Navy Leap Frogs plan fall with grace at Westmoreland airshow

Beaver County native Andrew Young and his team members do their best work under a canopy.

It just happens to be a collective canopy they form with parachutes while jumping from a height of up to 8,000 feet above the ground.

If weather conditions permit, Young, 35, and fellow members of The Leap Frogs Navy parachute team will create a descending pattern in the sky above Arnold Palmer Regional Airport Saturday and Sunday, as part of the Shop ‘n Save Westmoreland County Airshow.

Joining forces with the Navy jet demonstration team that is headlining the show in Unity, The Leap Frogs are scheduled to jump from the Blue Angels’ “Fat Albert” transport plane just after noon each day, following the opening ceremony.

“We do a lot of jumps with very large flags, as well as a big focus on canopy-relative work,” Young said of his team’s presentation. “Our focus is on performing formations under the canopy and bringing those formations close to the ground for people to see.”

One of the more exciting maneuvers, he said, begins with two of the team’s nine jumpers locking legs with a third member who is upside down. Then, he said,”They flip their parachutes. It’s a different perspective from the bottom.”

Based in San Diego, The Leap Frogs began their trip to Western Pennsylvania on Thursday, performing jumps and completing outreach visits at two Beaver County high schools — Freedom Area and New Brighton Area, where Young graduated in 2004. For that type of program, he said, the team performs a “more focused jump” while welcoming the opportunity to “interact with the local kids and potentially interest them in a military career.”

While preparing for the weekend airshow, he said, The Leap Frogs are “watching the weather very closely.” Too much cloud cover could prevent them from reaching the minimum 2,500-f00t height needed to safely jump, he explained.

While in training for the show season, the team completes six to eight jumps per day, five days per week, Young said. The team includes ground observers and medical support staff. Young’s role is that of parachute-rigger chief.

As showtime approaches, he said, team members “talk through our performance. We focus on the specifics of every aspect of the jump before leaving the airplane.”

The Leap Frogs, formed in 1969, is open to members from all branches of Naval Special Warfare, including Special Operations parachute riggers, Special Warfare boat operators, Navy divers and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians.

Visit palmerairport.com for a schedule and more information about the airshow.