DZONE Skydiving reported a series of preliminary Idaho records from high-altitude jumps, highlighting the technical demands of advanced wingsuit and speed skydiving.
DZONE Skydiving reported a series of preliminary Idaho State Skydiving Records after operating two oxygen-equipped, high-altitude loads from its Parma, Idaho, facility on July 25, 2026. The flights reached 17,999 feet, described in the release as the maximum legal altitude ceiling under Visual Flight Rules, while local temperatures exceeded 100°F. The announcement places DZONE® Skydiving at the intersection of recreational aviation, specialist sport and the operational challenge of reaching extreme altitudes in summer conditions.
The records span several disciplines rather than a single performance. The release lists preliminary unofficial marks for absolute altitude, freefall distance and time, wingsuit performance, and speed skydiving. It says the flights carried forward a record-setting history associated with the dropzone when it operated as Skydive Idaho, including marks for the largest canopy formation and largest wingsuit formation. The announcement also states that the new results remain subject to official ratification by United States Parachute Association judges.
Among the listed results, Caitlin Cross, Dan Melody, Slade Sokol and Susan Umberger were credited with an absolute altitude of 18,848 feet above mean sea level, with Cross and Umberger also listed for the female category. Jordan Kerr was credited with a 14,053-foot freefall and 1 minute 30 seconds of freefall time, while Susan Umberger was listed for the corresponding female distances and times. In the wingsuit category, Elijah Weber covered 9,616 metres, or approximately 5.97 miles, in 3 minutes 30 seconds; Slade Sokol recorded a listed speed of 198.9 mph.
The release presents the aircraft’s performance as a central part of the achievement, saying DZONE reached the reported altitude during triple-digit heat when high density altitude can limit aircraft performance. It also describes a wingsuit flight by Weber that lasted 3 minutes 30 seconds and travelled almost six miles over the Parma dropzone. Those details illustrate how the event depended on both athlete performance and the ability to provide a high-altitude launch platform, although the release does not claim that the listed results have yet entered the official state record books.
DZONE owner and official USPA judge Abbie Mashaal said the purpose of setting records was to create opportunities to break them, framing the morning as an effort by local skydivers to extend the possibilities of the sport in Idaho. DZONE says it operates dropzone facilities in Idaho offering tandem skydiving, flight training and sport jumping, supported by turbine aircraft and stated safety standards. Until the USPA ratifications are complete, the announcement’s significance rests on a documented set of performances awaiting formal confirmation rather than on finalised records.
