Jump Aerial Summer Session 2, Group 1
Colorado weather has been fairly typical for this time of year with some afternoon thunderstorms, but thankfully the mornings have been beautiful, warm and clear for the newest class of Jump-490 to start completing their first jumps! WebGuy was able to get out to Davis Airfield to capture photos of some of their jumps.
As stated in the Jump Ground blog, Airmanship 490's purpose is to develop leadership traits through overcoming their fears and coping with stressful situations. The program starts with 30 hours of instruction in basic free fall parachuting technique and procedure, to include emergency situations they may encounter when jumping. The successful completion of 5 Jumps results in being awarded the Air Force Basic Parachutist Badge "Jump Wings", which they can wear on their uniform for the rest of their Air Force Career.
AM-490 is the only program in the entire world where the first jump is an unassisted freefall.
Prior to each jump, they will have their jump gear inspected by the instructors, get a final briefing on weather conditions, exiting the aircraft and proper jump technique. Then it is loading time into the Twin Otter Aircraft which will fly them out to the drop zone. AS they walk out of the building they touch the jump wings for good luck. Then they step up into the Twin Otter aircraft that will take them up to the correct altitude for their jump.
The landing zone is fairly large which is great for the jumpers to land in the correct area. But it can make it challenging for the photographer to capture each jumper in the air. They usually don't go where we need them too in order to get a good photo! But hopefully we were able to get some photos of each jumper as they came back to the X in the drop zone to pack up their parachute.
To view photos from today's Jumps, go to Galleries > Airmanship > Jump. At the top of the Jump page, set your photo order OLDEST to NEWEST. Then select your start page (165-190) or click on the link below.
Jump Aerial Summer Session 2, Group 1- pg 165-190 Jump Aerial