General
During the USPA Boogie, jumpers made a 10-10 jump. Ten jumpers exited and built a 10-way star in freefall that was finished by 2 500m, opened high and then built a 10-plane (finished at 1 200 m) on the same jump.
US company Para-Flite introduced the first CRW main canopy – Pursuit 230 – in June.
The first diamond formation in Finland was built by jumpers in Helsinki on the first jump of July the 11th.
The first 9-way diamond was done in Menomenee Falls, WI. Exit altitude was about 4 000 meters and the formation was completed around 1 000 meters. They broke off at 600 meters. The formation was successful on the second attempt. The jumps were done from three Cessna C-182s in August.
The first all female 8-plane was made in Ridgely, MD in November.
Records and events
Jumpers from Issaquah, WA, tried for a new record a few times. The best attempt resulted in a 16-plane in May.
There were two big-plane attemps in England. The better one was only a 12-plane with a mixture of canopies. Also jumpers from South-Africa made a new national record 11-stack.
After the US Nationals, US jumpers built a 20-plane on the first attempt. They held the complete formation for 46 seconds. The rules now required only 30 seconds holding time. Exit altitude was 4 300 meters and the plane used was a DC-3. Jump was made July 1. This is the first official world record.
Competitions
The US Nationals included CRW for the first time. There were teams competing in all three events. A new 8-speed record was set by the silver team; they built an 8-plane in 1’01”.
Lapallisse, in France was the place that held the second World Cup competition. There were all three events: rotation, sequential and 8-speed. Competition was held from July 27 to August 5. There were teams from eight different nations. Also there were observers from Italy, Norway and Finland.
New competition records were set during the World Cup. ”Plane Scared” sequential team from New Zealand scored six points in five minutes working time. They used Comet 228 mains. A rotation record was also set; ”Plane Scared” from New Zealand and ”Crooz” from Australia both scored 21 points in four minutes working time.