Tavares, Florida - Phantom Airborne Brigade will present the Phantom Family Day Water Jump on Saturday, July 23, 2022, at Wooton Park featuring 80 Paratrooper Veterans jumping into Lake Dora.
Phantom Airborne Brigade is a 501(c)(3) veteran’s organization giving military trained Airborne qualified Veterans the opportunity to military static line jump after leaving active duty. We also jump disabled and combat wounded Paratroopers. Our jumpers come from all ranks and Airborne units, foreign and domestic. 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne, 173rd Airborne, LRRP, Special Forces, 1Para, Rangers, and many others.
The jump aircraft is a WWII C-47 Skytrain flown by Valiant Air Command in Titusville, Florida. She is named Tico Belle and dropped Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne into Normandy on D-Day, Operation Market Garden in Holland, and provided support for the Berlin airlift. She can carry 22 fully combat-ready paratroopers.
The first drop will begin over Lake Dora at 10:00 AM, with additional Paratroopers jumping every 20 minutes. There will be 4 flights with a total of 8 passes. Each pass will have 10 Paratroopers jumping simultaneously. The ideal location to view this event is from the shoreline of Wooton Park at 100 E. Ruby Street, Tavares, FL. The parking garage is located at 100 N. Sinclair Ave., Tavares, FL is free and will be open early to the public.
In advance, Phantom Airborne Brigade would like to thank all the City of Tavares government agencies, Lake County government agencies, City of Leesburg government agencies, SunAir Aviation, Kalua Beach Bar, and the volunteer pickup boats. A safe, fun operation would not be possible without them.