Largest head down - vertical skydiving record

The largest head-down vertical formation skydive was achieved by a team of 164 skydivers above rural Ottawa in Illinois, USA, on 31 July 2015. The record was organized by Skydive Chicago (USA) as part of their Summerfest 2015 event.

Seven aircraft flying in tight formation at 19,700 ft (6,004.56 m) released the 164 participants, who had to enter into a head-down position then join up and maintain a group formation. The design chosen was a large flower-like arrangement, achieved despite participants plummeting at speeds up to 386 km/h (240 mph).

It took the international team 13 attempts to beat the previous record, set back in 2012 with 138 skydivers.

The record was approved by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) under the performance records sub-class G2 for parachuting performance.