ParaMag - n°324 - Mai 2014 - B5

Last briefing "ready to jump" for the World Team before to go for a world record attempt. Photo Willy Boeykens
He was the pioneer in relative work
before I even started to jump.
He led the greatest 10-way speed teams
"Jerry Bird's All Stars," Columbine
Turkey Farm," (1973 World Cup
Champions) and "The Wings of Orange"
(1974 World Cup Champions) in the
early 70's. Jerry taught me how to be
mentally equipped to win, how to get
back up after failure or difficulty
and get going again towards my goal".
Jerry Bird tells his story too:
"For us, it all began here in the heart
of Arizona. A few hangars, an old Beechcraft,
a runway lost in the desert near
Casa Grande, not too far from Eloy where
there was nothing yet. That's where the
movie "Wings" was shot. For a while,
it was our training base. We trained for
whole weeks there while other teams
were just jumping on weekends.
That's how we widened the gap
and got ahead."
38
In the big DC3 hangar with the World
Team, a large part of the Mirror Image
team is there. Most of them still jump
and will be in the attempts for 2 points
with 222 skydivers. We recognize
some of the faces from the old film
"Rainbow Magic", shot in 16mm,
which shows Mirror Image preparing
for the 1979 world championships
in Chateauroux (France). For fans of
gems like this one, the old movie
can be seen on this digital bonus.
The atmosphere comes alive: the DC3
with its piston engine, the challenging
line-up at the narrow door,
the very careful prep between points,
backing into the formation while looking
under their shoulders, jumpsuits still
flapping in the wind, counting points
through binoculars...
and it flies pretty well !
One big family
At World Team headquarters,
the atmosphere is warm and friendly.
Twenty-eight nations are represented,
as are all the generations of relative work
skydivers from the 1970's to the present.
BJ Worth has pulled a remarkable magic
trick as only he can. The youngest are
delighted to be able to meet and mingle
with the pioneers who jumped from the
DC3 and remain amazing divers.
The older folks are happy to be
recognized, respected and able to play
with the youngsters in the playground
that they planted. There are those who
have participated in one or several World
Team events. Only a dozen have done
them all. The other formation skydivers
present have forged their experience
in recent years through other big-way
events or through competition.
The few new people who have never
participated in a World Team event are
very pleasantly surprised by the warmth
of the welcome and the organization's
professionalism.
Bobbie, BJ's wife and faithful associate
from the very beginning, glows with joy,
happy to see this gigantic family one
more time, one last time. Bobbie has
always been the indispensable and
unshakeable pillar in all the events BJ
has organized. The event can now start.
The 42-way base and the six sectors
of 30 skydivers meet with their captains.
The first briefings go very fast because
BJ Worth has made available via the
World Team website, as he always does,
the detailed jump plans for each sector:
practice jumps for separate sectors,
record attempt jumps, break-off plan,
line-up and positions in the aircraft.
Each participant knows his or her slot
and role, even before the first
briefing takes place.
The Beginning
For the first two days, the World Team
concentrates on preparatory dives
for the two point 222-way world record.
The base builds faster and perfects
its fall rate. The sectors jump three
by three on a fictitious base composed
of members of the Alpha Team
(the reserve group) skillfully led by Mike
Raible (member of the Air Bears
team - 4-way world champion in '85)
and Jeff Barbani (Mirror Image).
During these prep jumps all of the
sectors manage to complete one point,
and some of them transition to the
second point. The World Team seems
well on its way towards conquering
its goal.
Five days of 222-way dives are planned
in order to get the record. BJ firmly
intends to finish before then. During one
of his briefings, he says to the members
of the World Team with some irony:
"I would like to shake this reputation that
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ParaMag - n°324 - Mai 2014

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