Golden Knights drop in during 2009 Airpower over the Midwest Air Show

Published Sept. 24, 2009
By Senior Airman Andrew Davis
375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- At 13,000 feet above the earth, buildings, roads and even the enormous 747 Dreamlifter sitting on the runway start to look like small specks.

At that height seven members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Gold Team prepare to jump. On hands and knees, precariously close to the edge of the aircraft, Army Sgt. Daniel Cook motions to his crew chief to make a couple of minute corrections to make sure they are over the hot zone.

Then with a one, two, three ... see ya, he jumps out the door to a rush of wind and disappears off into the sky.

Sergeant Cook, the narrator for the team, is one of seven members of the Army Golden Knights Parachute Gold Team who performed this weekend at the 2009 Airpower over the Midwest Airshow.

"We are a self sustained unit whose job is to showcase the Army's capabilities to the American public," said Sergeant Cook. "We come from all over the Army from a variety of MOS's (Military Occupation Specialties), ranks and backgrounds."

During the show, the team performed four separate maneuvers, which demonstrated their ability while falling at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour.

"During the show the team does four maneuvers, said Sergeant Cook. "The first one is a baton pass, which two jumpers exit the aircraft separately and exchange a 14-inch baton mid-air, second is the cutaway, which demonstrates what would occur if the primary parachute failed, third consists of the diamond track which shows the amount of lateral movement a jumper can obtain during free fall, the final maneuver is the diamond formation where four jumpers maneuver their bodies within inches of each other to form a diamond."

Being a self-sustained unit gives the team many distinctive advantages.

"This team is unique in the way we operate and travel. We get to basically tour the country and do what we love every day," said Sergeant Cook. "We perform at airshows and other events on an almost weekly basis during the summer months."

During the down season the Gold Team works on fundamentals and trains for the upcoming season.

Sgt. Reese Pendelton said, "We train basically nonstop year round. Whether it's training the new soldiers or perfecting our skills for the next season it's what we do and what we love.

"The hard part isn't jumping from the aircraft its landing on the target. It can take months to perfect that, factoring in wind speed, altitude and weather conditions."

In addition to performing at the airshow, St. Louis native Staff Sgt. Steven Robertson had the chance to jump into Busch Stadium on Sept. 18.

"This was a great opportunity for me," said Staff Sergeant Robertson. "Jumping onto the field was amazing in front of my hometown it was definitely a unique opportunity and a great chance to show the public what we do."

The Gold Team is one of the five teams that encompass the Army Golden Knights Parachute Team. Since 1959, the team has been known as the ambassadors of the Army, parachuting at more than 15,000 shows in all 50 states and 48 countries.