smiles 0 #1 February 18, 2004 Northwest Montana Daily Inter Lake Locals leap to skydiving records in Thailand A pair of Whitefish men recently helped break two group skydiving records. BJ Worth and Blaine Wright traveled to Thailand a few weeks ago where they were part of the largest formation jump and the largest group free fall. "It really takes the best skydivers in the world," Worth, 52, said of the complexity involved in completing the jumps. Worth submitted the paperwork to the Guinness Book of World Records and anticipates the jumps will be recognized as the new standard to beat. Both men joined 355 skydivers in leaping into a pinwheel shape as they floated above Takhli, Thailand. Worth expects that jump will stand as the largest group to successfully complete a formation. All jumpers must be in their proper places for such a jump to be recognized. "It has to be 100 percent performance from everybody. It has to be perfect," Wright explained. If even one diver doesn't complete the jump or if the shape differs from what was planned, the jumpers must head back to the skies. But the jumpers got the pinwheel on only the seventh try. Wright has participated in smaller formation jumps that were unsuccessful until the 25th attempt. Wright said he knew almost as soon as he was in place for the formation that the record-sized group would succeed. And for Wright, 45, that success had special significance. Wright's father signed the permission slip for his son to begin jumping when he was just 15 and as an adult encouraged him to keep going for new records. His father died of cancer and pneumonia in February 2003. Wright has carried his ashes to release on the perfect record-breaking leap in honor of his dad. "I had a good feeling we had it," he said, so he scattered the ashes high above Thailand on the seventh formation jump. Video analysis of the jump proved that Wright's feeling was correct. The Thailand group had broken the previous record set in 2002 for 300 people jumping in formation over Brazil. For the other record, Worth and 671 other people leaped into downtown Bangkok, the most people to free fall simultaneously. Worth said a Brazil group in 2001 numbered between 573 and 671 people. More important to skydivers than the Guinness nod, though, is that both events were recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the world air sports federation, Wright said. People from more than 40 countries participated in the jumps. Worth and his wife, Bobbie, organized the events, part of a birthday celebration for Thailand's queen. The men have made similar record-breaking jumps in the past as participants in a group called the World Team, which Worth started in 1994 with the goal of setting new standards. Planning such events, though time-intensive, is just a hobby for Worth. He balances his time between his Whitefish home and Hollywood, where he does skydiving movie stunts. His work has been featured in films such as "xXx" with Vin Diesel and several James Bond movies. Reporter Camden Easterling SMiles Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgskydive 0 #2 February 18, 2004 Nice story! To bad the 300 way was in Eloy not Brazil.Dom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #3 February 19, 2004 I remember when Blaine first started jumping in Missoula. Now, I ask him questions about jumping. I've heard he's one of the few jumpers who've been in every World Record RW jump since the 200 way. He is also a competitive water skiier, (without a doubt the best in Montana). I heard he got hurt kind of bad blade running. Most of this I heard through the rumor mill, so I hope I'm not too far off. Blaine doesn't talk much about himself or his accomplishments.....Steve1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #4 March 15, 2004 I may have posted some mis-information earlier. That's what I get for listening to rumors. Blaine has been in six of the last nine formation world records. The first one was the 100 way in 1986 with B.J. He was part of the World Record attempt in Eloy in 2002 when he got word that his father was dieing. He told his Dad that he was coming home immediately, but his father told him to get the record first, which they did. He died shortly after Blaine's return to Montana. On important jumps since his death he has carried his father's ashes. His Dad was a Grizzly football fan. On demo jumps into that stadium, he has let loose some of the ashes. In Thailand he released some more. Whether or not he has any ashes left, I don't know. I'm sure he doesn't bother to carry any when he jumps with me!...Steve1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
