Jay Stokes makes 641 jumps in 24 Hours? How?

[Psychoz 0]

This is probably old news for everyone but me, but how is this possible? There are 24 hours in a day, 1,440 minutes in a day, if you divide 1440 minutes by 641 jumps, that means he did a jump every 2.2 minutes, how do you come down that fast and go back up that fast? I am confused.

Sorry if this has been batted around before.

So long and thanks for all the fish!!!

[PhreeZone 20]

He took a plane to 2100 feet and deployed just out the door. Then he spiraled to landing and while still landing had people removing his rig and putting him into a new one while he ran to one of the waiting airplanes to do it again.He used something like 2 PAC750's a Porter, a large support team and 15 rigs to do it.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[howardwhite 6]

See January Parachutist.

[DSE 5]

25 rigs, most of them donated by Team Fastrax
fastest time to 2.1k was 1:53 wheels to wheels. Avg time was around 2 mins wheels to wheels.
Support staff of approx 140
2 PAC XL's in constant, Porter used during refuels and tire change
One helluva lot of training, planning, etc.
Jay was an animal.
We'll have a documentary of the event out in the not too distant future, captured from 11 cameras both on ground and in air.

[sdctlc 0]

good plan, very good fitness, high level of determination and lots of $

Scott C.

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[Zing 2]

It was all done with lines and mirrors.

Zing Lurks

[DSE 5]

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It was all done with lines and mirrors.

Shit, Zing, when you were flying, Jay didn't jump, you just rolled that damn airplane and threw him out.
One of those rolls almost cost me a very expensive camera!
You sure got some great shots with your little pocket cam!

[Psychoz 0]

thanks for the replys, I doulbt that record will be broke for a while, probably the only other way to get up faster would be helicopter since it is a straight up ride

So long and thanks for all the fish!!!

[stayhigh 2]

uh,, don't think heli will work,,
expensive, and also i think it will be slower

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[PhreeZone 20]

Jay was grounded for a medical check at one point and then had an off landing that ate up some time also I understand. 650 might be possible but not too much more then that shy of teleporting to altitude.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Zing 2]

Actually, after Jay was finished, the pilots flying the gig sat down and talked about concievable jump totals. With the right airplanes, the right pilots and the right jumper, we determined that 700 is doable ... but it isn't likely to happen anytime soon.

Zing Lurks

[flydude 0]

Maybe if they go lower on the jumps, they can make several more jumps... And also planes always gets faster and stronger..

A skydiver's famous last words:
- Hey! Hold my beer, and watch this...!
- If that guy can do it, so can I...!
- In 9 out of 10 this will work out just fine. Don't worry about it...!

[nbblood 0]

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uh,, don't think heli will work,,
expensive, and also i think it will be slower

L model Blackhawks would be much faster. Lightly loaded, I doubt they'd take more than minute to altitude. They'd probably be slower coming down, but if there was 3 or more running they'd be significantly faster. However, cost and availablitly are factors that probably cannot be overcome in the near future.

Blues,
Nathan

If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

[jakee 1,489]

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L model Blackhawks would be much faster. Lightly loaded, I doubt they'd take more than minute to altitude.

How long d'ya think it takes a Porter to get to 2k with only one passenger in it?

Did make a breakdown of the average jump cycle for that day? Like; wheels up to exit X seconds, exit to feet on the ground y seconds, feet on the ground to wheels up Z seconds?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[kelpdiver 2]

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Jay was grounded for a medical check at one point and then had an off landing that ate up some time also I understand. 650 might be possible but not too much more then that shy of teleporting to altitude.

2 mins a cycle gets you 720. It's pretty improbable to have a perfect night, but 700 still lets you blow off 40 minutes.

I think you'd need a jumper and a crew who had already done a few of these marathon sessions to have a shot at that sort of perfection.

[airtimebabe24 0]

i heard the camera crew there rocked. some guy who really knows what he's doin....

"The most wasted day of all is that upon which we have not laughed..." Nicholas Chamfort.

[nbblood 0]

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L model Blackhawks would be much faster. Lightly loaded, I doubt they'd take more than minute to altitude.

How long d'ya think it takes a Porter to get to 2k with only one passenger in it?

Did make a breakdown of the average jump cycle for that day? Like; wheels up to exit X seconds, exit to feet on the ground y seconds, feet on the ground to wheels up Z seconds?

I don't think it takes long at all. Neither does the PAC. I think a Blackhawk L would beat them both there though. And when we're talking about 2 minutes wheels to wheels, even a few seconds would make a big difference. I've been in a lightly loaded Blackhawk that got to 12K in 5 minutes. I'd say that's faster.

Blues,
Nathan

If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

[DSE 5]

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Maybe if they go lower on the jumps, they can make several more jumps... And also planes always gets faster and stronger..

The jump altitude cannot go lower and be legal. Hence the reason for the 2.1K, to assure that Jay had dumped before 2K.

