Commemorating Kittiinger's Long Lonely Leap

[Douggarr 6]

Next summer, August 16, 2010, will be the 50th anniversary of Joe Kittinger's famous skydive from a helium balloon at the edge of space, 102,800 feet. (If you're interested, he wrote a terrific book about it, called "The Long, Lonely Leap.")

i got the wacky idea that we might plan a commemorative jump from say 20,000 or 25,000 to acknowledge the feat and raise money for the National Skydiving Museum. We'd need a major sponsor (or several) outside the community like Honda or Red Bull to foot the bill for such a project. Those two companies seem to be thrill sport-friendly. Any leads here would be welcome.

I'm spreading the word now to see what people think of the notion. it will take a lot of planning and work. Could we get Perris's DC-9 (or the equivalent) filled up? High-altitude jump training? Would we do it in Florida, at Deland, whos DZO is already interested? Kittinger said he'd be there and supports the idea.

Jumpers, please weight in. I'd also like to hear from skydivers who are interested in making such a leap; it would be a once in a lifetime kind of jump, I imagine. And not cheap. But for a good cause.

We already have a documentary producer interested in doing a 30-minute TV special.

SCR-442, SCS-202, CCR-870, SOS-1353