Paratroopers set to rain down over Lake Dora once again

ABOVE: Stock photo of parachutist

They’re back! The skies above Tavares will once again be dotted with veteran paratroopers as they descend into Lake Dora. On Saturday morning, May 16, nearly 200 veteran jumpers from the Phantom Airborne Brigade will awe onlookers during a training jump.
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Members of the brigade will jump from the Tico Belle, a World War II C-47 Skytrain flown by Valiant Air Command in Titusville. The vintage aircraft’s history includes dropping paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne into Normandy on D-Day, participating in Operation Market Garden in Holland, and supporting the Berlin Airlift. Since the Tico Belle can only transport 22 combat-ready paratroopers at a time, the plane will make multiple passes over Lake Dora with groups of jumpers.

The brigade’s jumpers include active-duty service members, veterans, a 92-year-old participant, and two paraplegic paratroopers. The first group is scheduled to jump over Lake Dora at approximately 8 a.m., with additional flights passing over the lake about every half hour until around 2 p.m.
Ideal vantage points include boats positioned in designated viewing areas on the lake and the shoreline at Wooton Park, located at 100 E. Ruby Street in downtown Tavares. Free parking is available in the nearby parking garage at 100 N. Sinclair Avenue.

The Phantom Airborne Brigade is a veterans’ organization that gives military-trained Airborne veterans the opportunity to participate in military static-line jumps after leaving active duty. Disabled and combat-wounded paratroopers also take part in the group’s organized jumps. Members include veterans of the 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne, 173rd Airborne, LRRP, Special Forces, 1 Para, Rangers and others.

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