“The whole thing was delightful”: 104 year old woman aims for the world's oldest Skydiver.
Dorothy Hoffner, who first skydived at 100 years old, traded her walker for a skydiving harness and made the 13,500ft tandem jump in Northern Illinois, in the aim of breaking the world record for the oldest skydiver - being set at 103 years old last year.
Inspiring the older generation everywhere, the 104 year old woman from Chicago, left her walker on the ground and took to the skies once more after being helped into a Skyvan, joining other jumpers inside. Dorothy Hoffner exclaimed “age is just a number” as an excited crowd cheered her on.
When the airborne plane opened its door to reveal the fields below, she was calm, confident and fearless. There was no turning back. Walking slowly forward, toes just over the edge with the wind in her face, she did the perfect forward roll out of the plane into a stable freefall, before descending slowly towards the tan coloured fields below.
Over the next seven minutes, both Dorothy and the crowd below watched in awe as she gracefully descended, her parachute guiding her back onto solid ground. An ecstatic crowd was waiting for her, eager to hear all about her experience. When friends and family asked about her descent, she said: ”It was wonderful up there. The whole thing was delightful and couldn’t have been better”
Officials at Skydive Chicago are working to have the Guinness World Records certify Dorothy’s jump as a record. After her jump, Hoffner’s mind quickly turned to the future, and other challenges she wanted to partake in.
The Chicago woman, who will celebrate her 105th birthday in December, exclaimed that she would love to take a ride in a hot air balloon next, as she exclaimed “I have never been in one of those”.
If you have read through this article and are now feeling inspired, why not check out our range of Indoor Skydiving experiences available at multiple locations here at FlyDays. With a variety of iFLY experiences to choose from there is something for everyone.
