Cypres Demo Team Receives Guinness Record
In May, the CYPRES Demo Team received the official Guinness World Record for Largest Flag Flown While Parachuting. The team set the record when member Ralf Grabowsky flew a 2,607.21-square-meter (28,063.76-square-foot) German flag on July 11, 2017, at the opening ceremony for the CISM World Military Parachuting Championship 2017 in Warendorf, Germany.
The flag, container and counterweight, which totaled 152 kilograms (335 pounds), took 15 people four hours to pack. The jumper flew a 480-square-foot parachute to handle the weight. During the flight, he was in contact with a ground crew that kept him updated by radio on the flag’s unfurling process, which he could not view in full. The team, which is sponsored by Airtec (maker of the CYPRES automatic activation device) provides flag jumps, as well as flag-jumping seminars and consulting services. Interested skydivers can reach the team through its Facebook page.