President George H.W. Bush celebrated his 90th birthday on Thursday, June 12 by jumping out of a helicopter.

George H.W. Bush Skydives

Bush Sr. went skydiving near his family’s Kennebunkport, Maine home in the late morning hours Thursday. He jumped from the helicopter in tandem with an instructor. Their parachute was appropriately colored red white and blue.

"It's vintage George Bush," Bush spokesman Jim McGrath said. "It's that passion for life. It's wanting to set a goal, wanting to achieve it. I'm sure part of it is sending a message to others that even in your retirement years you can still find challenges."

Prior to taking to the skies, Bush chatted with his granddaughter, NBC correspondent Jenna Bush Hager. In the interview, the former president described his first experience skydiving, which was in WWII.

"When I was coming down in the parachute, I was scared, and I was scared when I was in the water swimming, getting away from the Japanese island. I was scared," he said. "I pulled the ripcord too early and hit the tail of the plane with my head, just (taking a) glancing blow. I've decided that later on, well, I want to do it right. And so that did spark my interest in making another jump, (and) this time getting it correct."

In total, Bush has now skydived eight times. He jumped from a plane on his 75th, 80th and 85th birthdays.