Black Team gave Madison, Wisconsin their money’s worth this weekend in front of more than 250,000 spectators. The Team performed a practice jump Friday afternoon and two jumps Saturday. The crowd for Friday’s jump was relatively sparse, but word of mouth travels fast up north and the crowd was unbelievable Saturday! The sight was quite impressive from the air, with every inch of green grass covered with tarps, picnic blankets, and lawn chairs full of cheering fans. After the early evening jump Saturday, the Team loaded up in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and bypassed the heavy traffic, getting back to the airport in no time. They took a quick break to eat some dinner before beginning preparations for the night jump. At 9:10 pm, they exited the aircraft over Warner Park and all eyes turned skyward to watch what appeared to be a meteor streaking toward the earth. Immediately following the night jump, the City of Madison put on a very elaborate fireworks show.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I just want to take a moment to thank the Black Team for coming to Rhythm and Booms in Madison, WI. I was one of the 250,000 who saw both shows. The team was just amazing. I have such respect for what our military men and women do on a daily basis. This team just raised it to another level. The people of the country may not always say how much we appreaciate what you do, but I hope the team realized tonight that we do.
Thank you,
Beth Vandertie
I also want to thank the team for serving our country! The show was amazing, but also quite frightening. One of the parachuters in the second show seemed to be free falling in the air with a tangled parachute. Was this part of the show??? I honestly can’t remember the last time I was that horrified. We really thought the parachuter was going to die until it seemed as though he again regained control (back up parachute?). We were still worried though, as it appeared that he didn’t get the second chute open in time. Please let us know if we are totally off base, we thought for sure we would hear something in the news. Take Care!
Dear Debra,
Thanks so much for your concern about our jumpers! There were no parachute malfunctions or mishaps during the show in Madison…in fact, parachute emergencies are EXTREMELY rare in the sport, particularly for the Golden Knights. Our equipment is checked and rechecked, and we undergo extensive, rigorous training continuously throughout the show season to perfect our skills. One possible explanation for what you saw is this: there are different types of parachutes used by the Golden Knights, depending on the particular mission at hand, and in Madison we used two types. Most of the jumpers were using accuracy canopies, and one jumper was using a smaller canopy since she was shooting video of the formation. The larger accuracy canopies open more quickly, and the smaller canopy opens much slower, and this slow opening sometimes appears like a malfunction, inspiring letters of concern such as yours! There is absolutely nothing to worry about though…the team videographers have thousands of jumps and years of experience, as well as the best equipment money can buy and more training than you can imagine.
We enjoyed Madison immensely, and can’t wait to return next year. Thanks for your support!
-Rachel Medley (Black Demonstration Team videographer and demonstrator)
Hey Rachel,
Thanks for all of your updates. You guys put on a great show. I have a couple of questions for you about some of the past jumps the Black team has done recently. If you could contact me at the email I entered or my site, that would be great.
PS- People just can’t believe my story of flying for the first time with you guys at Janesville!
Thanks,
Mark