1960s movie puts the focus on jumping

The 1969 movie The Gypsy Moths went down a treat with SA’s still emerging skydiving community. Not only was the feature film’s aerial footage an inspiration in an era when freefall movies were a rarity but the movie, playing on Adelaide’s big cinema screens, also gave the sport a valuable profile boost.

While the Metro Goldwyn Mayer movie, starring Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr and Gene Hackman, played to the then still prevalent “daredevil / barnstorming” image of parachuting, it nevertheless helped our early promotions. The SASPC mounted a foyer display in the old Metro theatre in Hindley Street during the movie’s run.
A digital copy of the original film is safely tucked away – highlights were available for viewing at the SASPC 50th in 2011.

»» In the meantime, here’s taste of the movie action »»

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Skydiving's origins: Col Parsons looks back

If anyone is qualified to reflect on South Australian skydiving's 50 years it has to be veteran parachutist Colin Parsons.

An active jumper right from the kick-off in November 1961 until 1995, when he had a hip replaced, Col has witnessed all of the sport's progress.

As chief instructor for the SASPC for many years and later as founder and CI of the State's first truly successful commercial operation, Skysport Parachute Centre, Col introduced many hundreds of South Australians to skydiving.

In this extensive interview Col looks back on the birth of the sport and the  characters who got it off the ground. Sadly, Col died in 2018.

Parachuting pioneer at home in the sky

Brian Brown’s aviation career had humble enough beginnings – he was one of the young, adventurous few who jumped at Aldinga in November 1961, launching the new sport of skydiving in South Australia.

Brian was one of the early “naturals”, excelling at the brand new art of baton-passing (the precursor of relative work) and devoting all of his spare time and enthusiasm to the sport.

Places in national and international teams in the early 1960s were an obvious recognition of his talent.

But his feel for the air really blossomed after he joined the Royal Australian Airforce, flying helicopter gunships in Vietnam and, later, Mirage fighters.

But despite those diversions, Brian continued to jump.

Trev Burns makes it to the top

Thirteen must have been SA parachuting pioneer Trevor Burns' lucky number.

Nineteen year-old Trevor, one of those who made skydiving history with a step into space over Aldinga on November 19, 1961, was the thirteenth student to jump  that weekend. He went on to be a leading advocate of the young sport.

Trevor set up his own parachute club and commercial centre, edited and published the sport's national magazine, served on the board of the Australian Parachute Federation and was the APF National Safety Officer and later the Department of Transport's  inspector of parachuting and a number of other air sports.

Freefall photography the hard way

While every second jumper these days seems to carry a video camera or a GoPro, freefall photography in the 1970s was a rarity. And those shooting movies were in a distinct minority.

One of the few Australian jumpers shooting 16 mm film and the only SA jumper making movies of any kind in those days was SASPC's Bernie Keenan. Most amateurs were limited to the lower resolution 8 mm home movie format but Bernie, a television news cameraman with Adelaide's ADS7, could access state-of-the-art equipment through his work.

Paracommander ushers in a new era

You're looking at a revolutionary canopy. As the 1960s merged into the 70s, trading up to a Paracommander was akin to downsizing to a 120.

For those SA jumpers who came to skydiving on military surplus C9 canopies ( little more than umbrellas with a couple of holes cut in them) the advent of the PC was groundbreaking.