When he isn’t caring for patients at St. Luke’s Walbert Avenue Primary Care, Dr. Frank Matrone can often be found thousands of feet in the air, pursuing his passion for skydiving. Next week, he hopes to turn that passion into a place in the record books.
Dr. Matrone and his son, Dominic, will travel to Lake Wales, Florida, on Friday to begin final preparations for a global canopy formation skydiving world-record attempt. Skydivers from 19 countries will join them in an effort to complete a parachute formation of more than 107 participants.
Dr. Matrone already shares the current global canopy formation record of 100 skydivers, set in 2007 — when Dominic was just 9 years old. He is one of 25 members of that team returning to try to set a new world mark.
“As soon as we leave the airplane, we open our parachutes,” Dr. Matrone said, describing how canopy formation skydiving works. “We fly our parachutes together to make formations. So, it’s a different aspect of the sport.
“A lot of my freefall friends won’t get close to it. They don’t like to get close to another canopy.”
Born and raised in Hazleton, Pa., Dr. Matrone began skydiving at age 17 in the late 1970s. He has been a family physician at St. Luke’s since 2010 and credits the sport with helping him develop key skills that translate to medicine.
He said skydiving taught him to remain calm under pressure, communicate clearly and stay focused — qualities he brings to every patient interaction.
The team gathering in Lake Wales will spend several days practicing before making their first official attempt on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Participants have trained together around the world over the last few years in preparation.
Dr. Matrone estimates the group has only a “50-50 chance” of setting the record, given the many variables involved.
“If you launch eight airplanes and one of them has a problem, they all have to come down,” he said. “Then every pilot of those airplanes has to be on their game and be in the right spot. And then every jumper has to have a good jump on the same jump.
“So, there’s a lot that goes into it.”
More information on the world-record attempt is available at crwworldrecord.org.