The medical grounding was very short, less than 5 minutes, so that would account for 3 jumps or so. The "getting lost" on jump 599 was a much bigger deal, costing several jumps.

Helicopters might get to altitude faster, but can't come down nearly as fast, and having 3 helos in the air is 3 times the risk to the a/c and the jumper, yeah?

[Foggy 0]

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how do you come down that fast and go back up that fast? I am confused.

One at a time was the basic premise. The aim was to average about a 2 minute turnaround from feet entering the a/c to feet touching down. There was a huge support team behind the scenes packing, catching the rig on touch down, putting the new rig on (including a gear check), a safety guy in the a/c for seat belt etc. # aircraft and pilots. All Jay had to do was exit, deploy, land and run to the a/c with a new rig Oops forgot to mention he pulled some kind of muscle in his leg about 8hrs in but kept going.
I was on the midnight watch timing when his feet touched the ground to entering the a/c. He averaged 17-18sec except for jump 599 which has been discussed elsewhere.

[labrys 0]

The 9/19/06 Skydive Radio podcast has a great interview with Jay Stokes:

http://www.skydiveradio.com/showdetail.htm

Owned by Remi #?

[Zing 2]

God help me, but if I were ever going to get involved in another one of these, I'd shoot for 700 jumps. Here's what I'd do.

1. Find someone who has MORE of whatever Jay Stokes has in him to be able to endure the physical job. I, honest to god, don't think I've ever seen a more spectacular display of focused eye-on-the-goal effort. It would kill a normal man. At the end, Jay was beyond any mere physical endurance. Jay has said he's done now.

2. Have a minimum of 4 PAC 750s on hand. All must be capable of keeping up with the two we used last time, ie: fresh, strong engines, new tires, fresh brake overhauls, all internal and external lights working, etc. As pilots, we beat the shit out of those poor airplanes ... we didn't damage them, but when cranking 2 min 24 sec. turnarounds for hundreds of takeoff/landings, it takes a toll a "normal" jump plane might see after months or years of use. I’d consider finding a well-maintained grass field to save wear on the aircraft. The asphalt runway made landing distances longer and brake use more intense. I saw more than one set of red-hot brakes the last time.

3. Have 2 qualified pilots on hand for each airplane. By qualified, I mean able to operate the aircraft at maximum performance, day or night, for 2-hour-plus sessions. Jay was not the only one suffering from the wear and tear of doing the deal when it was done. I, personally, hadn’t flown a Porter for a year or two prior to the last record. I had sore leg, back, shoulder and arm muscles for about four days after it was done. I think I flew about 5.5 hours and averaged 26 or 27 loads per hour, just barely within the required turn time. The PACs were faster, and could carry more fuel than the Porter while making better times. I believe the PACs often carried a lot of fuel not needed for the two-hour flight profile.

4. One airplane and one crew of two is “standby” for immediate start-up in the event of an aircraft problem. Lousy duty for the crew and the aircraft owner won’t be happy (well, maybe they would be after they see what happens to the other three planes over that 24 hours) but without a back-up … the deal’s off. Flight schedule would be for two-hour flight times, but I would let the pilots call the end time because the airplanes get faster as the fuel burns out and the fastest turn times tend to happen toward the end of a pilot’s shift. That would mean trying to average 2-minute turn times and every time a load finishes quicker, it’s time in the bank when the unexpected costs the effort a few minutes … health check, bad spot, broken airplane, etc.
After the sun sets, I’d consider cutting the flight time to 1-hour shifts. With six pilots, it would be possible to schedule shifts that don’t force pilots to stay awake for 24 hours. I flew mostly at night on both attempts I participated in. Repeatedly diving toward the pitch black corner of that Indiana farm field was sublimely surreal, and frightening. I can only imagine what the safety person riding in the back thought of the descents … though I did hear a bit of screaming from the back of the Porter a couple times. The PACs’ descents were equally, um, exhilarating.

5. Gather as many of Jay’s rigging, safety and ground crew as possible and hire Jay to ramrod the project. If there is anyone who knows how to get it done right, he’s the man to talk to.
I’d want one week with the crew for training. I could mention dozens of details, but for brevity, more identical rigs. Jay had 29, but 40, or even 50, would take pressure off the rigging crew. They worked like dogs, never packed a single malfunction and got little in return but Jay’s gratitude and my respect. More time to train the flight crews and let them practice, both day and night flying, overall crew co-ordination and, as always, discover as many of those unanticipated things that come with an all-out effort like this. The reward of accomplishing the goal is incredible, but, at the same time, the potential for disaster cannot be ignored.

Okay, who’s going to volunteer to sponsor it?

Zing Lurks

[DSE 5]

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Jay has said he's done now.

Don't bet on it.

[Travman 6]

On the same day Neil Fergie did 50 jumps in Australia, I think he was finished by mid afternoon.
He was using a C182

[Zing 2]

I don't believe I'd ever bet against Jay!

Zing Lurks

[Kynan1 0]

I'm calling bullshit. He probably did 10 skydives and just paid 15 people to verify the story.