Shinji Hain, skydiver at 9
MISSION Beach's Shinji Hain became Australia's youngest skydiver yesterday when he jumped out of an aeroplane above his hometown to celebrate his ninth birthday in adrenaline-pumping style.
"It’s better than Wet n’ Wild Water World and I think it’d be better than Sea World, Movie World, Dream World and all of that," the primary school student told The Cairns Post on touch-down.
The pint-sized thrill seeker jumped with his father Bruce Hain, alongside his mother Yoko Yasui, two "uncles" and his godfather.
Mr Hain, a longtime tandem master, said his son had been keen to take the plunge for a while but it wasn’t until Australia dropped its 12-years age limit for skydiving that his dream could be realised.
"We’re very proud. We had a ball on the way down," Mr Hain said of the tandem jump from 4.2km above Mission Beach.
Shinji’s freefall lasted 60 seconds.
"It was great… I was out (of the plane) first and you get lots of breeze and then I could see lots of stuff while we were coming down," he said.
"But it was scary too… I feel great."
A nervous Shinji was told by his father that fear was perfectly natural.
"I let him know if he’s not scared going out the door something’s wrong," Mr Hain joked as the family celebrated with friends on the beach yesterday afternoon.
Shinji, a Mission Beach primary school student, has grown up around skydiving.
His mother has also worked as an instructor, and spent years in the sport.
Ms Yasui said it was only a matter of time before her son took the plunge, and to see her partner and son sharing his first jump had been amazing.
Australia’s skydiving laws changed last year, allowing children who fit into the standard skydiving harness to take on a tandem leap.
Mr Hain said growing up in the sport was an obvious advantage.
"He’s always been around it, he can sometimes see me parachuting (on to the beach) from the school ground at lunchtime and he did about 10 jumps before he was born," he joked.
From 9 to 101: view video of 101-year-old's skydive in Cairns
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Tandem thrill: Nine-year-old Shinji Hain, strapped to his father, Bruce Hain, skydives into the record books yesterday. Pictures: BIG BLUE OFFICE
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