They say the phrase is “there’s nothing new under the neon moon.”
Don’t tell that to the Red Bull Air Force as under the third and final supermoon of 2019 rose over the iconic Los Angeles skyline the team assembled from the most accomplished and experienced skydivers in the world marked the occasion as only they can; plunging into the air to get an up close and personal look at the phenomenon while giving the onlookers a show as they buzzed the skyline to their landing.
Donning custom wingsuits that shape the human body into an airfoil that create lift and, with it, “human flight,” the team consisting of: John Devore, Mike Swanson, Andy DeVore with more than 70,000 combined jumps, leapt from a helicopter 4,000 feet above Los Angeles and swooped into the downtown at more than 120 MPH.
“One of the most unique things for me was how far away we exited the helicopter,” said John Devore. “We were over one mile from the actual target. Because of the distance to target, this gave us the opportunity to fly all the way from the outskirts of the city into the heart of it. The feeling of approaching the city skyline from so far back and having to hit our mark within a few feet was one of the most intense feelings of my life.”
The suits, which make the wearer appear similar to a flying squirrel, were fitted with LED lights and sparking pyrotechnics that lit up the night sky as the sun set and the supermoon rose creating one of the most unique backdrops to jump into.
“I definitely take time to appreciate the awesomeness of everything around me,” said Devore. “From the unique view of the downtown Los Angeles skyline to the amazing display mother nature was providing. I always find time to slow my mind down, take a few deep breaths, and soak in how special it all is.”
During their journey, the skydivers one-mile southwestern flight took them into downtown Los Angeles, where they buzzed the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown hotel, which at 1,100 feet, is the tallest building west of Chicago. They then pulled their parachutes at 1,000 feet and landed safely on the city streets below rather than a big open field making the landing far more difficult.
“Typically when scouting a landing you’re not worried about the open air canopy flight and set up to landing,” said Devore. “You typically only have to look at the actual area on the ground. In an urban environment, such as our Supermoon jump, there’s a lot more to scout since the landing area is in 3D. We scouted from roof tops, multiple street angles and even flew our line in a helicopter to get a birds eye perspective of what we’d be faced with. We truly had to map out our entire flight line from the time we deployed our parachutes all the way down to landing exactly where we needed to.”
With over 70,000 jumps combined between the three athletes, Devore still finds a love with each jump. With this jump in particular, he had three favorite parts.
“The first was the moment I exited the helicopter and there was no turning back,” said Devore. “The second was the proximity fly by of the Spire 73 bar on top of the Intercontinental. But my number one favorite part of the jump has to be when all three of us (me, Andy and Mike) landed safely on the ground and we all realized the dream project was a success!”
Say no more John. We are all jealous you flew by the moon too.