2019 O’Gorman alumnus finds purpose by jumping into service

This paid piece is sponsored by Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools.

Five years after graduating from O’Gorman High School, an accomplished skydiver is reaching impressive heights in more ways than one.

Aiden Diedrich, a member of the class of 2019, began competing in skydiving while at the United States Air Force Academy, where he graduated in 2023.

He competed as a member of an Air Force parachute team called the Wings of Blue, specializing in mixed formation skydiving, which is flying in all vertical orientations. MFS entails two skydivers given 35 seconds to repeatedly complete a series of formations that are given to them just before jumping and deploying their parachutes. 

“I got into skydiving through the basic jump airmanship program at USAFA. I took the course going into my sophomore year in the summer of 2020 and loved the dynamic that the team shared with each other and wanted to be a part of the team,” Diedrich said.

“After a round of interviews and a daylong tryout, I was selected to join the Wings of Green, which is the upgrade team where you learn the fundamentals of skydiving and instruct the basic airmanship course.”

After sophomore year, Diedrich became a part of the Wings of Blue team at an event called Bluesuit. He was selected to be one of two members on the MFS team. Over the course of a year, he and his partner, Luke, learned how to fly in every orientation of body flight — head-down, head-up, back and belly flying.

Mixed formation skydiving is like synchronized swimming while falling through the air at 120 to 200 mph.

The next year was full of driving an hour to Denver for the wind tunnel anywhere from two to five days a week after class, skydiving every other day and every Saturday.

As a competitive skydiver, Diedrich was a four-time U.S. Parachute Association National Champion in mixed formation skydiving, vertical formation skydiving, sport accuracy and speed formation.

He was also a four-time silver medalist and a two-time bronze medalist at the national level. Diedrich was named the 2022 U.S. Parachute Association Top Collegiate Competitive Skydiver at the Collegiate Nationals against 95 other skydivers.

“The feeling of competing at a national level again was amazing,” he said.

Vertical formation skydiving is combinations of head down or feet down only.

“It sparked the energy that I always get when competing. It had been years since I competed in any organized sport, and even though it was a completely different discipline, I would get the same drive for greatness that I had when competing in high school sports at O’Gorman. Competition gives you a will to fight and reason to work hard, and that’s something I have always loved.”

Diedrich also was honored to be awarded the Wings of Blue Top Competitive Skydiver for the class of 2023.

“Once I graduated from USAFA, I was lucky enough to remain with the 98th Flying Training Squadron to coach and instruct members of the team for a year while I began my wait for pilot training,” he said.

“Over that year, I completed around 250 skydives, almost all flying as a videographer for the cadet teams. Using the videos, we were able to debrief the skydives and find ways to improve the teams. I left the squadron in August, moving to Enid, Oklahoma.”

Diedrich’s primary role in the Wings of Blue is to be a jump master and instructor teaching AM-490 basic free-fall skydiving at the only school in the world where your first jump is a completely unassisted solo free fall — no tethers — skydive.

As an instructor, he was selected to work with the SpaceX Polaris Dawn Crew for a week of jump instruction. The Polaris Dawn Crew completed the weeklong course and successfully earned their jump wings. 

SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew

“Skydiving is a rush, even when you have done it nearly a thousand times. It simulates the basic human instinct of survival in a relatively low-threat environment,” he said.

“The first few times are some of the scariest moments of your life. Getting in the door is the hardest part by far, but once you leave the plane, you realize you can’t turn back, and it becomes really neat. I have never really gotten the feeling of falling, just the wind blasting in your face and the cool air running past your body. I have never really done anything else similar to it, and I think it’s something everybody needs to do in their lifetime.”

Take a closer look at Diedrich in action here: