In June 2004 , two new world records were established. One was for the most amount of people in freefall in the same airspace at one time and the other for the largest skydiving formation. In total 372 people joined to make a single freefalling piece. Andy Gregory Interviews Marcus Lazer who is a complete freefall addict. Marcus participated in the record and is an AFF instructor at the Freefall University.
How did you become involved in the World Team ?
Before the 372 way my biggest formation had been a 100 way in 2003 . It is very difficult to get into the team, I applied to the German team captain but all the places were full. Most people are invited to be on the team, and if you are on one of the previous World Team jumps, then you automatically get invited onto the next. In the end I filled out an application form and sent it directly to one of the Organisers of the record attempt, Kate Cooper. I luckily was accepted for a place. The previous world record for the largest freefall formation took place in Eloy, Arizona and was with 300 skydivers. This attempt was ambitious and i felt both nervous and excited. For the record to be official we had to state in advance how many people would be in the formation and specify down to a single hand grip of each person how we would be joined together. This meant that if even one person was in the wrong place ( or took hold of a leg instead of an arm , the record was not valid .)
How Did your experience weigh up to that of the other members ?
The least experienced person had around 900 skydives, with the average jump numbers around 4800. I think the average age was about 42 but the youngest was about 20. There were to be 4 planes for this high altitude jump, with oxygen. I was thirty and had about 7000 jumps at the time but was still mindful that this was a big attempt so while excited I wasnt brimming with confidence.
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Tell me about the 672 skydivers jumping for the queens birthday. Thats a lot of people and a lot of parchutes in the air at the same time?
There was a lot of ground 
preparation for the mass freefall jump that we did. We had a lot of advice on the canopy control and safety of the skydive. This World Team was being organized by BJ Worth for the birthday of the Queen of Thailand. The plan was for 672 skydivers to do a mass freefall jump into the grounds right next to the Royal Palace. This included about 240 Thai skydivers. It was the Queen’s 6th astrological life cycle, and her 72nd birthday- hence 672 skydivers. Six Royal Thai Air Force Hercules C-130's dropped the skydivers, every 2 minutes. The air was filled with canopies and everyone had blue and yellow suits with streamers that trailed behind us. I had never done such a demo jump that had no ‘out’ landing areas. In each plane on each pass the skydivers were split into 3 groups, the people who had smaller canopies, then the middle size canopies, then the large 
canopies like the foils that the Thai military skydivers were jumping. It seemed like people were falling past each other because there were so many people in the air at the same time. It was very hot and the landing area next to the Palace was very small, about 3 times the size of a soccer field. It was windy aswell and not everyone managed to land in the right place. Some landed in the street and one person landed in the river. About 50 people got hurt on off landings. It was amazing after the jump though. Somewhere there is a photo of all the rings laying on the ground. About 700 skydiving harnesses all lined up- an awesome sight. Of course after the jump there was a big party...
Then you started your training for the largest formation in the world ?
Yes this was to be in Bangcok. There was a lot of planning to be done if this was both to work and work safely. Once assembled together for the first time we were shown plan. This included a 3D simulation of the break off plan. This was extremely important as it is necessary for each skydiver to have enough space to deploy their parachute safely. The computer made the break off plan look like a huge umbrella, with the skydivers tracking off in waves before deploying. To give you an idea it looked like a huge firework when the skydivers began deploying their canopies. There had already been some training with the base and they had reduced it from a 100 way base to a 70 way base due to some problems that had been occurring. So it was off to an army base where we would be jumping from. There was a huge organisation to look after us. We were transported in 14 coaches with police escorts. Each time we would stop for food and drink the locals were so friendly and helpful, they were very proud to have us in their country. We got to the air base and started to dirt dive ( ground practice ) on the hot concrete floor. The hardest part was the heat, it was about 45 degrees and we all had to be kitted up in our rigs and jumpsuits so that everyone knew what the skydivers around them were wearing. The skydive was based on colour coding so we had to be able to know who was who. We did dirt dives and exit plans and drank lots of water.
Tell me a little about the planes you used and the first training jumps you made.
We were going to be skydiving from 4 Thai Airforce Hercules C130’s. For each aircraft there were 3 crews. There was a regulation that each crew was only allowed to go above 18000ft once per day, so this meant a maximum of 3 skydives per plane per day. For the record we were to be jumping from about 22000ft with oxygen from about 12000ft. Each lift would take about 30-40 minutes to climb to jump altitude.
To start off with we did some 100 ways from 18000ft. At 6 minutes before exit the tailgate of the aircraft opened. At the 2 minute call we all did our final gear checks and got into position. 1 minute, and we tightened up the position in the plane ready for exit. 15 seconds before exit we took off our oxygen masks and then a bell signalled us to exit. Going out of the door was where any injuries occurred. Due to the run in of the aircraft, we were actually slowing down to fall rate. I remember someone had there reserve pulled because another persons hand got caught in their reserve handle. Someone else dislocated their shoulder and a few people got kicks in the face. It was recommended that you wear a helmet...
