrats on the record jump