Museum Trustee Kirk Knight Passes Away

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Museum Trustee Kirk Knight.  Kirk was devoted to the effort to build and open the doors of the International Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame.  Upon recently visiting the site for the facility in the Orlando area, Kirk pronounced it as “a perfect location for the museum.”

Kirk’s commitment to the project was immense.  His support has singlehandedly funded the Library of Parachuting that will be part of the Museum.  Kirk designated all his gifts in support of the library as being in memory of former Museum Trustees Larry and Cindi Bagley. His support for the project was multifaceted.  He was a Museum Ambassador, recruited Ambassadors and even sponsored others as Ambassadors.  He also lent his considerable talents to the project by serving on the museum’s Facilities Committee, Accessions & Curations Committee and Marketing Committee.

Kirk made nearly 8,000 skydives and was an active jumper with ratings as an AFF Instructor Examiner, Coach Examiner, and Professional Exhibition Skydiver (PRO). He has served as U.S. Parachute Team Leader on several occasions. Kirk most recently participated in Icehopp 2.0 in Iceland in July 2022 where he set a national skydiving record for largest formation. He was a parachuting judge with international ratings from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and the Parachuting Committee of the International Military Sports Council (CISM). He served as the U.S. Judge to World Military Parachuting Championships annually for the past decade. Kirk holds ratings from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an airline transport pilot in multi-engine airplanes and a commercial instrument rating in helicopters.

Before his passing, Kirk was a liaison officer at U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, and previously served on the Command’s parachute demonstration team — the Para-Commandos — where he was a PRO demonstrator and selected as Para-Commando of the Year. Kirk is a 35-year Army veteran as both an enlisted soldier and officer, retiring at the rank of Colonel, with multiple combat assignments in infantry and aviation. He was Commander of the U.S. Army Parachute Team — the Golden Knights. He holds several education degrees, including a B.S. from Embry-Riddle University, an MBA from Chaminade University, and a Ph.D. from Northcentral University.

According to fellow Museum Trustee and his good friend, Cris Fucci, “He really wanted to hit 8,0000 jumps before his time was up. Didn’t quite get there but was within a hundred or two jumps.  Hard as nails to the very end . . . he will be missed!”

There will be a Celebration of Life for museum trustee, Kirk Knight, at Skydive City, Zephyrhills, Florida, on October 1st at 11:30AM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Kirk’s honor be sent to the International Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame,1648 Taylor Road, Suite 514, Port Orange, FL 32128; Tel: +1-407-900-9997. You can also make a donation online by clicking on the donate tab of the home page.