Like many children I grew up harbouring fantasies of flying just like Peter Pan and decided that jumping out of an airplane would be the best way to realize that dream. Upon reaching the milestone age of 40 I wondered whether I would still have the courage to take that literal and metaphorical leap of faith. The following year as I walked past a bulletin board, the magic words “First jump course” caught my eye. A few days later I found myself sitting through evening ground school covering the basics of parachuting and the following day I drove out to a small airport where the skydiving instructor and a small Cessna 126 airplane awaited.
My very first skydive back in 1991 was done the old fashioned “static line” way where you climb out of the airplane all by yourself, hang on the wing strut, and let go while the instructor deploys your parachute but remains in the plane. Climbing out into that noisy and windy propeller blast 3000 feet above ground was one of the most terrifying things I ever experienced. Then, having the parachute deploy, leaving me suspended high above the earth, was one of the most exhilarating sensations of my life. I yelled for joy while dangling under the open canopy.
The following decade or so was a mixture of on again and off again trips to various skydiving clubs otherwise known as drop zones. I hired a personal coach to teach me basic skills like how to exit various types of aircraft without going unstable.
The journey from rookie skydiver to record holder was interrupted several times by life interfering in various ways. A breakthrough occurred in 2005 when I entered a wind tunnel – a giant 14 foot diameter tube powered by a turbine engine producing a strong updraft where one can ride on a column of air resembling freefall. Working with yet another coach I was able to refine my flying skills by controlling the speed and angle of my fall rate and the ability to keep my body in balance at all times. I became interested in formation flying where a group of anywhere from four to a hundred-plus skydivers link up to form various patterns in the sky.
My first successful completed formation took place in 2006. We were 62 people exiting from three different airplanes. The lead airplane, a Skyvan, provided a tailgate exit for six skydivers linked together to form a round circle known as the base. The rest of the skydivers would fly toward the base in a predetermined sequence and take grips on either the wrists or the feet of flyers in front of them. (Our jumpsuits have built in “grippers” to facilitate docking onto another person.)
The pilots of the three airplanes were in radio contact with one another so that all 62 jumpers in the three airplanes would know when to exit simultaneously. Early divers have a shallow dive toward the base whereas later divers would need to dive a lot steeper. Steep dives in freefall can get extremely fast so it is crucial for jumpers to know how to put on the brakes gently before docking. Failure to do so can create enough momentum to break up the entire formation.
My introduction to this particular event taught me a lot, such as the need to wear a leaded weight belt when jumping with the big boys so I could fall more easily at the same speed as them. Likewise the art of “tracking” at the end of freefall where we all turn away from the centre of the formation and fly radiating outward away from one another. When our parachutes are deployed, there is as much separation as possible in order to avoid deadly canopy collisions.
For the next several years I spent time doing many different formation skydiving events. Some were state records, and some were training camps. Being on the “big way circuit” as it is known, is a way to develop a reputation with the chief organizers who become acquainted with your strengths and weaknesses. I spent several more hours training in various wind tunnels and had the privilege of flying in groups organized by the former stuntman for the James Bond skydiving scenes. All of this hard work paid off when I received the invitation to the women's world record. Although the previous women's record in 2009 had a group of 180 women, the organizers decided instead of going bigger, they would whittle down the skydive to a smaller number of people who would form not just one, but two different formations within one freefall. Having less women to invite gave the organizers the luxury of hand picking the very best skydivers.
On October 12, 117 women gathered together in Perris Valley California to begin the record attempts. We went through five days of jumping with some very near completions as well as some spectacular failures where the formation blew apart and bodies went scattering like flying debris. Vaike had a very special slot in the formation as she was part of the base- the inner ring at the centre of the formation. These base women had to absorb all of the shock and tension of the surrounding docks On the following day our airplanes, all six of them, took off on a bright sunny morning and there was a sense of quiet determination. We waited for radio contact and the green exit lights in each airplane. Bodies started spilling out, I docked onto my partner and the flyer beside me docked on me. We flew smoothly and quietly. We saw the signal (a streamer was released in the middle of the formation) for transferring to the second formation. We landed, went to the debrief room and waited in suspense as a couple of Federal Aviation Administration judges scrutinized the in-air videos inspecting all the grips for completion. Finally our lead organizer came out and held out one finger signifying that the first formation had completed.
Total silence. Several seconds later a second finger (for second formation) came into view and absolute pandemonium broke out. The “Sky Sisters” as we call ourselves, shouted, laughed, cried, and congratulated each other on our success. And among this tapestry of international skydivers, two women – myself and Vaike Oiglane, hugged each other enthusiastically, shared some champagne, and felt oh so proud to represent Estonia as well as Canada and Finland.
Tiiu Haamer
