Doug Hendrix calls himself a weekend skydiver. But, earlier this month, he took it to a new level. Hendrix, who’s from Storrs, made what is believed to be a new state record -- 100 jumps from a plane in one day.
On June 16, beginning just after 5 a.m. at Ellington Airport, Hendrix squeezed in 100 jumps while the sun was out. The previous unofficial record was 61. It took him 13 hours with a team of five parachute packers helping throughout the day, a safety coordinator, two pilots and one Cessna 182 Skylane airplane. While what he accomplished was exceptional, he says skydiving doesn’t have to be.
“Everyone who skydives has two reactions, really. It’s, ‘I loved it, and I want to do it again,’ or, ‘I loved it, and I’ll never do it again.’ But people don’t go up and jump and say, I regretted skydiving.”
Hendrix is 27 and a member of the UConn skydiving team. He fundraised for the effort, and proceeds went to the Ellington Fire Department.
See a video of his day of jumps below.
Video by Dave Wurtzel
Videography by Dave Wurtzel, Joe Amon, Mike Dunphy
