Tecumseh Record

[ltdiver 3]

http://www.lenconnect.com/articles/2003/06/22/news/news06.txt

Group breaks state skydiving formation record
By David Panian - Daily Telegram Staff Writer

TECUMSEH -- As the sun set over Tecumseh on Saturday, 52 people joined hands and set a state record.

Of course, they were about a mile above the ground when they did it, falling at about 120 mph. The 52 skydivers broke the 6-year-old state record for the largest number of people in a completed skydiving formation. The previous record was 50 skydivers, set over Napoleon in 1997.

"You get an electricity through the formation that it's done," said event organizer Dr. Bob Domeir of Ann Arbor. "It felt really good, and I think everybody thought it was done, but you never know until you see the video."

Watching the sky, the audience of a couple of hundred people on the ground thought the skydivers had the record, too.

But to confirm the record the divers headed into the classroom at Skydive Tecumseh to check out the video shot by another skydiver who jumped alongside the formation, and cheered when they saw they had held the formation for the required three seconds.

The skydivers set the record on their sixth jump of the day, so fatigue was a definite factor as the parachutists boarded the three planes for the final attempt.

To give the skydivers a lift, so to speak, about 30 of their friends on the ground gave them a salute known as "Butt-henge." They lined up along the runway at Meyers-Diver's Airport, dropped their pants and bared their buttocks at the planes as they took off.

Ron Pawlowski, owner of Skydive Tecumseh, said the odd, trouser-dropping skydiving tradition is a way for those on the ground to show the parachutists that they're rooting for them.

The state record is not kept by a skydiving organization, but instead is kept among the skydiving drop zones in the state. The organizers thought it would be nice to bring the record to Tecumseh, though.

"It's been six years since the record's been broken, and we'd kind of like to bring it to Tecumseh," said Jeanni McAbee, owner of the Jump Time Gear store at Skydive Tecumseh.

"It's bragging rights to a certain degree, but really it's a chance to get together and set a new goal for next time," Pawlowski said. He said many of the skydivers who set the record Saturday will likely be involved in any future attempts to break it.

In fact, some of the divers in Saturday's record formation were a part of the world record of 300 people set last December in Arizona.

The skydivers said setting the record at Skydive Tecumseh shows that the drop zone is one of the tops in the country.

"In Michigan it's the premier drop zone," said Pat Solar of Livonia, one of the record-setting skydivers. "Nationwide, this is what people hope for in a drop zone."

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[katiebear21 0]

Sweet! Anybody here participate?

Katie
Get your PMS glass necklace here

[geanky 0]

hell yeah for my home crowd

learn to fly in 3d

[Mindcake 0]

you forgot to add that all of this was followed up by a killer Toga party and film festival

Don´t belive the hype

[Skyrose7 0]

Congrats to all Michiganders that were a part of this!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.
MaryRose

[EricTheRed 0]

Congrats...

Quote

about 30 of their friends on the ground gave them a salute known as "Butt-henge."

I bet this is the first time "Butt-henge" has appeared in the mainstream press.

Way to add another word to the english language.

illegible usually

[Mindcake 0]

and we have good video too....both of the dive and of the butt's

Don´t belive the hype