Golden Knights

Another rival group of fliers to compete with Team Turbo for the spotlight? What a surprise. The Golden Knights are a team of army paratroopers who spend their days performing at air shows across the nation. Utilizing their skills and training in skydiving and fear-blocking, these army-men have so much precision that they effortlessly land on a mark no bigger than the size of their feet.

At the Homestead, Florida Rodeo where they performed their first demo of the 2012 Air Show season, the crowd went wild when jumper after jumper landed perfectly on a target in the middle of the arena. But a skydiving/basejumping team is nothing without a little play on words or alliteration in their name. “Golden Knights” is both an allusion to the army’s colors (gold and black, with “knight” referring to “night”) and a reference to how the army kicks ass just like the Dark Knight. Again over Homestead, the group combines stunts with pyrotechnics to dazzle the audience with a night show rarely seen done so well. I know as the army they’re trained to be careful and disciplined and everything, but how is flying with a burning flame aimed inches from your chute careful?