Airborne Petawawa joins world record attempt on World Skydiving Day

New to the Ottawa Valley, skydiving company Airborne Petawawa was looking to add their name to the book of world records Saturday.

July 13 marked World Skydiving Day and in the spirit of the day, the free falling community came together to set the record for most skydives completed across the world in a single day.

"Basically, it's the number of jumps done in a single day all over the world," Airborne Petawawa's dropzone manager and lead tandem instructor Aria Vela told CTV News Ottawa.

"Solo jumpers, students, whatever you are, and actually a tandem skydive counts for two jumps."

The allure of claiming part of a world record drew out seasoned jumpers and first timers to the Pembroke Airport Saturday.

"I get right jacked up adrenaline-wise, right before and during, it's great," said skydiver Adam Favero, a former military member who estimates he's completed 50 jumps.

"I kind of get that open state of mind where you don't really think about too much going on, except that you're in the moment doing it right now. And that's really all you can think about. And on the way down, it's just going for the ride, like it's exhilarating."

Airborne Petawawa says they jump from 12,500 feet high. During tandem jumps, pairs freefall for roughly one minute before the parachute is released around 6,500 feet. It then takes about five minutes to sail back down to the ground for landing.

"I think they want to face a fear and feel that freedom after you face a fear," says Vela on why people decide to skydive.

Airborne Petawawa's instructor says she has completed over 3200 jumps in her career, and she'll be upping that tally as they look to make a significant addition to the world record.

Sonya McCormick made the drive from Bancroft to Petawawa to skydive for the first time Saturday.

"I was excited and did pretty well until I was driving here. And then I was getting a little nervous, but now I'm quite excited," she told CTV News.

"It's the door monster," McCormick said. "A lot of people have their fear about that initial ‘out the door’ moment. So that’s my fear right now."

McCormick says her inspiration to jump came from a bucket list she made for herself years ago.

When her 53rd birthday arrived not long ago, so did the moment to take the leap of faith.

"You can't even describe the freefall," she said after landing from 12,500 feet. "And then when the chute went out, it just slowed down and everything was beautiful."

Saturday's world record attempt was the first ever attempt for such a record, therefore no benchmark had been previously set. After official tallies are counted from around the world, the new record will be set.