Remember when skydiver Wendy Smith jumped from 25,000 feet over the Abel Tasman last month?
Well, it turns out her jump was 2,000 metres short of the one Kevin 'Cotty' Cottrell did in the Manawatu nearly 40 years ago – which remains New Zealand's highest ever skydive.
Pioneering skydiver Kevin 'Cotty' Cottrell in 2013, with a picture of himself before his record-setting skydive in 1976. Photo: Warwick Smith / Stuff.co.nz
Cotty tells Susie Ferguson he was a “wee bit shocked” when he heard his 1981 record had been broken with a jump of 25,000 feet.
“I thought she would have had enough experience to look around a wee bit and ask about what happened in the past.”
Cotty started skydiving in 1969, inspired by the World War II films he loved as a boy in which paratroopers would leap into the dark from thundering Lancaster bombers.
“For some reason, high altitude and night jumping sort of took my fancy.”
His record-breaking jump was made in a Cesna 402 – which was in the middle of a refurb and had all of its fixtures stripped out. This made the plane very light, but very, very cold.
“On this particular jump, I was hoping to get between 30,000 and 35,000 feet.
“We dropped two other chappies off at 20,000 feet and by the time we came around again and did another circuit to gain as much altitude as possible the aircraft inside started to freeze.
“If you took your glove off and touched the floor of the aircraft your hand would just instantly stick to the floor.”
It was a stunning, clear day when he made the jump, he says.
“We made three circuits to gain altitude and I was amazed at each time we came around to the particular same spot the earth was flattening out and by the time it got to 29,000 ft you looked out the aircraft door and it was just completely flat and all you could see was the slight curvature of the earth.
“It was a beautiful day, a beautiful sunny day with clear sky blue sky up above.”
Cotty also holds the record for New Zealand's highest skydive at night, he says.
“I finally set this one at 24,000 feet … so I claimed that record and hold it to this day.”
