An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May / June 2023 www.military.ie/magazine 18 | spor t parachute in Ireland, the ISC owned Paracommander. Again, there were no great discussions with those watching the jump from the ground. But I did learn for the f irst time that a parachute drop was planned for a DF display in Mallow Racecourse on the 28th of June and that familiarisation jumps, both for the pilots and I, would continue. I carried out four subsequent jumps at Baldonnel between the 10th and 15th of June, increasing the height and freefall until a f inal jump on the 15th from 7,000f t with a freefall of 30 seconds. Flying at that height was interesting for the pilots as they did not normally f ly helicopters so high. During those days in Baldonnel I was welcomed into his rigger 's shop by the Air Corps parachute rigger, Sg t Matt Hanley. Matt was responsible for the packing and maintenance of all Air Corps parachutes including that in the ejector seat of Cadet Ronald McPar tland. I was also privileged to f ly in a Vampire T55 piloted by Capt Ken Byrne, but thank fully with no need to use the ejector seat. The DF display took place in Mallow Racecourse on the af ternoon of the 25th of June. Capt Tom Croke was the pilot, and he f lew the aircraf t from Collins Barracks Cork. The drop was from 5,500 feet with a freefall of 20 seconds, during which I used red and green smoke canisters. Unfor tunately, the freefall and smoke were lost on some of the spectators since ground to air communications were not the best, and it was only as I opened the canopy that I saw crowds rushing out from the grandstand to obser ve the jump. At least the accurac y was acceptable; landing in front of the grandstand, and the precedence of a DF parachute display had been established. Unfor tunately, and inexplicably by today 's practice, no photographs were taken of any of the jumps. Perhaps it would have been tempting for tune with such a novel and potentially risk y initiative. Aftermath I was posted to UNTSO shor tly af ter wards. In the meantime, the Para Cumann Míleata (PCM) was established at the Cadet School by Capt Des Travers and Lt Con McNamara. Initial instruction was provided by friends from the ISC, notably by its chief parachuting instructor, the late Tony Moore, Tom Kellett and Tom Colley. I maintained tenuous continuit y with PCM activities as my old-fashioned C9 parachute was taken over by Con McNamara, albeit that he was never too convinced of its per formance. Parachuting in the DF bears hardly any relationship with those early jumps, and it would be invidious to even include current capabilities, both spor t parachuting and operational parachuting, by the ARW in the same sentence. Never theless, a star t had to be made. And to complete the stor y of early f irsts, 2022 was also the 40th anniversar y of the f irst Reser ve Defence Force (RDF ) parachute jump. It was made over Gormanston Camp on the 5th of July 1982 by Lt Richard Hodson 11th Mot Sqn, while instructing on a DF parachute course. At least I knew something about the discussions surrounding that jump, as by then I was a staf f of f icer in Training Section, Chief of Staf f 's Branch, DFHQ. DID YOU KNOW ? The Defence Forces now has their own Spor ts Parachuting Display Team, progressing DF parachuting as an operational capabilit y, an adventure training activit y, a competition spor t and as a public relations tool. The Black Knights, drawn exclusively from An Para-Chumann Míleata (PCM), is a remarkable group of highly skilled individuals who regularly showcase their exper tise at the Bray Air Show, DF open days and other public events. With precision and skill, they per form many highly rehearsed jumps that captivate spectators. These fearless soldiers undergo rigorous training in order to per fect their techniques and ensure maximum safet y during each jump. Dressed in their distinctive black jumpsuits and with their Tri Colour parachutes they symbolise professionalism, precision and courage. The team is currently organised, trained and administered by a small, core group of dedicated individuals who possess the necessar y skills and internationally recognised qualif ications to conduct parachuting to the highest standards. Their per formances clearly demonstrate the elite capabilities of Ireland's Defence Forces and showcase the huge skills that can be acquired when you choose a career in the Defence Forces. To see a great video of some of our ver y own Defence Forces Black Knights practising freefall jumps for an upcoming event, just click on the link. This excellent video was created by Cpl Paul Kelly from the DF Air Corps. DF Parachuting course boarding the AW139 for their freefall jump Three members of the legendary Black Knights perfecting their landing DF members about to be collected at the Bray Air Show for their jump

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