General
In August in Kapowsin, WA, POPS (Parachutist Over Phorty Society) jumpers made the first POPS 8-planes, two in a row. The oldest jumper in the second one was Lenny Aikins, 73. His first 8-way was done on July 6, 1978.
Jumpers in docking order were:
Gary Young
Chas Bunch
Lance Aikins
Lilian Goodin
Erling Olson
Jeff Farrington
Larry Chernis and
Tommy Lentz
Records and events
In Netheravon, England, Royal Marines jumpers organized 17-way diamond and cameraman Simon Ward docked in below the others. The 18-way was made in Netheravon, England in April. The record jump was done on the first attempt. They jumped from Islander and a Lynx helicopter.
In Lobors in Buenos Aires, Argentina, jumpers made a 10-plane. That was a new South-American record. Jump was done in May.
Also a new Nordic record was jumped in Helsinki, Finland. Finnish jumpers built a 12-plane on the second attempt in August.
Lori Barttlet from the USA organized two female records in October. Jumpers first built a 15-plane and then a 16-plane. The last record formation was held for 22 seconds before it funneled. They held the 15-plane for 46 seconds. Place was Madera, CA.
Competitions
Chiangmai, Thailand was the place for the Third World Championships in CRW. Competition was held from April 1st to April 11th. US team ”Quantum Leap” won the rotation and France won the sequential. Team Australia won 8-speed (fourth 1984, bronze 1986 and silver in 1988). In 8-speed only France and Australia built all four formations in time. The competition jumps were made from helicopters.
The US rotation team also set a new record – 16 points in two minutes working time. They used new AR-7 mains. The same team improved their record by one point in the US Nationals in July.
The first CRW competition in Russia was held. There was only one event, rotation. Two military teams took part in the competition.