Cheryl Stearns (born 14 July 1955 in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

) is an American

skydiver Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

. She won the bronze medal in Women's Overall Individual

Style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

and

Accuracy Accuracy and precision are two measures of ''observational error''. ''Accuracy'' is how close a given set of measurements (observations or readings) are to their ''true value''. ''Precision'' is how close the measurements are to each other. The ...

at the XXV World Parachuting Championships in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 2000.

Career

Stearns made her first parachute jump in 1971 at the age of 17 in

Coolidge, Arizona Coolidge is a city in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 census, the city's population is 13,218. Coolidge is home of the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. The monument was the first historic site to receive prote ...

. In 1977 she became the first female member of the Golden Knights, the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

's elite parachute team. She served two three-year tours. She served two active duty hitches with the Golden Knights in her military career. She retired from the army after 29 years of service as a master sergeant. She earned a bachelor of science in aviation administration and a master of aeronautical science degrees from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University while managing both her military career and competitive skydiving. Stearns began breaking world records and parachuting competitively early in her career, winning her first U.S. National Championship in 1977. She would go onto win the gold medal in the category "Overall, Women" at the World Championships in 1978 and 1994. She also holds the record for most parachute jumps made in a 24-hour period by a woman - 352 jumps from November 8–9, 1995. She began flying for

Piedmont Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. ( ) is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in Wicomico County, Maryland, near the Salisbury, Maryland, city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American ...

in 1986, which later became part of

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

and then

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

In the early 2000s, Stearns was involved in the StratoQuest project, which endeavored to break

Joseph Kittinger Joseph William Kittinger II (July 27, 1928 – December 9, 2022) was an officer in the United States Air Force (USAF) who served from 1950 to 1978, and earned Command Pilot status before retiring with the rank of colonel. He held the world rec ...

's long-standing record for the highest altitude parachute jump ever, with a jump from at least 110,000 feet. The

space diving Similar to skydiving, space diving is the act of jumping from an aircraft or spacecraft in near space and falling towards Earth. The Kármán line is a common definition as to where space begins, 100 km (62 mi) above sea level. This de ...

project was put on hold while attempting to find sponsors for the jump's $6.5 million budget. By 2008 the project budget had risen to $8 million and was put on hold. She holds the record for the most total parachute jumps made by a woman - 21,000 jumps as of June 14, 2019. By 2023, she had made over 22,000 jumps and has over 26,000 flying hours.

Accident and recovery

In 2014, while preparing for her 20,000th parachute jump, Stearns was hit by a car while riding her bike. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, which had a wide ranging impact on her memory and cognitive function. It took two years and one week after the accident for Stearns to recover her medical certification to fly. She retired as a commercial pilot in 2019.

World Records

Awards

* 1980, United States Women's Champion Skydiver of the Year * 1989, United States Parachuting Association, Leonardo da Vinci Diploma Award * 2003, named as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in the Aviation and Aerospace Industry by Women in Aviation International * 2007, Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame * 2007, Amelia Earhart Pioneering Achievement Award * 2010, International Skydiving Hall of Fame. * 2022,

National Aeronautic Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...

's Wesley L. McDonald Distinguished Statesman and Stateswoman of Aviation Award, in honor of advancing the sport of skydiving and in recognition as the first member of the Golden Knights. * 2022, United States Parachuting Association Gold Medal of Meritorious Service

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stearns, Cheryl Living people American skydivers United States Army non-commissioned officers Women in the United States Army Competitors at the 2001 World Games 1955 births Embry–Riddle Eagles athletes World record holders American women aviators American women aviation record holders