Joining the smile high club! Member of army’s elite parachute team the Golden Knights has time for a cheeky salute as he launches out of a C-147A aircraft

 This is the moment a member of the U.S. army's elite parachute team The Golden Knights gives a cheeky salute as he launched himself out of a C-147A aircraft.

In a vertigo-defying photograph, daredevil Sgt 1st Class Danny Hellman is shown just after jumping through the plane's door while conducting the team's annual certification cycle in Homestead, Florida.The skydiver, as if floating in mid-air, is seen completely upright with his hand raised to his helmet in a salute, while sporting a big grin for the photographer - a split second before plummeting towards the ground.

An airfield and a patchwork of fields and trees can be seen hundreds of meters below him, while further in the background an ocean stretches off into the distance under the clouds.

In the same series of photographs, Sgt. Hellman's other USAPT teammates are seen preparing to throw themselves through the aircraft's door, and are also shown landing safely on the ground with yellow-and-black parachutes emblazoned with the star of the U.S. Army logo billowing above them.

Sgt. 1st Class Danny Hellman of the U.S. Army Parachute Team is shown just moments after jumping through an aircrafts plane's door while conducting the team's annual certification cycle in Homestead, Florida

The Golden Knights are a highly competitive unit made up of candidates that must demonstrate immense skill and dedication - above and beyond that of any standard skydiver - in order to earn themselves a place. 

The history of the parachute unit dates back to 1959, when nineteen Airborne Soldiers from different military units came together to form the Strategic Army Command Parachute Team (STRAC).

Brigadier General Joseph Stilwell Jr. originally founded the group in order to compete in the then-relatively new sport of skydiving, which at the time was dominated by the Soviet Union's own brand of daredevils.That same year, the U.S. Army's team began representing the United Sates on the international competition circuit, and two years later the Department of Defense announced the STRAC would become the U.S. Army's official parachute team. The Navy and Air Force also have their own - U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.

According to the group's website: 'by 1962, the team earned the nickname the "Golden Knights". "Golden" signified the gold medals the team had won while "Knights" alluded to the team’s ambition to conquer the skies.' 

Since becoming The Golden Knights, the team has conducted more than 16,000 shows in all 50 states of America, and in 48 foreign countries. Per show, they have reached an average of 60,000 people. 

Left: Sgt. 1st Class Jesse Robbins of the U.S. Army Parachute Team waits in the doorway of the C-147A prior to his jump. Right: Sgt. 1st Class Morgan George of the U.S. Army Parachute Team looks out of the aircraft

Sgt. 1st Class Ryan O'Rourke of the U.S. Army Parachute Team lands his parachute for a training jump in Homestead, Florida on 26 Jan. 2022. The Golden Knights are a highly competitive unit made up of candidates that must demonstrate immense skill and dedication - above and beyond that of any standard skydiver - in order to earn themselves a place

The team has earned 2,148 gold medals in national and international competitions, and has broken 348 world records across its history, according to its website.

In total, The Golden Knights are made up of around 95 men and women, which includes four parachute units, an aviation unit and the team's headquarters, and operates five dedicated aircraft.

Throughout the year, they perform at more than 100 events, which can include taking soldiers, heads of state and celebrities of jumps, while the competition section focuses on winning skydiving events around the world.

The service men and women in The Golden Knights must honor the group's creed, which is outlined on its website. It has an emphasis on upholding the group's history, while focusing on safety.

'The memories, achievements and legacy of all my predecessors are my responsibility; I will not fail them,' the creed says. It adds: 'Always will I keep myself mentally alert, substance free, physically fit, and morally straight. 

'I represent the image of the U. S. Army. I cannot lose the confidence entrusted in me as a Golden Knight and I will not tolerate those who do.'

The requirements to join the unit are steep. Hopeful recruits must have performed at least 100 military of civilian free-fall sky dives, and must possess the correct static-line Airborne qualifications, or be willing to attend the U.S. Army Airborne School. 

Applicants must also have a clean military and civilian criminal or disciplinary record, while the utmost 'professionalism and dedication' is expected of all potential recruits