10/30/2026
You may have heard that the Hercules C130H is being retired from SAR duty. This long serving beauty of an aircraft has been a favorite tool for SARtechs and skydivers alike. Over the years SDMB jumpers have been given a couple opportunities to step off its ramp. Both to do tandems and even some sport type jumps in the name of coaching.
On October 29th something very special happened in the skies over the Winnipeg airport and 17 Wing. The Herc flew a last load of jumpers for a mass jump into the airfield. There were 13 SARtechs and all four of Manitoba's current tandem instructors. The tandems
were chosen by a lottery from staff at the base. This required a lot of cooperation and coordination from ATC and the airport authority along with hard to get clearances from the chain of command.
SDMB provided the equipment for the tandems along with assisting in ground support. They gave us a 15 minute window where the airport was shut down for what was essentially a demo jump that was without precedent.
The event looked doubtful for a while due to cloud cover, but at nearly the last minute the sky gave them what was needed. All aspects of the event went off flawlessly as the crowd gathered to watch. The SARtechs who organized it were very pleased if more than a little sad about the fine sendoff.
Kelly Morris, Brant Gilley, Raz Malka, and Philippe Pare all preformed wonderfully and will no doubt remember the day for a long time.
