Roger Nelson (skydiver)
Encyclopedia
Freak Brothers
Roger and his older brother, Carl Nelson, grew up in the small town of Lisle, IllinoisLisle, Illinois
Lisle is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,930 at the 2011 census, and estimated to be 23,135 as of 2008. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor...
. They began their skydiving careers in 1971 as novice parachutists at a drop-zone
Drop zone
A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes...
surrounded by cornfields in Hinckley, Illinois
Hinckley, Illinois
Hinckley is a village in Squaw Grove Township, DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,070 at the 2010 census, up from 1,994 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. At the time, relative work (RW) or formation skydiving
Formation skydiving
Formation skydiving is the art of building formations in free-fall with multiple people gripping each others' limbs or specially built "grippers" on their jumpsuits....
was in its infancy. Carl and Roger Nelson, unlike most skydivers at the time, were not ex-military and had the '70s hippie look, with long hair and grubby clothes. They became known as the Freak Brothers. The name stuck. A form of flying that they later popularized (anything that was not belly to earth) became known as freak-flying—eventually morphing into freeflying
Freeflying
Freeflying is a skydiving discipline which began in 1990 when Olav Zipser began experimenting with non-traditional forms of body flight. Zipser formed the Freefly Clowns as a two person competitive team with Mike Vail in 1992, and was joined by Omar Alhegelan, Charles Bryan, and Stefania...
.
The Freak Brothers became an inclusive organization for skydivers, with thousands of Freak Brothers world wide. Roger, his wife Jeannie and Carl organised the first large skydiving boogie
Boogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm, "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. The characteristic rhythm and feel of the boogie was then adapted to guitar, double bass, and other instruments. The earliest recorded...
s in the form of the annual Freak Brothers Convention, which was later superseded by the World FreeFall Convention
World FreeFall Convention
The World Freefall Convention celebrates the extreme sport of skydiving. It has been taking place since 1990 – 2001 in Quincy, Illinois and in Rantoul, Illinois from 2001 – 2006. The event includes various other sports too, such as sky surfing, raft jumping and even naked jumps...
.
Carl, an accomplished skydiver with over 1,000 jumps, died in a skydiving accident in 1979.
Later life
Nelson went on to become a U.S. National Skydiving Champion and served as a director of the U.S. Parachute Association. He set four world records and earned a gold medal in national competition. With over 6,000 jumps and 100 hours of freefall, Roger was involved in television, lectures and authored numerous books and articles on the sport. He earned his wings as a commercial pilot with over 10,000 flight hours.In 1987, Roger pled guilty to tax evasion and sentenced to ten years in federal prison for unreported income related to his international drug smuggling operation. He served five years with time off for good behavior. Nelson, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
(BOP) Register # 95870-024, was released from BOP custody on December 18, 1992.
Nelson organized numerous attempts to break the world record for "largest skydiving formation".
- 1986 set the FAIFédération Aéronautique InternationaleThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
world record at 120. - 1988 set the FAI world record at 144.
- 1994 attempted to break the record.
- 1995 attempted to break the record.
- 1998 set the FAI world record at 246 (and the Guinness Book record at 259).
- 2000 attempted to break the record.
Freak Brothers
Roger and his older brother, Carl Nelson, grew up in the small town of Lisle, IllinoisLisle, Illinois
Lisle is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,930 at the 2011 census, and estimated to be 23,135 as of 2008. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor...
. They began their skydiving careers in 1971 as novice parachutists at a drop-zone
Drop zone
A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes...
surrounded by cornfields in Hinckley, Illinois
Hinckley, Illinois
Hinckley is a village in Squaw Grove Township, DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,070 at the 2010 census, up from 1,994 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. At the time, relative work (RW) or formation skydiving
Formation skydiving
Formation skydiving is the art of building formations in free-fall with multiple people gripping each others' limbs or specially built "grippers" on their jumpsuits....
was in its infancy. Carl and Roger Nelson, unlike most skydivers at the time, were not ex-military and had the '70s hippie look, with long hair and grubby clothes. They became known as the Freak Brothers. The name stuck. A form of flying that they later popularized (anything that was not belly to earth) became known as freak-flying—eventually morphing into freeflying
Freeflying
Freeflying is a skydiving discipline which began in 1990 when Olav Zipser began experimenting with non-traditional forms of body flight. Zipser formed the Freefly Clowns as a two person competitive team with Mike Vail in 1992, and was joined by Omar Alhegelan, Charles Bryan, and Stefania...
.
