They jump out of planes for fun -- and broke an Illinois skydiving record in the process

OTTAWA, Ill. — Jumping from a plane, not ideal right? Well, the divers at Skydive Chicago would tell you it’s an experience everyone needs to have.

The skydivers met last week for the first time in three years to attempt record-breaking dives. More than 450 people flew out of their planes into different formations in sizes the world hadn’t previously seen.

Divers flew from 19,000 feet up headfirst, mimicking a Superman flight as they shot toward the ground at 180 mph in a group of 200. They had just 60 seconds to form a predetermined snowflake, unlink hands and deploy their parachutes. Another 250 skydivers coordinated to break the 250-way Illinois state record, one where divers flew parallel to the surface.

Skydive Chicago owner Rook Nelson led the efforts. His skydiving lineage started with his grandfather, who was in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. The stories Nelson’s father heard motivated him to skydive at 16 and start his own school. Then it was Nelson’s turn.

“I don’t know exactly how the story goes, but they tossed me out of an airplane when I was 4 years old,” Nelson said. “I did a couple jumps as a little child, and then I started jumping in 1994 at the age of 14. You couldn’t keep me out of the airplane.”

He’s 27,000 jumps into his skydiving career and loves it as much as the first time he felt the high-altitude air. Don’t ask him his favorite jump because that would be “unjust” to the other 26,999.

“They all create different emotions,” Nelson said. “I can’t narrow it down to just one.”

Between jumps came extended rest, training and preparation. Rook and Co. attempt these records every three years, which includes one year of rest and two years of planning and coordinating.

There’s also the recruiting of skydivers, who must have at least 500 jumps under their belt and two years of experience to participate under United States Parachute Association (USPA) guidelines. It’s not hard bringing back previous divers because they want to do something that never has been done.

“It takes being successful for people that are just starting out to see something like that, so now they have a goal in their skydiving career,” Nelson said. “They want to set world records.”

The divers share Nelson’s view. After a weather delay last Tuesday, 500-plus divers relaxed in the main lobby. They talked about previous jumps, their anticipation for the jump ahead and their wishes to be able to move the clouds away. The divers motivated each other as if they knew one another, but it was quite the opposite.

Emy Delmonaco, 49, and Nick Birkner, 36, shook hands before speaking about their skydiving experience. They were all smiles and ready to talk, indicative of the skydiving community.

“It’s very warm and welcoming because there’s not many people that want to jump out of perfectly good airplanes,” said Delmonaco, who was part of the vertical world record attempt. “It gives you something to look forward to when you first get your license. Your head is in the clouds all the time.”

Added Birkner, a sergeant first class on the U.S. Army Parachute Team, known as the Golden Knights: “All of the other concerns, worries and stressors that you have out there, you don’t bring that here. Everybody does it because they’re passionate about it, and that’s something that you can find common ground with anyone in this building. You can go up and talk to complete strangers and have an exciting, exhilarating conversation with people you’ve never met before.”

Birkner was training to break the 250-way record. It was his first attempt, but he and Delmonaco were thinking about a successful jump. The carpet covering the auditorium’s tile floors had been removed in case champagne was popped open amid a record breaker.

“We are constantly training for these different complex skydives,” Birkner said. “A lot of skydivers at this level, they train to really try to take all those negatives and put them outside the head and focus, seeing it come together and then just making it true.”

The Illinois horizontal-way record was 246 divers, held in part by Nelson’s dad.

Safety is paramount in the preparation. Nelson said he has lost people to skydiving, his father included, so he makes sure all divers go through the correct guidelines. In 2024, the USPA reported nine skydiving deaths in an estimated 3.88 million jumps. It’s a small percentage, but danger is inherent in the sport.

Last Wednesday, the divers went up for a practice jump for the 250 record. When they reached the specific height, they realized there was no oxygen on board for passengers, which required an emergency abort.

“We want to live to jump another day,” Nelson said, “and the longer you’re in the sport, the more you’re going to see and it’s not always the best things.”

After three years of prep, the planes finally flew and skydivers put on their parachutes and looked down at the Earth’s surface, which seems smaller 19,000 feet up. This is where the mind starts to race for participants. Take it from the guy who has done this 27,000 times: He understands the feeling.

“They probably are thinking about everything terrible that can happen, then they start riding up the airplane and it starts to become real,” Nelson said. “A lot of people get the misconception that skydiving is falling, where if you’ve ever fallen off of something, you get that sinking sensation in your stomach. And skydiving is completely opposite.

“The parachute opens and it becomes really quiet and picturesque. You can talk to your instructor, similar to parasailing. I think everybody should try skydiving because it is such a cool thing.”

The Skydive Chicago participants had unsuccessfully attempted to break the records twice since 2015.

“I literally dreamt about this,” Nelson said. “It’d be really cool to win in front of my son (Rocket) to show him what that’s like and to never give up. It (would) complete some unfinished business that we all have because nobody likes failure.

“I can’t control when we’re going to do it. I can’t control if we’re going to do it. But I don’t want there to be any hurdles in the way.”

On Friday, they successfully broke the vertical world record with 174 divers. Looks like the champagne was popped after all.

Nelson grew up 60 miles from Chicago in Somonauk, a small town with a current population below 2,000. Illinois is where the Nelsons became skydiving royalty, so the world record in his home state means that much more.

“It’s not only the home state, it’s my skydiving center and I like doing cool things here, so it’s kind of like a notch on the belt that we’re able to do really cool things in Illinois.” Nelson said. “People think of Illinois and they may think of farming or Chicago, and here we are setting world records.”