Jumps during the week will be out of a PAC 750XL, a NZ Crop Duster. Aircraft is setup for skydiving.
Saturday's final jump on Saturday June 6th, will be from a historic Skytrooper Dakota. It is a veteran of the Italian campaign and flew wounded evacuation missions from Normandy after D-Day. It also towed assault gliders during Operation Repulse at Bastogne in December 1944.
Tuesday June 2, 2026 PAC 750XL
Charles Norman SHAY, Medic (Bronze Star, Silver Star, Légion d'honneur), passed away last December. He was a Penobscot tribal chief from Maine, US, residing in Normandy. Him and 85 member of his community served in WWII. He was with the U.S Army 16th Infantry, 1st Division, "BIG RED ONE", on June 6th 1944. We'll jump into a ceremony of life in his honor.
Charles Norman Shay Profile (Wikipedia)
Wednesday June 3, 2026 PAC 750XL
We'll bring in the colors to Bretteville sur Odon, Calvados, Normandy, France. We'll be greeted by the UNC and its members, their newly appointed President, the town mayor and a french Senator. This jump is an amazing cultural experience as the ceremony brings the entire village together for a toast!
Union Nationale des Combatants
Thursday June 4, 2026 PAC 750XL
Mont Saint Michel is a 1000 year old medieval city on a tidal island and a UNESCO World Heritage site. We'll be jumping at Val Saint Père a 1934 grass airfield in Avaranches, in the Mount Saint Michel Bay. After we land, we'll tour the medieval city together with a private guide to give us access to restricted areas*. Bobby Goldman compared this skydive to jumping the Blue Hole in Belize.
Friday June 5, 2026
We'll jump into the city of Caen (similar in size to Tampa, FL), to celebrate its founding 1001 year ago! We'll tour its castle, abbey and historic center and wrap up our adventure at one of its most authentic restaurants! It is a very rare opportunity to skydive over a major french city like this, we can't appreciate enough Caen's mayor special permit for our historic demo jump!
Saturday June 6, 2026, Dakota
This year, our grand finale will be on Juno Beach, which was the responsibility of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division as part of Operation Overlord on June 6 1944. Juno Beach was one of five main landing areas along the Normandy coast and was the second from the eastern end of the Allied landing sites.
D-Day Festival Week
We're celebrating our third year of Starhopp Normandy with a bonus jump into a secret location. We're thinking outside the box on that one!
This year's accommodation will be on a historic bio horse farm estate run by Gaelle and Claire. Their passion for permaculture, mindful living and the french countryside will take our trip to the next level. They will cater our event banquet, in the barn, with local ingredients from neighboring farms. The farm is a 5 min drive to the seaside. The wood-fired Sauna is a delight after jumping. Accommodation inside the farm is limited and we also have upscale accommodation in the village, a couple minute bicycle ride away as well. First come, first served!
The art of French Cuisine takes another dimension in the countryside. Our hosts at the Gîte will delight us with their finest craft expertly paired with the finest wines. All the ingredients grown on their land or the neighbor's meat. The setting will be a historic farm building turned impromptu restaurant at the end of the universe for the night!
June 1, 2026
Our journey shall begin Monday, June 1st*, we will pick you up from approved hotels in the 12th District. As we travel 4h to Normandy, we have a cultural and gastronomic agenda on the way. We want to get there early so we can be ready for jump preparation starting at 8:00 the next day.
* Book your plane tickets accordingly, Arrive Sunday! ... or plan to spend the weekend in Paris! Reach out to Tommy when you look at plane tickets! Tommy & Starhopp Staff will be in Paris, France weeks prior and after the event, available to help/entertain. It's best to arrive Sunday in France and spend Sunday evening in Paris. Airports for Paris are CDG (Charles De Gaulle), and ORY (Orly).
Event T-shirt, French Foreign Skydiving Permit (FFP), Mandatory French Liability Insurance, Permits, Rescue Boat if sea landing on the 3rd/ 6th, Transport & Logistic to the Airfield / back from the demo areas. Food, Meals and beverages are not included.
€3600
Shared Room
€4200
* limited availability
€2500
Not sharing a room with a skydiver
Event is hosted by Tommy Papatango, a french born Aerodyne sponsored Athlete, FAI World Record Holder residing in San Francisco, CA and Arno Charlie, PRO french Demo Skydiver, president of the National Combat Veteran Association. Tommy has organized skydiving adventure trips since 2018 in Europe, Africa and Asia. Cathy Leone has attended numerous skydiving exotic boogies including Icehopp 2022, Starhopp NDY-25 and is stepping up this year to add a Texan touch to the french team's vision. Aline is a walking encyclopedia and has supported Starhopp's event flow since launch.
Retired French Special Forces / Military Freefall Instructor. Combat Veteran. Pdt. of the UNC Veteran Association.
Parachute Voltige Staff
Head Packer
Ground Crew
DJ, Yoga Teacher
Ground Crew
Fly in a couple days early, and explore the city of lights!
Tommy was born in Paris and is excited to share some of his best finds. On Sunday, we'll rent our own boat to go up and down the Seine River and kick off a week of jumping and have dinner together.