The Freak Brothers became an inclusive organization for skydivers, with thousands of Freak Brothers world wide. Roger, his wife Jeannie and Carl organised the first large skydiving boogie
Boogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm, "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. The characteristic rhythm and feel of the boogie was then adapted to guitar, double bass, and other instruments. The earliest recorded...
s in the form of the annual Freak Brothers Convention, which was later superseded by the World FreeFall Convention
World FreeFall Convention
The World Freefall Convention celebrates the extreme sport of skydiving. It has been taking place since 1990 – 2001 in Quincy, Illinois and in Rantoul, Illinois from 2001 – 2006. The event includes various other sports too, such as sky surfing, raft jumping and even naked jumps...
.
Carl, an accomplished skydiver with over 1,000 jumps, died in a skydiving accident in 1979.
Later life
Nelson went on to become a U.S. National Skydiving Champion and served as a director of the U.S. Parachute Association. He set four world records and earned a gold medal in national competition. With over 6,000 jumps and 100 hours of freefall, Roger was involved in television, lectures and authored numerous books and articles on the sport. He earned his wings as a commercial pilot with over 10,000 flight hours.In 1987, Roger pled guilty to tax evasion and sentenced to ten years in federal prison for unreported income related to his international drug smuggling operation. He served five years with time off for good behavior. Nelson, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
(BOP) Register # 95870-024, was released from BOP custody on December 18, 1992.
Nelson organized numerous attempts to break the world record for "largest skydiving formation".
- 1986 set the FAIFédération Aéronautique InternationaleThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
world record at 120. - 1988 set the FAI world record at 144.
- 1994 attempted to break the record.
- 1995 attempted to break the record.
- 1998 set the FAI world record at 246 (and the Guinness Book record at 259).
- 2000 attempted to break the record.
Freak Brothers
Roger and his older brother, Carl Nelson, grew up in the small town of Lisle, IllinoisLisle, Illinois
Lisle is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,930 at the 2011 census, and estimated to be 23,135 as of 2008. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor...
. They began their skydiving careers in 1971 as novice parachutists at a drop-zone
Drop zone
A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes...
surrounded by cornfields in Hinckley, Illinois
Hinckley, Illinois
Hinckley is a village in Squaw Grove Township, DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,070 at the 2010 census, up from 1,994 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. At the time, relative work (RW) or formation skydiving
Formation skydiving
Formation skydiving is the art of building formations in free-fall with multiple people gripping each others' limbs or specially built "grippers" on their jumpsuits....
was in its infancy. Carl and Roger Nelson, unlike most skydivers at the time, were not ex-military and had the '70s hippie look, with long hair and grubby clothes. They became known as the Freak Brothers. The name stuck. A form of flying that they later popularized (anything that was not belly to earth) became known as freak-flying—eventually morphing into freeflying
Freeflying
Freeflying is a skydiving discipline which began in 1990 when Olav Zipser began experimenting with non-traditional forms of body flight. Zipser formed the Freefly Clowns as a two person competitive team with Mike Vail in 1992, and was joined by Omar Alhegelan, Charles Bryan, and Stefania...
.
The Freak Brothers became an inclusive organization for skydivers, with thousands of Freak Brothers world wide. Roger, his wife Jeannie and Carl organised the first large skydiving boogie
Boogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm, "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. The characteristic rhythm and feel of the boogie was then adapted to guitar, double bass, and other instruments. The earliest recorded...
s in the form of the annual Freak Brothers Convention, which was later superseded by the World FreeFall Convention
World FreeFall Convention
The World Freefall Convention celebrates the extreme sport of skydiving. It has been taking place since 1990 – 2001 in Quincy, Illinois and in Rantoul, Illinois from 2001 – 2006. The event includes various other sports too, such as sky surfing, raft jumping and even naked jumps...
.
Carl, an accomplished skydiver with over 1,000 jumps, died in a skydiving accident in 1979.
Later life
Nelson went on to become a U.S. National Skydiving Champion and served as a director of the U.S. Parachute Association. He set four world records and earned a gold medal in national competition. With over 6,000 jumps and 100 hours of freefall, Roger was involved in television, lectures and authored numerous books and articles on the sport. He earned his wings as a commercial pilot with over 10,000 flight hours.In 1987, Roger pled guilty to tax evasion and sentenced to ten years in federal prison for unreported income related to his international drug smuggling operation. He served five years with time off for good behavior. Nelson, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
(BOP) Register # 95870-024, was released from BOP custody on December 18, 1992.
Nelson organized numerous attempts to break the world record for "largest skydiving formation".
- 1986 set the FAIFédération Aéronautique InternationaleThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
world record at 120. - 1988 set the FAI world record at 144.
- 1994 attempted to break the record.
- 1995 attempted to break the record.
- 1998 set the FAI world record at 246 (and the Guinness Book record at 259).
- 2000 attempted to break the record.