Exhibition parachute team added to card for ‘Wings Over South Texas’

The U.S. Army’s Silver Wings Exhibition Parachute Team has been added to the list of acts scheduled to perform at the Wings Over South Texas Air Show on Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, April 13-14.

The Silver Wings team is the official demonstration parachute team of Fort Benning, Georgia, and is made up of U.S. Army Paratroopers who have demonstrated excellence in parachuting skills, drawn primarily from the 1st Battalion of the 570th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

Organized in 1965, the Silver Wings can trace its origins back to the inception of the Fort Benning Sport Parachute Club (FBSPC) in 1958, which included several members of the Airborne-Air Mobility Department.

The Club performed its first demonstration on Feb 14,1959, when Maj. Thomas Waldie exited a Cessna aircraft at 6,000 feet over the King's School of Aviation in Columbus, Georgia in support of the Columbus March of Dimes campaign. He performed a "figure eight," openeing his main canopy at 2,000 feet.

The Team was initially referred to as the “Problem 5000” jumpers, which evolved into the "Airborne 5000" team.

They remained the "Airborne 5000" for several years until 1970, when the team was officialy renamed the "Command Exhibition Parachute Team" and nicknamed the "Silver Wings."

Today, the mission of the “Command Exhibition Parachute Team,” the “Silver Wings,” is to demonstrate advanced freefall techniques, while being available for research and development of start-of-the-art precision freefall techniques and equipment, and to represent the United States Army Infantry Center and Schools at both on and off post parachute demonstrations and competitions.

Since the first demonstration jump, the “Silver Wings” have inspired countless airborne students and have been ambassadors of the Airborne School, Fort Benning, and the Army throughout the world.

The Silver Wings conduct demonstrations throughout the United States and have jumped into events at Taladega Speedway, Daytona 500, as well as a variety of collegiate-level and professional-level sporting events.

Admission to the Wings Over South Texas Air Show is free. Parking at the air show is also free.

The gates open at 8 a.m. for guests to view the dozens of static displays along the sea wall. The aerial portion of the show begins at 11 a.m.

For more information about the air show, visit the official website at www.wingsoversouthtexas.com or you can check out the official air show Facebook page at www.facebook.com/wostairshow/