BIO
Luther Kurtz
Luther is one of the two jumpers who broke the record. He is the owner of Skydive Harbor Springs and has completed over 7000 skydives. He is also part owner of AivCon Inc., a Northern Michigan based company that owns 8 dropzones in five states throughout the country and a call center based in Harbor Springs. Kurtz started both companies while attending the University of California at San Diego where he earned a BS in Aerospace Engineering. Kurtz uses the trails developed by the Trails Council on a daily basis and is excited to raise money for the trails council and to have set a new world record.
Angela Bishop
Angela is the other tandem jumper who broke the new world record. Angela is Luther's sister and the former manager of the phone center and current co-owner of Taylor Rental in Petoskey www.taylorrentalpetoskey.com/ and has been skydiving for over 5 years. She graduated from Central Michigan University with a BA in teaching and is currently attending Baker college for her MBA. Angela also uses the trails for biking or running on a daily basis.
Michael Craig
Michael grew up in Harbor Springs and is currently a Tandem Instructor at Skydive Harbor Springs. Michael was in charge of quality control of the gear for the two record jumpers. He made sure everything was safe and properly checked prior to each jump. Michael graduated from Denison University with a BA in Political Science and passed the training for his tandem instructor license in early 2009. He has over 1000 jumps. Michael has an interesting story about becoming a Tandem Instructor.
"We Did 105 jumps in 24 hours. After 60 jumps Angela's arm was completly numb and unusable. We had a doctor come out and inspect it and were given the go ahead to finish the record. We did the last 45 jumps with only three arms along with the constant barfing from my sister after almost every landing. She is a real trooper. You can see the video of the last jump on the home page of this website. Thanks to everyone for their support." Luther Kurtz
Skydive Harbor Springs set the world record for completing 105 tandem jumps in 24 hours. A tandem instructor out of Florida set the previous record and he had a crew of 60 people helping him and he was using two large aircraft that normally take 20 skydivers at a time. At skydive harbor springs we use small aircraft with large windows so you can comfortably enjoy your scenic flight around the bay. We set the record with these smaller aircraft and only a crew of 15 people working through the night non-stop to make it happen.
Skydive Harbor Springs hosted a Guinness World Record Event starting June 29th. Luther Kurtz and Angela Bishop broke the world record for most tandem jumps in a 24 hour period. The current record was set last summer at 103 tandem jumps in 24 hours. The event was centered around raising money for the Top of Michigan Trails Council.
Click Here To Donate Money To The Trails Council.
Who.
- Skydive Harbor Springs and staff. Bio of jumpers and staff posted on the left.
- Johan's Pastry Shop will be providing coffee and pastries to keep us going all night.
- Northern Lights Recreation is having the World Record After Party starting at 8pm on June 30th. Come by and have a drink with Angela and Luther and the whole crew. Northern Lights will also be selling food all day at the event. Proceeds of the food sales will help pay for the event so come out and have a meal.
- **Sponsor**
- Top of Michigan Trails Council
- Harbor Springs Airport and Airport Board.
What.
- Guinness World Record Attempt. Current record set at 103 consecutive tandem jumps in 24 hours. Luther Kurtz and Angela Bishop will be trying to do over 104 consecutive tandem jumps in 24 hours.
- Opening of New Airport Terminal at the Harbor Springs Airport
- Opening of New Bike Trail from Harbor Springs Airport into Harbor Springs.
- All night party at the Harbor Springs Airport.
- Grill Food and Soft Drinks available starting at 5:30 on June 29th from Northern Lights Recreation.
- Radio and Television Press for Sponsors.
When.
-June 29th
- 5:30pm Last meal in 24 hours for Luther and Angela
- 6pm starts the first jump of at least 104 jumps.
- All Night party goes all night if you can handle it.
- June 30th
- Northern Lights Recreation will be selling food all day with proceeds going toward the event.
- 5:30pm Record breaking jump with three planes flying in formation
- 6pm Celebrate with Food and Drink from Northern Lights.
Where.
- The Harbor Springs Airport and the Harbor Springs Airport Board have been very generous and have allowed us to Skydive directly onto the Harbor Springs Airport for this event. Our packing tent will be set up to the West of the new Airport Terminal Building. When you pull into the airport you will see the new terminal straight ahead. To the right you will see our Packing tent and jump set up. We won't be hard to find as we will be landing there every ten minutes.
Why.
- To raise money and awareness for the Top of Michigan Trails Council
- To raise awareness of the New Harbor Springs Airport Terminal.
- To have fun.
About The Record
The former world record was set in Florida on April 15th 2009 with 103 tandem jumps in 24 hours. The record holders utilized two "de Haviland Twin Otter" aircraft. These aircraft are built to carry 22 jumpers at a time and can climb at 1500 feet per minute with a full aircraft and much faster with only a few jumpers on board. This would allow the tandem pair to get to the required jump altitude for tandem in only a couple minutes. The Harbor Springs record holders used a small Cessna aircraft that averaged 800 feet per minute and got to the required jump altitude in 6-7 minutes. This gave them a 4-5 minute per jump disadvantage on each jump. To beat the record one would need to do a jump every 13 minutes and 45 seconds for 24 hours straight. With a 4-5 minute per jump disadvantage it was very difficult to beat the record. Angela and Luther were very positive and had been training for the event. Come skydive with us where the World Record was set!