So the training jumps were fun . I understand this is where some team members were changed ?
We kept training with 100 and 200 ways. There were a few problems with the base, so the 2 outside whacker lines were excluded from 2 of the jumps. This meant that we could do some ‘fun’ 60 ways. We jumped from a Fiat G-222 tailgate from 13500ft and organised the whole thing in about an hour!
The first dive we all did together was a completed 339 way. Then we managed a 380 way, then a 312 way. I was on the sector 7 red section. First we were really fast at building our section and then we got worse. So we changed some slots. Some members for the attempt were changed as they were not experienced enough or had done something very wrong on one of the jumps.
The base should be fast, but the bigger a formation (or in this case the base) the slower it falls. Because this formation was so huge, the fall right on the outside was very slow, about or 98mph. As I was near the outside I wore a big sweatshirt to slow down my fall rate. The problem was that as we were falling so slowly, it was very difficult to move and get into the right place in the formation without falling too fast and then staying in the slot whilst falling so slow.
How co-operative was the weather , a lot of people travelled a long way to make the attempt ?
The weather got bad for a few days and there were fears that we wouldn’t get the formation complete and the record attempt. JC Colclasure and Wendy Smith plus a few others went to have a look at a few other army bases that were having better weather. The problem was finding somewhere that we could jump with a landing area large enough for everybody to land safely. We only had a few days left, so the decision was made to change the structure of the base of the skydive and travel 150km away. We put everything in the planes, all the equipment and we traveled to another army base. We arrived and once again, we dirt dived through the whole thing.
So it was on the last day that you set the record. Tell me about it ?
It was the last day and there was a lot of tension in the air. Everybody was very focused as we knew we had nearly run out of time. I can only describe it as a vibration in the air, everyone was that focused and concentrating. The door of the aircraft opened and we exited. As the formation began to build, there was a good vibe in the air, everyone was very calm- something that had not happened before. I looked at the formation for the first time and it seemed that the formation looked really good, there was lots of time. I think maybe someone was a bit low, but then he made it back to the formation. Someone was maybe in the wrong slot, but then they got to the right one. We held the formation for about 6-7 seconds. It looked amazing, like a huge wok, a dome. All of the colours of the different sections, the red white and blue. On the other attempts, some of the sections didn’t look right, or out of place and unsymmetrical. But this looked really good. The signal for the breakoff was someone in the middle of the formation to pull their parachute.
Break off - Getting away from the formation.
The safety for the break off was very important. Each section had a track leader, who we would follow, and then we would all split after 10 seconds. Then a 2nd pilot chute from the centre signaled the next 2 whacker lines to track and do the same. In each section everyone was organized to pull at different heights in order to gain horizontal and vertical separation. I was pulling about 2200ft, the others pulling higher. This is what created the ‘firework’ effect. The rule was ‘don’t stop tracking’. One time, I looked behind and saw everyone else tracking behind me, towards me! It was important to have a good flat track, but on the initial separation we were told to have a steeper track and then to flatten it out, as if in a curve. So I tracked away and pulled.
Was this the record jump then ?
Once everyone had landed, we were all talking- there were lots of rumors- had we done it?! Everyone got picked up in the trucks and jeeps and each person is thinking that it is a record. There was such a good feeling and we were all willing it to be as we were all starting to get frustrated. I packed my canopy right next to Thai Airforce F-16 fighter jet in the hangar. Then it was just the waiting and waiting. Finally, the Judges came out and told us that we had just completed a World Record. It was such a huge relief and immediately people started drinking beer.
After the record was set.
We travelled back to back to Bangkok the next day. There was a huge party with a show put on for us with Thai dancers and lots of good food and beer… as we entered the city, all 14 buses drove through a huge gate, with a banner that said ‘Royal Thai Sky Celebration’. It was such a huge occasion for everyone involved and the people of Thailand, everyone lined the streets and clapped as we drove under the banner. Some people left that day, but I had 2 days left. On my last night, a friend and I managed to get to onto the heliport of the hotel we were staying in. It was dusk, and we just sat there, watching the sunset and drinking a beer and contemplating on the World Record. An amazing way to finish the trip. Every skydiver on the team learnt so much from these skydives, and the great organization and hospitality of the Thai people were invaluable to us getting the World Record. Since the Tsunami, the World Team are trying to raise some money to help these people that looked after us so well during our time in Thailand. When I got back home I went to see my Grandma for her 80th birthday, and I was so proud to be able to give her my World Record medal as her present. ( Ed: Marcus you sweetie ! ).