They activate a smoke canister attached to one of the jumper’s foot brackets.
That means it’s time to go.
They’re thousands of feet above the ground, the whirring of the plane filling their ears.
Smoke comes out, signaling the people below that they’re ready to jump out of the plane.
It’s known as an “early burn”, according to the Navy’s website.
The parachute team is sometimes more than two miles up and the smoke helps the people below see where they are.
But they are not regular parachutists.
They are the U.S. Navy Parachute Team, more fondly known as the Leap Frogs.
They’ve all come from somewhere, somewhere not many people can even get to.
All of the U.S. Navy Parachute Team are either Navy SEALs or Special Warfare Combat Crewmen (SWCC) who will go back to their units after a three-year commitment to the Leap Frogs.
The team performs all over the world, and they have performed in the past at the Coronado Fourth of July celebration, including at the 75th anniversary.
But even though this is what they do, what the audience sees doesn’t come easy; it requires a lot of collaboration behind the scenes.
Debbie Balsley is the liaison between the Fourth of July committee and the Leap Frogs, and this is her second year coordinating with them.
Balsley herself flew as a Navy pilot and now works as a commercial pilot.
“They’re amazing to work with because they are obviously professional performers,” Balsley said.
But Balsley isn’t just working with them.
She works with the Coronado Golf Course, the city and with a pilot to secure a plane to drop off the Leap Frogs on Independence Day.
Balsley said they normally rent a plane out of Lake Elsinore to jump out of, and it’s no different this year.
With the parachute team performing in the air and landing on the golf course, Balsley has to plan out every detail— from getting a plane in the air to making sure the team has a large enough area to land.
This year, Balsley planned for it to be closer to the water on the 16th fairway, and had to incorporate the landing space with the script she’ll receive from the Leap Frogs.
“While they’re jumping, we can be talking about what they’re doing, if they’re doing their tricks,” Balsley explained.
The script is what they’re doing in the air, but Balsley won’t see it until the day of the performance.
She does do a walkthrough the day before to get a better sense of how the jumps will go, but even that doesn’t happen until all the golfers leave for the evening.
Balsley has a lot on her plate to coordinate the show for thousands to see.
There were 30,000 people that attended the show last year and she estimated that there would be around 35,000 people this year because it will be the 75th anniversary of the Fourth of July parade.
But she said she loves working with them and volunteering for this role.
It’s bringing something to the city for everyone to enjoy and to get excited.
Debbie Balsley
“It’s bringing something to the city for everyone to enjoy and to get excited,” Balsley said.
