‘Neighbours’ in the sky

By Emma Sun
FINALLY, the Commandos hit the millennium. About 9000 jumps were done at Pakenham in 2000 and the membership for the club hit 130 with around 30 instructors on roster.
The ‘Neighbours’ crew returned to shoot a tandem-based storyline.
Commandos member Michelle Dods went to Chicago for a 300-way attempt, which ended up being a 286-way.
Jim Brierley, believed to be the oldest skydiver in the world, achieved 3000 jumps.
Team Adrenaline – Rob Simunic and Craig Timble, won the right to represent Australia in Skysurfing in Spain. However, due to the challenging nature of skysurfing, it was eventually dropped as a competition discipline.
Canopy relative work made a comeback with a 100 canopy world record. Ex-Commando jumpers were part of two new Australian records in 2009, first a 26-person formation, then a 36-person formation.
Jumpers started experimenting with ‘wingsuit flying’ which consists of a suit with built-in wings designed to maximise horizontal movement in freefall.
“People are having fun with swooping and faster landings,” Brian said.
“A lot of our members have been getting into canopy relative work. It’s coming back in a big way.”
Eleven Commando jumpers then had the privilege of making a national record for the largest Australian freefall formation, with 112 jumpers in total linking arms.