Video: Watch this evening’s dramatic full five-minute RAF parachute drop over the Balmoral Show
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team jumped from 7,000 feet above the old Maze prison site to land in the arena at around 6pm, the final moment of the four day agrifood show.
In the video, the 10 parachutists appear as specks high in the sky above Co Down, and gradually become more and more visible, before their dramatic landing on the pitch in front of the viewing stands and the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society members’ enclosure.
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Hide AdThe video also includes an interview with one of the young men who took part in the jump and a senior RAF officer, Air Marshal Sean Reynolds.


The News Letter asks why men so experienced seem relieved after such a straightforward jump and they explain the inevitable risks, which they are always preparing to avoid.
Air Marshal Reynolds explains on video how experienced the team is, and how they use their skills to train special forces in parachute jumps.
“This is a really high end skill, and without these skills our special forces would not be able to do what they do.”
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Hide AdHe jumped with them even as an air marshal, to assess their expertise.


“This is not without risk,” he tells the News Letter. “So there was a bit of shared risk as well.”
One of the jumpers (not on video) explained that the biggest danger is that their parachutes get entangled when in such close proximity during the fall, and they train every day what to do in that eventuality.
Earlier a band of the Royal Irish Regiment performed in the main arena to mark the end of Balmoral, including a rendition of Killaloe, the Regimental Quick March of The Royal Irish Regiment.
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Hide AdVisitor numbers at the Balmoral Show were on course for 100,000 people, the organisers of the event said earlier on Saturday.


While there was a show held last year, it was moved from its usual May slot to September, due to the pandemic, and was still subject to Covid restrictions.
This is the first unrestricted traditional May show since May 2019.
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