Jim Appleby, a Bush aide, said on Tuesday that Mr Bush will make a tandem jump with a member of the US Army Golden Knights parachute team. Their landing zone is near a church in Kennebunkport.

Mr Bush made his first jump as a Navy pilot when his plane was shot down over the Pacific during World War II. He also made two jumps apiece on his 75th and 80th birthdays.

His most recent jump was in November 2007 at the reopening of his library at Texas A&M University. -- AP