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42 Way Head Down World Record

March 22, 2024
Eloy, Arizona
Skydive Arizona

Organizers:
Matt Fry
Konstatin Petrijuk
Sarah Curtis
Steve Curtis
Amy Chmelecki

Formation:
Davi Albernaz Lameiro da Costa (BRA)
Kyle Brady (USA)
Michael Brewer (USA)
Amy Chmelecki (USA)
Colin Conway (USA)
Gregory Crozier (FRA)
Sara Curtis (USA)
Heini Elo (FIN)
Franck Eloffe (USA)
Philipp Exner (GER)
Vincent Faires (USA)
Nathaniel Freihaut (USA)
Michael Friedman (USA)
Matthew Fry (USA)
Lawrence Hack (USA)
Dustin Hanks (USA)
Michelle Hart (USA)
Jennifer Hopwood (AUS)
Brad Hunt (USA)
Mallory Hunt (USA)
Karine Joly (FRA)
Jazmyne Kahler (USA)
Eric Kau (USA)
Domitille Kiger (FRA)
Paulo Roberto Lacerda Pires (BRA)
Austin Losey (USA)
Thomas Miller (USA)
Naftali Mizrachi (USA)
Courtney Moore (USA)
Anna Moxnes (NOR)
Kaan Burcin Ozenmis (TUR)
Konstantin Petrijcuk (USA)
Javier Peyrat (USA)
Natalie Pitts (USA)
Jeffrey Provenzano (USA)
Chad Ross (USA)
Emily Royal (USA)
Michael Russell (USA)
Parmpreet Sandhu (USA)
Ryan Sass (USA)
Joshua Sattler (USA)
Todd Scrutchfield (USA)

Judges:
Randy Connell -Onsite Judge
Remote Judges:
Amanda Smalley
Jim Rees

Pilots:
Shawn Hill
Frank Frassetto

Cameramen:
Gustavo Cabana
Steve Curtis
Nathan Ross
James Kunze

 

In the night skies above Skydive Arizona in Eloy in March, 42 LED-adorned, color-coded skydivers set the Night World Record for Largest Head-Down Formation Skydive, which is currently pending ratification by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Organizers Amy Chmelecki, Sara Curtis, Steve Curtis, Matt Fry and Konstantin Petrijcuk led the effort. The pyrotechnics that the jumpers chose to use illuminated the night sky, drew crowds to the drop zone and became the talk of local communities, making the record event unique and giving it its signature name: MAX Pyro. The towering columns of burning metal, described as looking like a falling comet, spewed from the jumpers’ feet as they fell through the air, creating an almost angelic appearance and drawing attention from the ground from miles away.

Night skydiving is not a common type of skydive, and for most jumpers, fairly scary. Skydives using pyrotechnics are also unusual and intimidating. High-altitude, multi-aircraft, large-formation jumps that require oxygen are slightly more common and a bit less unnerving, but they still require lots of planning and coordinating. Merging these types of skydives into one increases the complexity of planning, as well as the amount of gear each skydiver carries. Further, it exponentially increases the safety considerations and the amount of mental management each skydiver must take on.

Read full story here: https://www.uspa.org/all-it-takes-is-a-sparkthe-making-of-max-pyro-20