Base Jump4Heroes World Record attempt

29 October 2009

Two members of the British Armed Forces leapt hundreds of metres in a Guinness World Record attempt held in Malaysia. The soldiers formed part of a group trying to have 24 people BASE jump every hour for 24 hours and to raise awareness for the Poppy Appeal.  

The record attempt took place from the Menara Kuala Lumpur Tower in Malaysia during 28-29 October 2009. This is the fifth highest communications tower in the World and the largest in Asia. The daredevil BASE jumpers leapt from 915 feet, with up to 6 seconds in freefall before opening their parachutes and floating down to a tip-toe landing in front of the crowds of spectators. They barely had time to eat and drink during the 24 hour event with just enough time for them to safely pack their parachutes before ascending the tower to jump again.

The team included Major Alastair Macartney, the current National Skydiving Champion and part of the Royal Logistic Corps, and Corporal Deane Smith, a Royal Engineer Para Commando who has recently returned from Afghanistan.

Major Macartney sent this first hand report:

"The record attempt is over. Cpl Deane 'Smudge' Smith and myself are quite exhausted.

We had a couple of hours downtime in the afternoon due to thunderstorms. On top of that, one of the participants broke his leg and a number of the jumpers just couldn't take the pace and fell to the side; they underestimated the severity of the stamina required while retaining full concentration. We just heard that we are 34 jumps short of the required number (24 jumpers x 24 hours = 576 jumps). This is, however, a Malaysian and an Asia Record. Only 6 people did 24 jumps or more. Smudge, who has been nursing a back injury since before we left UK, and myself decided to help out and try and do more than the required jumps. He did 27 and I cranked out a whopping 32.

Thirty-two jumps by one person in 24 hours, packing for yourself, is a new record in itself. The previous record was 26. So, while we haven't achieved our Guinness World Record, we have set a new World Record here with Smudge having beaten it with 27 and then my 32!

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