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NEWS

Albuquerque man, 74, sets official oldest wingsuit jump world record 

“To be honest, it was just another jump for me,” says Richard Greenwood

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BELEN — For over a minute, Richard Greenwood had a bird’s-eye view of Valencia County and beyond.

As he was in the air, he said he was “concentrating on flying a nice, straight pattern back to the drop zone.”

“I’m thinking, ‘If I can pull this off, this will be cool,’” he said.

When the 74-year-old Albuquerque resident landed on his feet at Belen Regional Airport on June 5, he for being the oldest person to complete a wingsuit jump. The previous record belonged to 67-year-old Thomas Conner.

Guinness spokesperson Kylie Galloway confirmed Greenwood’s accomplishment to the Journal.

“To be honest, it was just another jump for me,” he said.

Greenwood said he decided to make the jump after Conner made his in August 2025.

“I’m thinking, ‘He flew a wingsuit, and I’ve been flying wingsuits for 30 years on and off. Let me see what I can do.’ So, I looked into it,” he said.

Greenwood, who has been skydiving since April 1, 1970, said his passion for flying began as a child.

“I remember being 5 years old at the kitchen table, sitting there, taking tissue paper and Scotch tape and little strings and making little guys under parachutes and climbing up on the garage roof and throwing them off,” he said. “And so, something in me was always interested in parachutes and parachuting. As soon as I turned 18 and could legally take the course, I went out to a local drop zone, which at the time was in Wisconsin because I was living in Chicago.”

Back then, people jumped out in old military surplus gear, which was a lot bigger, bulkier, heavier and not as reliable as it is today, he said.

“But after that first jump I was hooked and here I am 56 years later, and I am still jumping,” Greenwood said.

Over the years, he skydived across the world, including in Israel, the Netherlands, and the ϼ Kingdom.

Greenwood said he jumped regularly until 1995 “and then had both my knees replaced, then I gained weight, and then I got cancer.”

“I had to take about an 8-year layoff, but I beat the cancer, lost about 80 pounds, and came out and started jumping again,” Greenwood said.

Kenny Currier, who was part of the June jump, said Greenwood is an inspiration.

“To be able to do that with the wingsuit and stuff, I mean, it takes a lot of training and a lot of skill,” he said.

Greenwood said he now jumps once or twice a week and hopes to make 4,000 jumps before retiring from jumping.

“I need another 150 or so to make that,” he said. “That’s kind of the big goal I have in the sport right now: to get that 4,000th jump point and go from there.”

Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.