posted Aug 19th, 2010 - Skydive DeLand hosted an event last weekend that was related to the new Skydiving Museum that the Unites States Parachute Association (USPA) is building in Virginia. The event was celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the unique high-altitude jump that Joseph Kittinger did in 1960.

The high-altitude jump from 102,800 feet still stands as the world record, 50 years later. Joseph Kittinger made the record jump from hot-air ballon called Excelsior on August 16, 1960. He fell for four minutes and 36 seconds and reached a maximum speed of 614 mph before opening his parachute at 18,000 feet.

The anniversary of the record jump was combined with a fund-raising event for the Skydiving Museum, which includes a Skydiving Wall of Fame. One of the highlights of the event in DeLand was a banquet Saturday evening where several skydiving celebrities and historical VIPs officially received their spot on the new Wall of Fame. Former 8-way world champion Jerry Bird will represent the FS competitors on the Wall of Fame and was present to accept his honor.

The event also included a boogie at the dropzone on Saturday and Sunday. One of the major projects was a sequential 50-way, including a K in the center of the formation. The 50-way honored the anniversary, and the K stood for Kittinger.

Big-way expert, World Team founder and 400-way world record organizer BJ Worth was in charge of the design and the execution of the special project. He is also the organizer of the annual Kaleidoscope Dives at SkyQuest.

The participants of the 50-way donated $1,000 for the slot to the Skydiving Museum at the same time. BJ Worth had several of his experienced Kaleidoscope Divers in the 50-way lineup who could help the project with their skills and experiences. BJ Worth himself could not jump, as he currently recovers from a shoulder injury.

Kittinger 50-way at Skydive DeLand, video by Bill Schmidt

Solly Williams, who had just returned from his successful coaching jobs at the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2010 in Menzelinsk, Russia, filled an open slot just at the right time.

He reported that the final attempt on Sunday eventually succeeded with a complete 50-way and the follow-up maneuvers to show the K in the center of the formation. The video begins with a special maneuver by Golden Knights 8-way team captain Brian "BK" Krause who had also just returned from Russia where his team won the 8-way silver medals for the US Army.

He was heading a rather large Golden Knights delegation at the Kittinger event in DeLand, including several of his 8-way team members. The Golden Knights provided smoke during the freefall and had additional parachuting demos when they were not in the air for the 50-ways. Local videographer Bill Schmidt provided the video of the 50-way.