sevenhillsblog

Middleton’s Big Demo
By Kim Schuette
This year Middleton decided they wanted to start the summer out BIG.
What better way than to have fun events all day, followed by live bands,
fireworks and of course SKYDIVERS.Middleton’s organizers contacted us. Thru great sales skills of our scheduler/PR person, Rich interest
in Seven Hills was set. Our crack Demo committee Chairman, Jim aka Razz negotiated the deal. We
were selected to be the Skydivers for the event. With a flurry of print and radio advertisement,
Middleton promoted the event.
June 14, started out to be a beautiful day however by 4 pm dark ominous clouds loomed the area
looking very threatening. But our weather wise Demo leader, Jay assured everyone that it was just
an edge of a storm to the south and it would clear in time.
The crew gathered at Middleton-Morey Field FBO. The Daredevil Demo team consisted of Jay, Bill,
Dave and Dean. The support ground crew consisted of Brent, Greg, Kurt, Nathan and I.
We waited out the rain and hail to pleasantly blue skies. The event was still on. Next we needed to
make sure the plane would be able to get from Juneau to Middleton for the event. The rain caused
enough delay in the events that the Demo teams ride arrived right on time. Our fearless Demo team
boarded the plane, waved and off they flew into the blue skies.
With communications from the event planners, the ground crew and demo team 8:25 was selected as
the exit time. Jump run, the sun and clouds all provided the perfect backdrop for our Demo Team.
The crowds could see the team as they exited at 7, 000 feet. They cheered with delight. As the
canopies opened, streamer unfurling and finally the Flag unveiled the crowd roared even louder. As
the demo team approached the landing area one by one in their calculated flights one could hear the
amazement of the crowd as they each artfully landed back on the ground. Seven Hills membership
completed another well done demo.
website: Seven Hills Skydivers of Madison, WI

For the past 12 years Seven Hills Skydivers of Madison, WI demo teams have jumped into their largest venue, the Rhythm and Booms fireworks event at Warner Park in Madison, Wisconsin. As many as 250,000 people view the fireworks with tens of thousands viewing in and around the park. Each demo jump has come off flawlessly with all skydivers landing safely and amazing the crowd each year with their accuracy and mostly stand up landings. This year we received a nice sized sponsorship from Culver’s Corporate and Culver’s of Sun Prairie to help defray our costs. Our ground crew of Kim, Greg, Linda, Sara, April, Sheila and Frank worked the incoming crowd with a booth offering info on the club and how to make a first jump. They continued their team efforts by securing the landing area and providing ground to air communications. Greg got us some pub on WOLX during the jump while April and Frank took some great photos which made a local paper and have also found their way into the office of Craig Culver himself. He loved ‘em!! Who knows where they may be seen next. Razz, Bob, Jay and Rich made the jump from around 7,500. Razz dutifully reminded the three of us to “don’t funnel’ the exit which ‘we’ of course did. You might want to ask Rich for an explanation but don’t expect a good one. After a masterful recovery we all deployed at the appropriate altitudes with Bob flying the American flag and Jay red, white and blue streamers. Razz, doing video, came to the rescue at 3,500 feet, yelling at the guy with the large Culver’s banner that it wasn’t fully deployed. One quick check of the belly bag with the tail of the banner snagged on the zipper fixed the problem quickly.
Demo jumps done properly, especially close to and on the ground, are a great way to promote our sport and our club. More than jumpers are needed to make it a successful event. Hopefully, there are many members in our club who have made making or being a part of a demo jump one of their goals. Though they can be filled with pressure, like any jump well done they bring a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Work on your skills (especially accuracy) and you too may have the chance to funnel an exit in front of thousands of people. I don’t think anyone saw except Razz - and his camera.